• Home
• Browse
• Register
• Login
• About
• Contact

Information Rules: A Strategic Guide To The Network Economy

• ISBN: 9780875848631
• Author: Carl Shapiro and Hal R Varian
• Description:
  In a marketplace that depends so thoroughly on cutting-edge information technology, can classic economic principles still offer any real strategic value? Yes! say Carl Shapiro and Hal Varian. In "Information Rules", they reveal that many long-standing economic concepts can provide the insight and understanding necessary to succeed in the information age. Shapiro and Varian argue that if managers seriously want to develop effective strategies for competing in the new economy, they must understand the fundamental economics of information technology. Whether information takes the form of software code or recorded music, is published in a book or magazine, or even posted on a web site, managers must know how to evaluate the consequences of pricing, protecting, and planning new versions of their information products, services, and systems. The first book to distill the economics of information and networks into practical business strategies, "Information Rules" is a guide to the winning moves that can help business leaders-from writers, lawyers, and finance professionals to executives in the entertainment, publishing, and hardware and software industries navigate successfully through the information economy. From the Publisher The book is clearly written, and easy to readIf you think you can apply traditional economics to the new information economy, then you are ... right. That is the message from the economist authors of this informative and readable book from Shapiro and Varian.The book uses a range of products from the network economy to outline strategies for pricing information goods. These range from the obvious (introductory pricing, competitive upgrades, basic versus deluxe) through to more complex strategies such as versioning (producing different versions of a product for different groups of customers - and charging different prices accordingly).The book is full of examples, ranging from HDTV and railroads through to the computing industry. For me, some of the most interesting examples come from the content side, and this includes Encyclopaedia Britannica's move to supplement its hard copy business with digital delivery.In fact, there is a lot of overlap in the book between the very different markets of software, hardware and content, and this can make it difficult sometimes to apply the rules to the area in which you are interested (probably "content" if you bought the book after the hype). Also, I'm not convinced that there really is a direct comparison between these very different industries. For instance, there is much talk about network economies and lock-in (with companies using closed standards) which I believe isn't directly applicable to the information content industry as I would define it.However, all of the examples are suitably analysed and each chapter ends with a summary of the rules learned. This is a good way to make you think about the interesting issues raised.The book is clearly written, and easy to read with little jargon. Much of this material you will probably have read something about elsewhere (first mover advantage, network effects and externalities, economies of scale, etc.) but it is nice to have it clearly summarised in one place.This is not, however, a "How to make money by selling information on the Internet" book for Net entrepreneurs. Also, it may not contain much new material for those who already work in the industries covered. However, even though it may tell you some things you already know, it is well worth a read for bringing it all together and getting you thinking about the important issues raised.FreePint - June 1999

• Pages: 352
• Format: Hardback
• Genre: Computers and Internet
• Rating: Not yet rated

Copyright © 2008 - Lee Penney | Terms & Conditions | FAQ