Space Economy Conference: 1st Community Recognition
Prof. Christopher L. Tucci
A celebration of research,
mentorship and community.
A new conference tradition recognising the people who helped build our Space Economy community. In 2027, we celebrate Prof. Christopher L. Tucci and his contributions to research, mentorship and collaboration.
25 March 2027 · Main Conference DayAfternoon sessions & conference dinner
Academic leadership.
From Oxford and Imperial to the Academy of Management. Follow the roles through which Christopher Tucci connects innovation, education and institutional service.
Across disciplines.
Across borders.
From music and mathematics to technology and management. Follow the places and ideas that have shaped Christopher Tucci’s career.
Stanford, California · United States
Education01 / 09
1982–1984
Stanford University
Stanford, California · United States
More than one way of thinking.
A BS in Mathematical Sciences (1982), an AB in Music (1983) and an MS in Computer Science (1984). Three degrees bringing analytical and creative disciplines together.
Industry & research02 / 09
1983–1985 · 1987–1989
Ford Aerospace
Palo Alto, California · United States
Innovation, hands on.
Software Engineer (1983–1985), researching computer communications and Internet protocols. Returning as Senior Software Engineer (1987–1989), Christopher Tucci worked on artificial intelligence. An early connection between computing, industry and the questions that would shape his research.
Education03 / 09
1992 · 1997
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, Massachusetts · United States
A bridge to organisations.
A master’s in Technology and Policy / EECS (1992), followed by a PhD in Management (1997). Technology and policy became part of a wider inquiry into how organisations work.
Academic appointment04 / 09
1996–2003
NYU Stern
New York · United States
Teaching the next questions.
Visiting Professor in 1996–1997, then Assistant Professor at Stern School of Business from 1997 to 2003. An academic chapter spanning the rise of Internet business models.
Academic leadership05 / 09
2003–2020
EPFL
Lausanne · Switzerland
Bringing technology and management together.
Chair in Corporate Strategy & Innovation. As Dean of the College of Management of Technology (2013–2018), Christopher Tucci also helped shape the institutional home for that connection.
Academic leadership06 / 09
2018–present
Imperial College London
London · United Kingdom
Connecting AI, learning and innovation.
Visiting Professor of Innovation Management (2018–2019), then Professor of Digital Strategy & Innovation (since 2020). Co-Director, Education, I-X (2020–2026), helping launch the cross-Faculty AI initiative. Academic Director, Centre for Digital Transformation (2020–2023).
On leave for 2026–2027. Vice Deanship shown in the following Imperial stage.
Institution building07 / 09
NEOMUNIVERSITY
2024–2025
NEOM University
NEOM region · Saudi Arabia
Helping build a new institution.
Founding Dean of the College of Business & Innovation. His remit included college strategy, faculty recruitment and curriculum design.
Academic leadership08 / 09
2025–2026
Imperial Business School
London · United Kingdom
Returning to lead education.
Vice Dean of Education ad Interim, Imperial Business School (2025–2026). Returning from NEOM, he led education across Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD programmes, with responsibility for teaching, academic programme leadership, budgets and curricular innovation.
Vice Dean of Education ad Interim, before the move to Oxford.
Academic appointment09 / 09
Since 2026
University of Oxford
Oxford · United Kingdom
The next chapter.
Professor of Major Programmes & Innovation at Saïd Business School. A new setting for his work across innovation, technology and organisations.
Recognised then.
Still shaping the field.
Christopher Tucci and Allan Afuah’s research on crowdsourcing earned three distinctions from Academy of Management Review, including its Best Paper and Decade Awards.
Afuah, A., & Tucci, C. L. (2012). Crowdsourcing as a solution to distant search. Academy of Management Review, 37(3), 355–375. Read the article
2012
Best Paper Award
Recognising the paper’s original contribution to management theory.
2019
Best Practice Implications
Recognising the work’s relevance to managerial practice.
2022
Decade Award
Honouring its sustained influence on management research over ten years.
