This is a collection of 43 essays about the economics and management of information technology markets. The first part of the book focuses on events, notable birth dates and longstanding trends. The unifying theme revolves around the role of human economic behavior in the face of uncertainty and confusion. The contributors' intent is to explain, educate and entertain - to go beyond the obvious. The next part contains writing about the Internet. It discusses the development of the online commercial world, and analyzes the macroeconomic side of the investment boom and bust related to Internet activities. It also focuses on the measurement of economic activity in the digital economy. In addition, the book deals with how computers get used in organizations and discusses the Microsoft antitrust case. Finally, there are two long essays about economic constraints on strategic behavior in markets where standards and platforms matter.
Author(s): Shane M. Greenstein
Year: 2004
Language: English
Pages: 294
Contents......Page 8
What is here......Page 10
How to write an essay about the economics of technology......Page 12
How did this start?......Page 14
Acknowledgments......Page 17
Part I. Musings......Page 20
1. Diamonds are Forever, Computers are Not......Page 22
Several phases......Page 23
The long view......Page 24
Down on one knee......Page 25
Why they’re (almost) right......Page 26
Why they miss the mark......Page 27
So, what’s to remember?......Page 29
Innovative for its time......Page 31
Clocks and toys......Page 32
Designers’ motives......Page 33
Parting thoughts......Page 35
Technologists love the life cycle......Page 36
What do buyers see?......Page 37
The sellers see it differently......Page 38
Parting observations......Page 39
5. Virulent Word of Mouse......Page 41
Get behind the strategy......Page 42
One key condition......Page 43
Another key condition......Page 44
It depends on the web......Page 46
Seeds of change......Page 48
Parallels......Page 49
Diffusion becomes personal......Page 51
Epilogue......Page 52
Part II. Observations, Fleeting and Otherwise......Page 54
7. Repetitive Stress Injuries......Page 56
The basics of insurance and RSIs......Page 57
Potential resolutions......Page 58
Muddling through......Page 59
8. To Have and to Have Not......Page 61
Does any of this matter?......Page 62
Are these divisions entirely bad?......Page 63
Looking forward......Page 64
9. Uncertainty, Prediction, and the Unexpected......Page 65
The difference between prediction and inevitability......Page 66
Ideas from unexpected corners......Page 67
Survival and planning......Page 68
Convergence and markets......Page 70
System and market levels......Page 71
Ultrasound revealed......Page 72
More than technological determinism......Page 73
11. Forecasting Commercial Change......Page 75
Waves of IT advances......Page 76
Why forecasting is difficult......Page 77
Epilogue......Page 78
12. The Tape Story Tapestry: Historical Research with Inaccessible Digital Information Technologies......Page 80
The unwinding of the tape story......Page 81
Serendipity in the archives......Page 82
Searching for electronic records......Page 84
Private incentives to keep historical data......Page 85
The title held promise......Page 87
The search focuses on IBM......Page 89
Unlocking the archives at IBM......Page 92
After information is stored will anyone be able to retrieve it?......Page 93
References......Page 95
Part III. Developing the Digital World......Page 96
13. The Salad Days of On-line Shopping......Page 98
Now we get to the interesting economics......Page 99
14. Don’t Call it a Highway!......Page 102
Highway economics......Page 103
What is the right metaphor?......Page 105
15. Commercializing the Internet......Page 107
TCP/IP origins......Page 108
Commercialization of the Internet......Page 109
Why commercialization was so explosive......Page 110
Vertical chain......Page 112
Creation of value......Page 113
Same opportunity, different strategy......Page 114
Adaptiveness......Page 115
17. A Revolution? How Do You Know?......Page 117
Pervasive and rapid change......Page 118
Pervasive and unsettled characteristics......Page 119
Business experimentation moving forward......Page 120
18. PCs, the Internet, and You......Page 123
Asymmetric treatment of access......Page 124
The end of common-carrier regulation......Page 125
The end of universal service......Page 126
Part IV. Internet Boom and Bust......Page 128
19. An Era of Impatience......Page 130
The source of impatience......Page 131
Carpe diem and all that......Page 133
Official definition......Page 135
High-tech downturn......Page 136
Why downturns are bad......Page 138
Adoption behavior......Page 140
Operational requirements......Page 142
Expectations......Page 143
22. An Inside Scoop on the High-Tech Stock Market Bust......Page 145
Just the facts......Page 146
Internet diffusion......Page 148
Attitudes......Page 149
It all came down......Page 150
