Hunting for Gaps in the Study of Competition

While some people thrive on competition, others thrive on studying it. Meet Sruthi Thatchenkery — an STVP PhD student, in the department of Management Science & Engineering at Stanford, with a keen interest in understanding competition.

Thatchenkery grew up outside Washington, D.C. and holds an economics degree from Duke University. Prior to her arrival at Stanford, she worked as an analyst at Cornerstone Research. And earlier this year, she received a graduate research fellowship from the National Science Foundation. Thatchenkey sat down to chat about life as a PhD student, her research interests and why competition is still ripe for exploration.

STVP: What made you choose the Stanford Technology Ventures Program?

Thatchenkery: I knew that I wanted to study strategy and management, and at first I was looking at business schools. But when I read the papers that professors were reading, I noticed Kathy Eisenhardt and Riitta Katila were being cited often, and I discovered they were professors in Stanford Engineering rather than the Graduate School of Business. It sounded like a really unique experience, so I decided to give California a try.

STVP: Did you connect with faculty to learn more about the program?

Thatchenkery: Yes. First I checked out STVP’s website, and then I had the chance to meet Riitta at the Academy of Management conference. Riitta was very helpful and generous with her time, as she even agreed to meet with me before I applied to the program.

STVP: What makes STVP’s research program different?

Thatchenkery: One difference is the size. For example, Wharton has closer to 40 people in their department. But here, we are much more focused on technology and high-tech ventures. Because of the great topical fit between my interests and STVP, I thought the size of the program would be a real asset.

STVP: How do you decide what to explore as a PhD student?

Thatchenkery: As a first year, you may have broad interests, and we’re allowed to keep exploring. I know I’m interested in innovation, competition and rivalry, in particular. And what’s really great about the professors here is that as soon as you tell them something you might be interested in, they can really help you focus on the papers you should look at and let you know the open holes in the research that you may want to consider for a second year paper or dissertation. They really help you narrow down what you want to look at so you can eventually make a real contribution.

STVP: What do you mean by “holes” in the research?

Thatchenkery: I mean identifying gaps in the research. In the second year, you pick a topic to write a paper on, which involves a literature review and hopefully a very well defined topic, which is needed to discover a real gap to explore.

STVP: Are there challenges in choosing a topic?

Thatchenkery: Well, conceptually you can identify a real question or gap, but often a big challenge lies in accessing the data you need to truly study something empirically. I know this from my previous consulting work, as it was hard to even gain data from the clients you were working for.

STVP: So getting companies to share data impedes your work?

[quote_right]“… part of the reason there is such a gap is that it’s so hard to figure out what a firm’s competitive moves are and what was their intent in taking a particular action.”[/quote_right]Thatchenkery: It can, but in the case of competition, I think part of the reason there is such a gap, is that it’s so hard to figure out what a firm’s competitive moves are, and what was their intent in taking a particular action. So you usually need to get some inside access to the company.

STVP: What drew you to study competition and collaboration?

Thatchenkery: Initially, I think I was interested in collaboration as understanding formal alliances, or joint ventures versus competition. Now, I think my interests have gone more exclusively into the competition side.

STVP: Do you see any industries especially attractive for study?

Thatchenkery: I do have a particular interest in the auto industry, especially around alternative fuel technologies. Thinking of rivalry, it might be interesting to explore what happens when new technologies enter a mature market. How do you define who your competition is? For example, if you’re Tesla, are you competing with just other electric carmakers, or are you also competing with GM, Ford, and Toyota? I think it would be interesting, as a nascent market emerges, to see if the perceptions of who your competitors are changes over time.

STVP: So do you plan to return to consulting after completing your PhD?

Thatchenkery: I’m actually hoping to go into academia. I found that I prefer the scholarly nature of an academic setting.

Learn more about all of STVP’s PhD students and their research interests.