- Teaching Excellence Award for Online Innovation · Imperial Business School · 2024
- Medal of Excellence · PICMET · 2023
- Dean’s Award for Exceptional Contribution to the Business School · Imperial · 2023
- Teaching Excellence Award — Online Teaching · Imperial Business School · 2022
- Best Teacher Award · EPFL — Management of Technology & Entrepreneurship · 2010/11, 2011/12, 2012/13, 2014/15
- Best Paper Award · Journal of Product Innovation Management · 2005
- Citation for Excellence Award · Emerald
- Best Paper Award · Academy of Management — TIM Division · 2000
- Entrepreneurship Professor of the Year · NYU Stern · 2000
- Award for Excellence and Leadership in Technology and Policy · MIT · 1991
- H. R. Fairclough Classics Prize · Stanford · 1982
Ideas that help us see
what is possible.
Four areas of contribution, explored through the questions, frameworks and collaborations behind the work.
How does a promising technology become a viable business?
Concepts that clarify
Making the logic of a business visible.
With Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur, Christopher Tucci helped clarify the business model concept: its vocabulary, uses and relationship to information systems. Their 2005 paper gave a more precise language to a term used in many different ways.
With Lorenzo Massa and Allan Afuah, his 2017 review distinguished three perspectives: what a firm actually does, how people understand its business, and how that business is formally represented. Separating these perspectives makes it easier to see what an innovation changes.
Why it matters
A clearer language for designing, comparing and questioning how businesses work.
Osterwalder, A., Pigneur, Y., & Tucci, C. L. (2005). Clarifying business models: Origins, present, and future of the concept. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 16, 1–25.
Read the paperMassa, L., Tucci, C. L., & Afuah, A. (2017). A critical assessment of business model research. Academy of Management Annals, 11(1), 73–104.
Read the paperWhen can a crowd solve a problem better than familiar experts?
Searching beyond the familiar
The right answer may come from elsewhere.
With Allan Afuah, Christopher Tucci explained how crowdsourcing can transform a difficult search for distant expertise. A problem unfamiliar to an organisation may be routine for someone outside it; broadcasting the challenge lets those people recognise it and choose to respond.
Their framework also identifies the conditions that matter: a problem that can be clearly communicated, capable and motivated solvers, and a solution that can be assessed and put to use. It helps explain when opening a search is likely to work.
Why it matters
Design the problem and the invitation so that relevant expertise can find you.
Afuah, A., & Tucci, C. L. (2012). Crowdsourcing as a solution to distant search. Academy of Management Review, 37(3), 355–375.
Read the paperWhat happens to a technology that does not fit the existing business?
From unused ideas to new ventures
Giving good ideas a path into the world.
With Henry Chesbrough, Christopher Tucci connected open innovation with Lean Startup. Their 2020 paper explains how experiments can help discover and validate business models for technologies that an established company has left underused.
It also examines why those experiments can be difficult inside a large firm: new ventures encounter established roles and ways of working. Bringing external knowledge in, or finding routes to market outside the firm, can help companies organise the search for new value.
Why it matters
Innovation requires a route to market, a business model to test and room to learn.
Chesbrough, H., & Tucci, C. L. (2020). The interplay between open innovation and lean startup, or, why large companies are not large versions of startups. Strategic Management Review, 1(2), 277–303.
Read the paperWhich decisions turn AI’s potential into value?
From technical promise to organisational choices
Understanding what it takes to create value with AI.
With Gianvito Lanzolla and Simone Santoni, Christopher Tucci developed a framework for the strategic and organisational trade-offs involved in AI adoption. Their 2021 study of financial services compared that framework with media and institutional narratives from 2013–2019, finding a gap between the choices involved and the stories being told.
He also helped connect AI research with education as Co-Director (Education) of Imperial’s I-X initiative, bringing perspectives from business, engineering, science and medicine into shared programmes.
Why it matters
Put organisational choices and learning at the centre of the AI conversation.
Lanzolla, G., Santoni, S., & Tucci, C. L. (2021). Unlocking value from AI in financial services: Strategic and organizational tradeoffs vs. media narratives. In M. Pagani & R. Champion (Eds.), Artificial intelligence for sustainable value creation (pp. 70–97). Edward Elgar Publishing.
Read the paperThe people.
The memories.
Ideas grow through people. Meet the doctoral alumni, researchers and co-authors who are part of Christopher Tucci’s academic journey.
