At ESSEC, innovative pedagogy is a cornerstone of our mission - a goal that is of paramount importance with the ever-evolving business and education landscapes. The rise of artificial intelligence and tools like ChatGPT means that educators and companies alike need to adapt their offer - and knowing how to adapt is no easy feat. Dr. Harris Kyriakou, Associate Professor of Information Systems, Decision Sciences & Statistics and Holder of the Media & Digital Chair, has risen to the occasion by publishing the first case study by a business school on ChatGPT. This case study recently received three distinctions in this year’s Case Centre Awards: 1) Overall Winner, 2) Outstanding Compact Case competition winner and 3) Bestselling case.
Academic award season: Harris Kyriakou takes home Case Centre gold
26.2.2024
With Harris Kyriakou
This is an impressive achievement, as it’s the only second time in the history of the awards that a case has won both an award and a competition. It also faced stiff competition, with other cutting-edge case studies coming out of Harvard, London Business School, INSEAD and more. Winners are awarded based on the case’s quality, as evaluated by a panel of expert judges, as well as on its worldwide popularity.
The case, called “ChatGPT vs Google and the Future of Search”, was released in January 2023. It is already in use at ESSEC in the MiM, MBA, EMBA, ExecEd programs, including in the Media & Digital Chair and the new AI & Leadership executive education program. It explores how Google can react to the launch of OpenAI’s chatbot, the now seemingly omnipresent ChatGPT. The case study explains how ChatGPT became such a hit and asks participants to compare the two companies and their products, including the limitations and strengths of each. Participants are challenged to think about the online search market, how it could develop in light of the rise of AI, and how users approach online searching. Dr. Kyriakou designed it in such a way to spark class discussions without the need for an in-depth technical background, and to suit courses on strategy, technology, AI management and the digital transformation. With AI here to stay, the next generation of employees and managers needs to adapt accordingly, and Dr. Kyriakou recognized this need and provided a new tool for AI management pedagogy.
Dr. Kyriakou is no stranger to award season, having been featured on last year’s Poets & Quants 2023 Best 40-Under-40 MBA Professors, granted the Early Career Award by the Association for Information Systems in 2022, and named “best paper” by the Academy of Management and by the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences. His research interests explore how organizations can create value outside their normal business activities and take place at the intersection of artificial intelligence, digital strategy, and data-informed decision-making. His work has been published in leading business and information systems journals, including Academy of Management Review and MIS Quarterly.
He currently teaches courses on managing IT in the digital age and on artificial intelligence in a range of pre-experience and post-experience programs at ESSEC.
Dr. Kyriakou holds a Ph.D. from Stevens Institute of Technology, an M.S. from Carnegie Mellon University and a B.Sc. from the University of Piraeus. Prior to joining ESSEC, Prof. Kyriakou was a professor at IESE Business School.
