In my dissertation I am refining Transaction Cost Theory to gain insights into software procurement decisions. Sparked by an interest in open source software and the question of how software procurement decisions within a firm change with the emergence of high-quality and business-ready open source software, I came to realize that Transaction Cost Theory needs to be expanded to accurately apply to software make-or-buy decisions. In particular, I am proposing that when a software application is embedded in a technical architecture and organizational environment, the costs of failure include a readjustment cost that is in fact an important type of asset specificity not included in the original TCE framework. My work refines Transaction Cost Theory for software procurement in general and explains the factors affecting the most efficient choice between buying, building, or using open source software.

I presented a first version of these ideas at ICIS in 2005 and have contributed to several other journal publications and conference proceedings in the area of open source. Other research interests include e-Commerce, digital communities, and trust-building mechanisms for consumer-to-consumer online transaction platforms.

In addition to research, I enjoy teaching. I have taught the Introduction to MIS course and Computer Programming in Business (with Java) course to undergraduate students at UGA. For my teaching I was awarded the campus-wide Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award of the University of Georgia in 2007.

Before joining the PhD program in Fall 2003 I worked three years as a consultant for Deloitte Business Consulting GmbH (formerly Arthur Andersen Business Consulting GmbH). In 2000 I earned my master's degree in business administration and economics at the University of Hohenheim in Germany. For my master's thesis I
conducted a survey in Knowledge Management.

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