Avijit Sarkar Ph.D.
Director, Institute for Geospatial Impact; Professor, School of Business & Society
School of Business & Society
About
Avijit Sarkar is Professor of Business Analytics and Director of the Institute for Geospatial Impact (IGI) at the University of Redlands. His research examines the adoption and diffusion of broadband and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies and their impacts on individuals and organizations. He also investigates strategic technology adoption and innovation in geographic information systems (GIS) and location-based technologies across sectors, including business and industry.
Dr. Sarkar is co-author of three books, including the recent Global Digital Divides in the Covid-19 Era: Purposeful Use of the Internet and Technologies (De Gruyter, 2026). His research has been published in leading journals, including Decision Support Systems, Telecommunications Policy, Information Technology for Development, ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, European Journal of Operational Research, Computers & Operations Research, Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, and Journal of Information Systems Education. His work has received support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the University of Redlands Spatial Business Initiative, a distinctive partnership with Esri.
A leader in the fields of business analytics, geospatial technologies, and digital innovation, Dr. Sarkar serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Global Information Technology Management and the Journal of Information Systems Education. He also co-chairs the GeoArtificial Intelligence (GeoAI), Location Analytics, and GIS mini-track at the Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS).
As Director of IGI, Dr. Sarkar provides strategic leadership for geospatial initiatives that advance curricular innovation, new academic program development, agency partnerships, and community engagement. Through these initiatives, he fosters collaboration among academic, public sector, and industry partners expanding the institute’s external engagement, and developing sustainable opportunities for revenue generation. He also brings extensive experience in professional and executive education, having designed and led GIS training programs in the United States and internationally. At the University of Redlands, he teaches courses in business analytics, AI and data mining, operations management, and business GIS.
Dr. Sarkar holds a Ph.D. and an M.S. in Industrial Engineering from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo.
Education
- Ph.D., The State University of New York at Buffalo
- M.S., The State University of New York at Buffalo
- B.E., Jadavpur University, Calcutta, India
Professional Background
- Co-Principal Investigator, Geospatial Artificial Intelligence Pathways for Technician Education and Workforce Development, Grant, National Science Foundation (NSF) (October 2026 – Present)
- Professor, School of Business & Society, University of Redlands, Redlands CA (July 2016 – Present)
- Director, Institute for Geospatial Impact, University of Redlands (June 2024-Present)
- Co-PI, Spatial Business Initiative, University of Redlands – Esri partnership (2018 – 2025)
- Director, Graduate Programs, School of Business, University of Redlands, July 2016 – June 2018 (School was accredited by ACBSP for the first time in Nov – Dec 2017)
- Director, Center for Spatial Business (CSB), University of Redlands (2012-16, 2016-19, 2024-25)
- Associate Professor, School of Business, University of Redlands, Redlands CA (July 2010 – June 2016)
- Assistant Professor, School of Business, University of Redlands, Redlands CA (July 2005 – June 2010)
- Director, Undergraduate Programs, School of Business, University of Redlands (July 2007 – June 2011)
- Visiting Assistant Professor, Mechanical, Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering Department, University of Toledo, Toledo OH (August 2004 – May 2005)
Publications
J.B. Pick, and A. Sarkar. (2026). Global Digital Divides in the Covid-19 Era: Purposeful Use of the Internet and Technologies, De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110793888
T.A. Horan, J.B. Pick, and A. Sarkar. (2022). Spatial Business: Competing and Leading with Location Analytics, Redlands CA: Esri Press. (Equal Contribution by all authors)
J.B. Pick, & A. Sarkar (2015). The Global Digital Divides: Explaining Change. New York: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-46602-5
Sarkar, A. & Kerski, J.J. (2026) Understanding how location analytics is implemented in information systems and business education, Journal of Information Systems Education, 37(3), 413-435. https://doi.org/10.62273/MOPZ1492.
Pick, J. B. & Sarkar, A. (2026) Editorial: Enlarging opportunities of global digital divides for IS research, Journal of Global Information Technology Management, 29(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1080/1097198X.2025.2611690.
Pick, J. B., Ren, F., & Sarkar, A. (2025). Social media access and purposeful use in China: Geospatial patterns and socioeconomic and COVID-19 influences. Telecommunications Policy, 49(7), 103002. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.telpol.2025.103002.
Erskine, M. A., Pick, J. B., Satpathy, A., Díaz López, A., Sarkar, A., & Shin, N. (2024). Location Analytics in Information Systems: Opportunities for Research and Teaching. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 55, 535-565. https://doi.org/10.17705/1CAIS.05521.
Pick, J. B., Ren, F. & Sarkar, A. (2024). Digital Inequalities in China in 2020: Spatial and Multivariate Analysis. Applied Sciences, 14, 5385.
Sarkar, A., Pick, J. B., & Jabeen, S. (2023). Spatiotemporal Patterns and Socioeconomic Influences on Host Participation in Short-Term Rental Markets: Airbnb in San Francisco. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, 13(1), 4.
Sarkar, A., Pick, J.B., and Rosales, J. (2023). Multivariate and geospatial analysis of technology utilization in US counties, Telecommunications Policy. 47(7), 102572. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.telpol.2023.102572.
Pick, J.B., Sarkar, A, and Parrish, E. (2021). The Latin American and Caribbean Digital Divide: A Geospatial and Multivariate Analysis, Information Technology for Development, 27(2), 235-262.
Sarkar, A., Koohikamali, M. and Pick, J.B. (2020). Spatial and socioeconomic analysis of host participation in the sharing economy: Airbnb in New York City, Information Technology & People, 33(3), 983-1009.
Pick, J.B., Sarkar, A., & Rosales, J. (2019). Social Media Use in American Counties: Geography and Determinants. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, 8(9), 424-448.
J.B. Pick, O. Turetken, A.V. Deokar, and A. Sarkar. (2017). Location analytics and decision support: Reflections on recent advancements, a research framework, and the path ahead, Decision Support Systems, 99, 1-8.
Awards and Service
- Second runner-up for Best Conference Paper Award as co-author of Multivariate and Geospatial Analysis of Technology Utilization in US Counties, Americas Conference on Information Systems, San Diego (2016)
- University of Redlands Faculty Review Committee Award for Outstanding Research (2010)
- University of Redlands Faculty Review Committee Award for Outstanding Teaching (2009)
- School of Business Excellence in Research Award (2011, 2015)
- School of Business Excellence in Teaching Award (2009, 2015)
- School of Business Excellence in Service Award (2011, 2018)
- Graduate Student Excellence in Teaching Award, conferred by the Graduate School and the Graduate Student Association, The State University of New York at Buffalo (2003–2004)
Affiliations
- Association for Information Systems
- Association for Information Systems, Special Interest Group in GIS, secretary
- Decision Sciences Institute
- Faculty affiliate, Center for Spatial Business, University of Redlands
- Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences