Lorin M. Hitt

Lorin M. Hitt serves as the Zhang Jindong Professor of Operations, Information and Decisions at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. His distinguished career spans multiple domains at the intersection of information technology, economics, and business strategy. As a leading scholar in IT productivity and innovation, he maintains an active research agenda while teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in information systems and data analysis.

Professor Hitt's research interests focus on the relationship between information technology and productivity, with particular emphasis on complementary factors such as organizational design and human capital that affect the value of IT investments. His current work explores the economics of IT labor mobility, enterprise software contracting, recommender systems' influence on consumer behavior, measurement of intangible assets, and pricing information goods. His research increasingly examines IT deployment in healthcare settings and the role of the IT workforce in relation to issues like offshoring and the H1-B visa program.

His research publications demonstrate consistent contributions to top-tier journals, with recent work analyzing how data analytics mitigates post-IPO innovation decline, digital capital accumulation in superstar firms, and the relationship between analytics skills and firm productivity. His publication record shows sustained scholarly output across multiple domains of information systems research.

• Best Paper Runner-up – Management Science, 2014
• Best Paper – Information Systems Research, 2013
• Multiple Wharton Excellence in Teaching Awards (2003, 2007-2008, 2011)
• David Hauck Award for Distinguished Teaching, 1999
• National Science Foundation Career Grant Recipient, 1998
• Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching, 1998

Professor Hitt teaches multiple courses including OPIM101 (Introduction to OPIM), OPIM105 (Data Analysis in VBA and SQL), OPIM469 (Information Strategy and Economics), and OPIM955 (Doctoral Seminar in IS Economics). His teaching focuses on information systems management, economics, data analysis, and advanced analytical methods. Beyond academia, he consults on IT outsourcing agreements and IT investment evaluation, and occasionally serves as an expert witness in technology-related litigation.