Aleksi Aaltonen

Biography

I am an Assistant Professor and the Director of the PhD Business Administration in MIS at the Fox School of Business at Temple University, where I study data-based innovation and organizing using quantitative and qualitative methods. My research has been published in top academic journals such as Management Science, Information Systems Research, MIS Quarterly, Journal of Management Information Systems, Organization Studies, and Journal of Information Technology.

My research projects focus on several exciting themes:

• Data artifacts, commodities, and innovation
• The production of trace data
• Quality control in open knowledge collaboration
• Platform evolution and ratings inflation
• The impact of generative AI on software development knowledge
• Gender bias in the field of information systems

I moved to the Fox School of Business in 2018 from Warwick Business School, where I held an Assistant Professor position since 2014 after selling my company to Facebook in 2014 and completing my PhD at the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2012.

I am an award-winning teacher. In my teaching, I draw from my entrepreneurial experience and from working for private and nonprofit organizations.

I have designed, built, and managed digital services for organizations such as Nokia, and the CMI – Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation founded by the Nobel Peace Laureate and former President of Finland Martti Ahtisaari. In 2012, I cofounded and helped to raise 1.7 million euros funding for an activity tracking app Moves. Apple chose Moves as the Best App of 2013 in the Fitness Revolution category, and the company was acquired by Facebook in April 2014.

From 2009 to 2016, I was the Chairman of the Board at Demos Helsinki think tank. The organization more than doubled its turnover; established itself as an influential actor in the Finnish society, and expanded its operations abroad during my tenure.

I am available to give talks and to write about my research for broader audiences as much as being a father of an eight-year-old boy allows.