Information rules
Subtitle: a strategic guide to the network economy
By: Carl Shapiro, Hal R. Varian.
Contributors: Varian, Hal R.
Publisher: Harvard Business School Press
Published: 1998
Place of publication: Boston, Mass
Language: eng
Format: hardcover
Number of pages: 352
Subjects: Information technology -- Economic aspects; Information society
Description: Information Goods - from movies and music to software code and stock quotes - have supplanted industrial goods as the key drivers of world markets. Confronted by this New Economy, many instinctively react by searching for a corresponding New Economics to guide their business decisions.

Executives charged with rolling out cutting-edge software products or on-line versions of their magazines are tempted to abandon the classic lessons of economics, and rely instead on an ever changing roster of trends, buzzwords, and analogies that promise to guide strategy in the information age.

Not so fast, say authors Carl Shapiro and Hal R. Varian. In Information Rules they warn managers, "Ignore basic economic principles at your own risk. Technology changes. Economic laws do not." Understanding these laws and their relevance to information goods is critical when fashioning today's successful competitive strategies. Information Rules introduces and explains the economic concepts needed to navigate the evolving network economy.

Information Rules will help business leaders and policy makers - from executives in the entertainment, publishing, hardware, and software industries to lawyers, finance professionals, and writers - make intelligent decisions about their information assets.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Contents
pagenum: vii; title: Preface
pagenum: ix; label: 1
title: The Information Economy
pagenum: 1; label: 2
title: Pricing Information
pagenum: 19; label: 3
title: Versioning Information
pagenum: 53; label: 4
title: Rights Management
pagenum: 83; label: 5
title: Recognizing Lock-In
pagenum: 135; label: 6
title: Managing Lock-In
pagenum: 135; label: 7
title: Networks and Positive Feedback
pagenum: 173; label: 8
title: Cooperation and Compatibility
pagenum: 227; label: 9
title: Waging a Standards War
pagenum: 261; label: 10
title: Information Policy
pagenum: 297; title: Further Reading
pagenum: 319; title: Notes
pagenum: 327; title: Bibliography
pagenum: 329; title: Index
pagenum: 335; title: About the Authors
pagenum: 351