Marshall Van Alstyne


Marshall W. Van Alstyne is the Allen and Kelly Questrom Professor in IS at Boston University and a research associate at the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy. He co-developed the theory of two-sided markets with Geoffrey G Parker. His work focuses on the economics of information. This includes a sustained interest in information markets and in how information and technology affect productivity with an emphasis on “platforms” as an extension of the work on two-sided markets.

Early life and education

Marshall Van Alstyne was born in Columbus, Ohio. He received a B.A. in Computer Science from Yale University in 1984. He then moved to Software Systems Developer role at Martin Marietta Data Systems in Colorado and later Associate Staff at MIT Lincoln Laboratory in Massachusetts, before starting his M.S. and Doctorate programs. He obtained his MS in management in 1991 and Ph.D. in Information Systems and Economics in 1998, both at the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Career

Alstyne is a professor at Boston University, a research associate at the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy, and a visiting scholar at . Marshall co-organizes and co-chairs the annual , the premier conference on platform research, and the , an executive meeting on platform-centered economics and management.
After finishing his PhD, he joined the University of Michigan, before moving to Boston University in 2004.

Publications

He is the co-author of Platform Revolution: How Networked Markets Are Transforming the Economy and How to Make Them Work for You. The book describes the information technologies, standards, and rules that make up platforms, and are used and developed by the biggest and most innovative global companies. Forbes included it among 16 must-read business books for 2016, describing it as "a practical guide to the new business model that is transforming the way we work and live."

Awards

He is the son of constitutional law scholar William Van Alstyne.
An early life foray into film found him cast in the movie Cocktail but turned it down for academic pursuits. The part was then given to emerging actor Tom Cruise.