In nascent markets, deciding what to measure
is one of the most consequential strategic choices there is.

I study how measurement shapes innovation and entrepreneurship — how the metrics we choose steer what firms build, what investors back, and which directions of innovation get pursued at all.

UCLA ANDERSON — ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF STRATEGY
PRICE CENTER & EASTON CENTER — FACULTY AFFILIATE
MIT — PHD

UCLA Anderson School of ManagementMIT
01 — About
Portrait of Jane Wu

I am an Assistant Professor of Strategy at UCLA, where I am intrigued by how measurement shapes innovation and entrepreneurship. When a technology is new, there is often no agreed-upon way to gauge quality or progress. My research examines how the metrics we choose in these settings steer what firms build, what investors back, and which directions of innovation get pursued at all.

My work spans regulatory metrics, entrepreneurial strategy, and how investors and entrepreneurs evaluate one another when hard data is scarce. I actively bridge research and practice as a faculty affiliate of the Price Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation and the Easton Technology Management Center.

I received my PhD and SM from MIT, and a BCom and BA from Queen’s University. Prior to graduate school, I co-founded an education software startup (out of a leading Canadian entrepreneurship program and accelerator), worked in venture capital in Toronto and Boston, and conducted research at the Harvard Business School ISC.

02 — Featured researchAll research →
03 — ResearchAll research →

Peer-Reviewed Publications N = 3

Working Papers N = 4

Measuring the Frontier: How Figures of Merit Shape Innovation

Selling Science: The Role of Framing in the Market for Innovative Ideas

with Melody Chang

05 — Business writingAll writing & cases →
06 — Contact

jane.wu (a) anderson.ucla.edu
110 Westwood Plaza
Los Angeles, CA 90095

Google Scholar →