PhDs, Postdocs, Alumni
Giada Baldessarelli
Stockholm School of Economics · Imperial College London
Bettina Bastian
American University in Bulgaria
Jeffrey Behrens
LabShares
Alan Cabello
Sparkademy
Selina Zhe Cao
University of Queensland
Amin Dehdarian
Exotec
Farnaz Eslamishoar
acting responsibly
Lukas Falcke
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Shameem Hasan
Bank of America
Albina Khairullina
Lancaster University
Thomas Langenberg
stayFritz GmbH
Giovanni Liotta
Washington University in St. Louis
Qinli Lu
ETH Zurich
Vincent Nassar
IntoFlow
Joana Pereira
University of Leeds
Tilo Peters
EPFL
Andrei Villarroel
innoverse.AI
Andreas Von Vangerow
McKinsey
David Wagner
Olivier Waeber
SBB CFF FFS
Yang Yang
AllPKU
Cristiano Zazzara
New York University · Stern School of Business
Vareska van de Vrande
Erasmus University Rotterdam · Rotterdam School of Management
Mehdi Montakhabi
University of Oxford
Marcel Bogers
Eindhoven University of Technology
Nettra Pan
Bayes Business School · City St George’s, University of London
Gianluigi Viscusi
Linköping University
Luigi Mosca
Imperial College London
Yuosre Badir
Asian Institute of Technology
Luca Berchicci
Erasmus University Rotterdam · Rotterdam School of Management
Alexander Osterwalder
Strategyzer
Azadeh Shomali
ESSCA School of Management
Yuliya Snihur
IESE Business School
Contributors
Annabeth Aagaard
Aarhus University
Allan Afuah
University of Michigan · Ross School of Business
Esteve Almirall
ESADE Business School
Daniel Armanios
University of Oxford · Saïd Business School
Jamal Eddine Azzam
Toulouse School of Management
Yuosre Badir
Asian Institute of Technology
Daniela Baglieri
University of Messina
Giada Baldessarelli
Stockholm School of Economics · House of Innovation
Francesco Baldi
University of Bologna
Peter Bamberger
Tel Aviv University · Coller School of Management
Bettina Bastian
American University in Bulgaria
Anna Bastone
University of Naples Parthenope
Jeffrey Behrens
LabShares
Luca Berchicci
Erasmus University Rotterdam · Rotterdam School of Management
Nancy Bocken
Maastricht University
Marcel Bogers
Eindhoven University of Technology
Alexander Brem
University of Stuttgart
Peter J. Brews
University of South Carolina · Darla Moore School of Business
Terrence Brown
KTH Royal Institute of Technology
Bettina Buechel
IMD
Alan Cabello
Sparkademy
Jin Chen
Tsinghua University · School of Economics and Management
Henry Chesbrough
University of California, Berkeley · Haas School of Business
Marlys Christianson
University of Toronto · Rotman School of Management
Bart Clarysse
ETH Zurich
Andrew Corbett
Babson College
Jeffrey Covin
University of Wyoming
Paola Criscuolo
Imperial College London
Michael A. Cusumano
Massachusetts Institute of Technology · Sloan School of Management
Amin Dehdarian
Gianluca Elia
University of Salento
John Ettlie
Rochester Institute of Technology · Saunders College of Business
Lukas Falcke
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Teppo Felin
University of Utah · David Eccles School of Business
Igor Filatotchev
King’s College London
Myrna Flores
Lean Analytics Association
David Gautschi
Fordham University · Gabelli School of Business
Heidi Gautschi
HEP Vaud
Peter Gianiodis
Duquesne University
Avi Giloni
Yeshiva University · Sy Syms School of Business
Ari Ginsberg
New York University · Stern School of Business
Axèle Giroud
University of Manchester
Rémy Glardon
EPFL
Maria Chiara Di Guardo
University of Cagliari
Shu Han
Yeshiva University · Sy Syms School of Business
Iftekhar Hasan
Fordham University
Shameem Hasan
Vivianna Fang He
University College London
Sven Heidenreich
Saarland University
Amin Kaboli
EPFL
Hyo Kang
Seoul National University
Kyle Kashima
AJ Tutoring
Allen Kaufman
University of New Hampshire · Whittemore School of Business and Economics
Albina Khairullina
Andrew King
Boston University
Rachel Lacroix
Open Web Technology
Fenareti Lampathaki
Suite5 Data Intelligence Solutions
Thomas Langenberg
Gianvito Lanzolla
Bayes Business School · City St George’s, University of London
Benn Lawson
University of Oxford · Saïd Business School
Hyeonsuh Lee
