Biography

Hi, I'm Jesse, a Professor of Information Systems and Operations Management and Senior Associate Dean of Graduate Programs at Emory University's Goizueta Business School. My research focuses on how technology impacts markets and people. Most of my research involves machine learning, econometrics, and conducting randomized experiments.

I teach classes across several programs (BBA, MBA, MSBA, MAF, Exec Ed) on AI, machine learning, data visualization, analytics, and technology strategy. Previously, I've taught classes on business operations, systems analysis & design, data networking and security, web programming, and eCommerce strategy.

I've held faculty positions at the University of Arizona and George Mason University. I completed my PhD at the University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management in 2008, my MS in engineering from Minnesota in 2004, and my BS in engineering from the University of Wisconsin in 1999. Before Academia, I worked as a management consultant at Accenture (I was there when it transitioned from Andersen Consulting) and as a research staff member at IBM Research. I love tech, am an active angel investor, and am currently on the board of directors of the Atlanta Technology Angels.

I like to run, hike, ski, play/coach/watch soccer, play the guitar, and spend time with my family outdoors.

Education

  • BS in Mechanical Engineering
    University of Wisconsin - Madison
  • MS in Mechanical Engineering
    University of Minnesota – Twin Cities
  • PhD in Information Systems
    Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities

Customized Bundling and Consumption Variety of Digital Information Goods

Journal of Management Information Systems
April 15, 2026
2014

Customized bundling retail strategies have become increasingly popular online. In customized bundling, consumers decide the bundle's components, and the effects of this change on consumption variety have important implications for information goods retailers. Although reduction in transaction and search costs increases supply-side product variety, customized bundling can introduce new types of friction in the consumption process. We show that customization of information good bundles reduces consumption variety through two effects: design cost effects ...

Bundling Effects on Variety Seeking for Digital Information Goods

Journal of Management Information Systems
April 15, 2026
2015

Prior research with consumable goods has consistently found that consumers have a preference for greater variety when selecting items simultaneously as a bundle, rather than as a sequential series of individual decisions. However, digital information goods have a number of important differences from consumable goods that may impact variety-seeking behavior. In three experiments, we address two general research questions. First, as a precursor to studying digital goods, we disentangle the role of bundle cohesion (i.e., item relatedness) from the role of timing ...

Overcoming Free-Riding in Information Goods: Sanctions or Rewards?

48th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences
March 29, 2015
Economic environments involving information goods suffer from an extensive free-riding problem. For example, social loafing and lurking on discussion forums, leeching on file-sharing networks, and pirating of digital goods. Despite their use, it is not clear what types of interventions result in the best outcomes for all players involved. We conduct a lab experiment using a public goods game to explore the role of rewards and sanctions or free-riding behavior at both the individual and group levels. Our results provide interesting insights on the behavior of free-riding and the use of ...

Problem-Solving Effort and Success in Innovation Contests: The Role of National Wealth and National Culture

Journal of Operations Management
May 8, 2015
Innovation contests allow firms to harness specialized skills and services from globally dispersed participants for solutions to business problems. Such contests provide a rich setting for operations management (OM) scholars to explore problem solving in global labor markets as firms continue to unbundle their innovation value chains. In this study, we examine the implications of specific types of diversity in innovation contests on problem-solving effort and success. First, we conceptualize diversity among contestants in terms of national wealth (measured as gross ...

Heterogeneous Submission Behavior and its Implications for Success in Innovation Contests with Public Submissions

Production and Operations Management
January 18, 2016
Innovation contests are increasingly adopting a format where submissions are viewable by all contestants and the information structure changes during the contest. In such an “unblind” format, contestants must weigh the costs of revealing their submissions against the benefits of improving their submissions through emerging information. We take a closer look at how contestants solve problems in innovation contests with public submission of solutions—that is, unblind contests, by examining the implications of their submission behavior for contest outcomes. We analyze ...