23. The Crash in Competitive Telephony......Page 152
The setting......Page 153
Economics of local carrying capacity......Page 154
Economics of differentiated service......Page 155
Economics of the local regulatory environment......Page 156
Too much speculative entry......Page 157
24. Too Much Internet Backbone?......Page 158
Features of the Internet backbone......Page 159
Geographic dispersion of capacity......Page 160
Coordination or crazy building?......Page 161
Where are we today?......Page 162
Part V. Prices, Productivity and Growth......Page 164
The party line......Page 166
What’s wrong with the paradox......Page 167
Keeping the paradox in its cage......Page 169
Improving the party line......Page 170
26. Banking on the Information Age......Page 171
IT as critical infrastructure......Page 172
Technical change feeds on itself......Page 173
How IT benefits society......Page 174
Why IT’s improvements are hard to measure......Page 176
New economic phenomena require new statistics......Page 177
It’s easier to look where the light is brightest......Page 178
There’s no typical experience......Page 179
28. Pricing Internet Access......Page 181
Two myths about prices......Page 182
Hourly limitations......Page 183
Contracts for use prices......Page 184
29. E-Business Infrastructure......Page 186
What do they do?......Page 187
What is infrastructure?......Page 188
What should be left to markets?......Page 190
30. The Price is Not Right......Page 192
Counting accurately but wisely?......Page 193
The list goes on and on......Page 195
Changing communities......Page 196
Epilogue......Page 197
Part VI. Enterprise Computing......Page 198
31. Client-Server Demand and Legacy Systems......Page 200
Enterprise computing and operations......Page 201
Some specific lessons......Page 202
Competition between old and new......Page 203
32. Upgrading, Catching up and Shooting for Par......Page 205
Upgrading grudgingly......Page 206
Best versus average practice......Page 207
Narrowing the gap…a little......Page 208
33. How Co-Invention Shapes our Market......Page 210
Patterns of behavior......Page 211
Why co-invention matters......Page 212
Some implications......Page 213
34. Which Industries Use the Internet?......Page 215
Participation......Page 216
Enhancement......Page 217
Broader perspective......Page 218
35. Where Did the Internet Go?......Page 220
An arising global village......Page 221
An unrelenting tyranny......Page 222
Rural view......Page 223
Global village 1, urban tyranny 1: Who’s winning?......Page 224
Part VII. Microsoft, from the Sublime to the Serious......Page 226
The software salesman......Page 228
The lawyer......Page 229
The nightmare......Page 230
Closing credits......Page 231
37. Return of the Jaded......Page 233
Soft Wars......Page 234
Return of the jaded......Page 235
The Umpire Strikes Back......Page 236
Lessons learned......Page 238
38. Bill, Act Like a Mensch!......Page 240
What is a mensch?......Page 241
Basic lessons in being a mensch......Page 242
Act like one too......Page 243
Managing like a mensch......Page 244
The future......Page 245
39. Aggressive Business Tactics: Are There Limits?......Page 247
Traditional antitrust norms......Page 248
Dominant firms......Page 249
Twisting arms......Page 250
40. Hung up on AT&T......Page 252
There is precedence......Page 253
Stock value in the long run......Page 254
Competition in the long run......Page 255
41. Falling Through the Cracks at Microsoft......Page 257
Another framework......Page 258
Two frameworks and a specific firm......Page 259
Part VIII. Platforms and Standards......Page 262
42. Markets, Standards and Information Infrastructure......Page 264
Definitions and distinctions......Page 265
Short-run analysis......Page 267
Many decision-makers and too many cooks......Page 268
Dueling locks-in users......Page 272
A single chef makes a menu of favorite recipes......Page 274
Long-run analysis: changing the basic recipe......Page 276
Technological innovation and industry evolution......Page 278
Standardization and the evolution of the information infrastructure......Page 279
Lock-in and control of technical options......Page 281
Organizational innovation or innovation by organizations......Page 282
Standards development organizations......Page 284
Appropriate standards?......Page 287
43. Industrial Economics and Strategy: Computing Platforms......Page 289
Platforms......Page 290
Concentration......Page 291
Standardization......Page 292
Focus on the platform, not the firm......Page 293
New platforms......Page 294
Mobility of platforms......Page 295
Vertical disintegration......Page 297
Competitive crashes......Page 298
Diffusion of client-server platforms......Page 300
Formulating strategy when platforms are fluid......Page 301
Persistence of incumbents......Page 302
Firm contact in vertically disintegrated markets......Page 303
Use of structural reform as a policy instrument......Page 304
Parting words......Page 305
Index......Page 308