West Virginia University
Benoît Leleux
IMD
Annika Lorenz
Qinli Lu
Magdalena Marczewska
University of Warsaw
Gideon Markman
Louisiana State University
Elona Marku
University of Cagliari
Lorenzo Massa
Aalborg University Business School
Ella Miron-Spektor
INSEAD
Mehdi Montakhabi
University of Oxford
Luigi Mosca
Imperial College London
Christofer Mowry
Type One Energy
Johann Peter Murmann
University of St. Gallen
Samuele Murtinu
Utrecht University
Elena Novelli
Bayes Business School · City St George’s, University of London
Gina Colarelli O’Connor
Babson College
Alexander Osterwalder
Strategyzer
Margherita Pagani
SKEMA Business School
Haemin Dennis Park
University of Texas at Dallas
G. Patel
Joana Pereira
University of Leeds
Danilo Pesce
Politecnico di Torino
Tilo Peters
Frank Piller
RWTH Aachen University
Diane Poulin
Université Laval
Jens Roehrich
University of Bath
Simone Santoni
Bayes Business School · City St George’s, University of London
Francesco Schiavone
University of Naples Parthenope
Melissa Schilling
New York University · Stern School of Business
Ralf Seifert
IMD and EPFL
Sridhar Seshadri
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Zur Shapira
New York University · Stern School of Business
Yuliya Snihur
IESE Business School
Amaia Sopelana
TECNALIA Research & Innovation
Lourdes Sosa
London School of Economics and Political Science
Patrick Spieth
University of Kassel
Brian Squire
University of Bristol
Nancy Staudenmayer
Duke University · Fuqua School of Business
Daniel Szopinski
John E. Taylor
Georgia Institute of Technology
Gregory Theyel
California State University, East Bay
Jana Thiel
EDHEC Business School
Neil Thompson
Massachusetts Institute of Technology · CSAIL
Mary Tripsas
University of California, Santa Barbara
Ted Tschang
Singapore Management University
Andrei Villarroel
Gianluigi Viscusi
Linköping University
Vareska van de Vrande
Erasmus University Rotterdam · Rotterdam School of Management
Anu Wadhwa
Imperial College London
Wei Wei
Imperial College London · Business School
Joel West
San José State University
Gail Whiteman
University of Exeter
Youngjin Yoo
London School of Economics and Political Science
Maryia Zaitsava
University of Cagliari
Cristiano Zazzara
New York University · Stern School of Business
Ann-Kristin Zobel
University of St. Gallen
Christoph Zott
IESE Business School
Recognition program
It is our intention to hold four approximately 30-minute sessions on major areas of Christopher Tucci’s contributions. The titles and number of sessions may be subject to change. During dinner, a moderated fireside chat panel with his collaborators will be followed by a 15-minute talk by Prof. Christopher L. Tucci.
17:00–19:0025 March 2027 · Main Conference Day
Innovation Ecosystems
Mary Tripsas
30 minUniversity of California, Santa Barbara
Open Innovation (Also Covering Crowdsourcing)
Session title to be announced
Henry Chesbrough
~30 minUniversity of California, Berkeley · Haas School of Business
AI and Digital technologies
Session title to be announced
Margherita Pagani
~30 minSKEMA Business School
Business models
Confirmed speaker · Talk title to be announced
Lorenzo Massa
~30 minAalborg University Business School
19:30Reception and dinner · 25 March 2027
Reception and dinner
Reception: 19:30–20:00 · Dinner: approximately 20:00–22:30.
During dinner
Fireside chat panel
Four of Chris’s collaborators, including the moderator, share their perspectives and memories.
Magdalena Marczewska
University of Warsaw
Esteve Almirall
ESADE Business School
Gianluigi Viscusi
Linköping University
Daniel Armanios
University of Oxford · Saïd Business School
During dinner · 15 minutes
Talk by Prof. Christopher L. Tucci
Christopher Tucci takes the floor following the panel for a 15-minute talk. Title to be announced.
A generous spirit.
A smile we all know.
When we think of Christopher Tucci, we think of his smile. And of the generosity that makes him such a valued colleague, teacher and friend.
This celebration is a chance to give some of that warmth back. To gather the people who appreciate him, share a few stories, and say something simple:
Thank you, Chris!