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Why strong business schools engender growth

Late last month, the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC) announced it had succeeded in landing two major expansions to Phoenix metropolitan-area digital platform companies.The announcement came on the heels of a GPEC visit to Silicon Valley where target industries were information technology, manufacturing and clean-technology companies. The Phoenix metropolitan area is not only a good place to be new, it’s a place where successes in attracting businesses to the region are intertwined with the success of the business school.

2012-05-08

By Michael Goul, Chairman, Department of Information Systems Late last month, the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC) announced it had achieved recent success in advocating for a major expansion to a Phoenix metropolitan-area “digital platform company” — and it also landed a 60,000 square foot expansion by another similar Silicon Valley company. The announcement came on the heels of a GPEC visit to Silicon Valley where target industries were information technology, manufacturing and clean-technology companies. A GPEC selling point — the business school connection In the April 25th , 2012 Arizona Republic story, GPEC President and CEO Barry Broome touted this landing of “pretty strong jobs” that pay average salaries of roughly $60,000 to $70,000 annually. The companies’ names currently remain confidential, but they apparently fit the mold of GPEC’s key industry list, particularly the “Advanced Business Services” sector. In GPEC’s downloadable brochure regarding advanced business services, the Phoenix area’s attractiveness is highlighted by espousing the value of co-locating in regions with rock-solid business schools: “Forbes recently named us one of the country’s next big boomtowns. As one of the fastest-growing regions in the country with a population that’s expected to nearly double over the next 20 years, it’s no wonder. This region has some of the best business schools and programs in the country, as well as one of the largest community college networks in the nation. It’s positioned between two of the country’s biggest economies in California and Texas, yet your operating costs could be nearly 40 percent less than in California. Additionally, it’s one of the best places to be new – you can quickly become ingrained in our community, climb the ranks and achieve career goals you’d never expect in other markets.” The university research/business attraction connection While we don’t yet know what the companies’ names are, digital platform companies most often harness information systems’ capabilities to deliver services. Interestingly, ongoing research in the W. P. Carey School takes aim at the IT and services overlap. In a heavily cited multi-disciplinary study titled, “Moving Forward and Making a Difference: Research Priorities for the Science of Service,” co-authors from the W. P. Carey School’s Center for Services Leadership, the Information Systems Department and the Supply Chain Management Department discuss problems and issues in services science. One priority is the need for new research about sustainable competitive strategies for digital service platforms. Three service research priority podcasts detail additional research needs. This type of basic research is essential to GPEC’s mission in conveying the best the area has to offer. In fact, many higher education leaders, including those in the W. P. Carey School, have followed Harvard’s Michael Porter’s advice by taking a leadership role in “conducting the basic research that catalyzes and supports local industries.” To be certain, engaging with the W. P. Carey School of Business, the Department of Information Systems and the Center for Services Leadership will enable new digital platform companies to quickly become ingrained. The Phoenix metropolitan area is not only a good place to be new, it’s a place where successes in attracting businesses to the region are intertwined with the success of the business school. As Porter puts it, “The higher education community can contribute the leadership, energy, and vision necessary to undertake what amounts to a sustained, multifaceted campaign to enhance regional prosperity and, likewise, its own long-term prospects.”

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