PhD Candidate in Strategy & Entrepreneurship
London Business SchoolM. Dalbert Ma
About Me
contact: dma@london.edu
access my resume here
Working Papers
How Disruptive will Generative AI be? A Micro-Level Analysis of Evidence and Expectations
Michael Jacobides & Dalbert Ma - R&R at Strategic Management Journal
This study investigates how executives assess Generative AI's impact on competitive advantage and industry disruption. Using mixed-methods analysis of UK Director data, we find that GenAI's disruptive potential is heightened in modular, less-regulated sectors, while incumbents anticipate leveraging complementary assets for differentiation. The presence of pattern recognition tasks and proprietary data amplifies both displacement risks and differentiation opportunities.
Presentations / invitations: Academy of Management 2024, Berkeley Open Innovation Seminar 2024, Stanford HAI/Digital Economy Lab, ETH Zürich, Wharton AI and the Future of Work 2025
Press coverage: Fortune, Think, CityAM, KJP, Personnel, EACA, IoD
Where Has All the GenAI Productivity Gone? Jagged Diffusion and Structural Pre-adaptation
Dalbert Ma & Michael Jacobides - preparing for submission
This paper examines the puzzling disconnect between field experimental evidence showing dramatic productivity gains from generative AI (GenAI) in controlled settings and its more modest realized impact in organizations. We employ generalized structural equation modeling (GSEM) to identify key organizational characteristics enabling GenAI early adoption. Our findings indicate that despite GenAI's characteristics as a general-purpose technology - notably low deployment costs and applicability to knowledge work - structural barriers persist in mediating value creation.
Presentations / invitations: USC AI in Management conference 2025, ISB AI & Strategy Consortium 2025
How Multi-Business Firms Realize Physical and Digital Synergies through Traditional vs Ecosystem-like Governance Modes: A Configurational Approach
Michael Jacobides & Dalbert Ma - under review This study examines synergy realization within multi-business firms. Using data from a major GCC retail conglomerate, we find that corporate value creation depends on firms' ability to mitigate scope's costs while enabling synergies. Through configurational theorizing, we demonstrate how similar synergistic outcomes emerge via different governance arrangements. Traditional scope-related challenges can be addressed through alternative governance structures. We find internal ecosystem governance enables previously unattainable synergies, suggesting corporate advantage stems from scope management rather than mere scope breadth.
Presentations / invitations: Academy of Management 2025, Academy of Management 2024, Strategic Management Society 2024, Wharton
Automation, Routines, and Organizational Frictions: Evidence from Self-Driving Logistics
Dalbert Ma, Francisco Brahm & Shengwu Sun - data analysis stage
This study investigates how humans actively compete and collaborate with AI systems in operational settings, focusing on Chinese port operations. By leveraging a unique dataset to trace the staggered evolution of multiple factors of production (cranes, locks, trucks) as they become increasingly automated—and human labor task bundles change and shrink—this research aims to offer insights into how workers adapt to AI-driven changes in their roles, examining an environment with minimal unionization and limited labor protections.
Navigating Technological Regimes: Artificial Intelligence, Knowledge Barriers, and Patterns of Innovation
Dalbert Ma - data collection stage
This study examines the dual effects of artificial intelligence (AI) on knowledge barriers, specifically the degree of cumulativeness, within industrial sectors. AI lowers the costs of knowledge absorption while heightening the challenges of integration, particularly in contexts dominated by tacit knowledge. Using a framework grounded in technological regimes and organizational learning, we hypothesize that AI’s impact on knowledge cumulativeness is sector-specific, being more pronounced in environments with complex external knowledge. To test these propositions, we propose an instrumental variable approach exploiting geographic variation in AI talent.
Tensions between Open and Closed Innovation: Open-Source Collaboration and Limits to Organizational Boundaries
Dalbert Ma - data collection stage
The interaction between open-source and closed-source development raises important questions about how differing incentives and knowledge-sharing practices shape innovation outcomes. Open-source development is associated with collaborative contributions and shared knowledge, while closed-source approaches emphasize exclusivity and controlled dissemination. This paper explores how these two forms of development coexist and influence one another, focusing on their implications for resource allocation, innovation trajectories, and knowledge spillovers.
Practitioner Papers
The Business Value of Gamification
Michael Jacobides, Dalbert Ma, Konstantinos Trantopoulos, Vasilis Vassalos - California Management Review (2024)
This paper analyzes the connection between gamification and business success. Based on a qualitative comparative analysis of 40 high-profile gamification projects, it shows that configurations of three key features—virtualization, social comparison, and tangible rewards—explain the various pathways to success. Each pathway requires the presence—and sometimes absence—of different design features, and firms do best when they focus on one or two objectives rather than all three at once. The article presents a framework for designing and implementing gamification more strategically and effectively, noting the ethical questions that arise.
Presentations / invitations: SMS Milan 2022
To read the full paper: https://cmr.berkeley.edu/2024/02/66-2-the-business-value-of-gamification/
Case Studies
LBS Publishing: CS-24-025
Building the Phygital Ecosystem: The Journey of Majid Al Futtaim by Michael Jacobides, Dalbert Ma, Konstantinos Trantopoulos
LBS Publishing: CS-24-026
HDFC ERGO: A Product Ecosystem Built on Mindshare by Michael Jacobides, Anubhab Goel, Dalbert Ma, Aryan Mittal
LBS Publishing: CS-24-009
From PingAn’s Inspiration to HDFC ERGO’s Journey: Building an Insurance-Based Ecosystem by Michael Jacobides, Anubhab Goel, Dalbert Ma, Aryan Mittal
LBS Publishing: CS-24-010
From Products to Experience Ecosystems: Haier's Internet of Food by Michael Jacobides, Lisa Duke, Dalbert Ma, Aryan Mittal
LBS Publishing: CS-22-017
Building an Organisation for the Ecosystem Era: Weighing up the Recipe of Haier's Internet of Food by Michael Jacobides, Tom Albrighton, Monwei Chou, Lisa Duke, Dalbert Ma, Aryan Mittal
LBS Publishing: CS-22-018
Bridgewater Associates: Chasing Alpha by Nuno Fernandes, Andreas Frey, Stijn Lauxtermann, Dalbert Ma
IESE Publishing
Technical Note: Central Bank Digital Currencies by Miguel Anton, Mireia Gine, Dalbert Ma
IESE Publishing
Technical Note: Challenger Banks by Miguel Anton, Mireia Gine, Dalbert Ma
IESE Publishing