- Unbound
- Publisher: Harvard Business School Press (Oct 1998)
- ISBN-10: 1578515300
- ISBN-13: 978-1578515301
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
- See Complete Table of Contents
Information Rules: A Strategic Guide to the Network Economy
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Chapter 1 of Information Rules begins with a description of the change brought on by technology at the close of the century--but the century described is not this one, it's the late 1800s. One hundred years ago, it was an emerging telephone and electrical network that was transforming business. Today it's the Internet. The point? While the circumstances of a particular era may be unique, the underlying principles that describe the exchange of goods in a free- market economy are the same. And the authors, Carl Shapiro and Hal Varian, should know. Shapiro is Professor of Business Strategy at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, and has also served as chief economist at the Antitrust Division of the US Justice Department. Varian is the Dean of the School of Information Management and Systems at University of California, Berkeley. Together they offer a deep knowledge of how economic systems work coupled with first-hand experience of today's network economy. They write:
Sure, today's business world is different in a myriad of ways from that of a century ago. But many of today's managers are so focused on the trees of technological change that they fail to see the forest: the underlying economic forces that determine success and failure.Shapiro and Varian go to great lengths to purge this book of the technobabble and forecasting of an electronic "woo-woo land" that's typical in books of this genre. Instead, with their feet on the ground, they consider how to market and distribute goods in the network economy, citing examples from industries as diverse as airlines, software, entertainment and communications. The authors cover issues such as pricing, intellectual property, versioning, lock-in, compatibility, and standards. Clearly written and presented, Information Rules belongs on the bookshelf of anyone who has an interest in today's network economy--entrepreneurs, managers, investors, students. If there was ever a textbook written on how to do business in the information age, this book is it. Highly recommended. --Harry C. Edwards, Amazon.com --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product 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.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book is a very strong and accessible primer on the underlying economics of the information and network economy. It is NOT a bunch of speculative conjectures on the next new hyped up techno-babble concept and/or technology that will soon revolutionize the world. If you're looking for spin, whether to guide you in business choices or co-op for you own marketing, you won't find it here. The point of the book is to clearly communicate economic theories that can help one make sense of the economic of the computer/internet/information economy. As such, it may seem a bit academic (though I found the real world examples provided very grounding).
I would heartily recommend it -- if you are interested in learning some concepts to help you make sense of the *NEW* economy. The authors do a great job of avoiding the typical economic jargon that makes these sorts of ideas opaque. However, like any academic book, it requires that you take the concepts you learn from it and apply them YOURSELF to the business world around us. Unlike a lot of HYPE TECHNO books, these concepts will not go OUT OF STYLE. They are basic, fundamental and informative, if you're willing to think a little bit about them.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
An interesting and informative read on network economics. Plenty of examples and the authors have concealed their economic arguments in very simple terms.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book fills a critical need for rigorous analysis of the issues facing managers in the emerging information economy.
Information technologies have advanced rapidly but business knowledge has not kept up. That's why I am glad that Shapiro and Varian have taken the time to make the insights from economics more broadly accessible and relevant with this book.
This book should be required reading for business managers working with the Internet or related information technologies. I am including it on the reading lists for my MBA classes MIT.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Road map for the information economy
I first read Information Rules in 1999-2000, enjoyed it, and kept it on shelf. 8 years later, I am reading it again, it is as fresh as it was then, because it is grounded in solid... Read more
Published on 19 Nov 2007 by Mubbasher Khanzada
Outstanding!
An outstanding book which has influenced both academics and practitioners. There is extensive coverage of both firm-level and industry-level issues. Read more
Published on 15 Jan 2007 by K. Maroukian
MICROECONOMICS OVERCOMES DISBELIEF STALLS ABOUT INFORMATION
New technologies always suffer in their development because people overestimate them in the near term and underestimate them in the long term. Read more
Published on 29 May 2004 by Donald Mitchell
Keep this Network Economy strategic guide close to your hand
You will have to come back to it many times to improve continually your understanding and practices in the network economy... Read more
Published on 23 July 2002 by Jean-Claude LE GAL
A must read for any information goods executive
The Gist:
"Technology changes. Economic laws do not." Ignore basic economic principles at your own risk. Read more
"Technology changes. Economic laws do not." Ignore basic economic principles at your own risk. Read more
Published on 21 Dec 2001 by Charles Heaton- The Fusebox (ch@thefusebox.com)
Excellent work!
A very practical and concise blueprint to the network economy. Read it and understand the differences between the old and the new economy.
Published on 25 Jan 2001 by Marque Pierre Sondergaard
Easy read, good microeconomic fundamentals and examples
It may to too remedial for industry veterans or any recent graduate from an MBA program. It is, however, an excellent primer for those entering the IT industry. Read more
Published on 3 Sep 1999
It all comes down to economics!
Anybody looking to invest in a high tech company should read this book - it made me realize exactly why companies like Microsoft and AOL are dominating.
Published on 20 July 1999
This is first time to contact to your company.
Information Rules:A Strategic Guide to the Network Economy by Carl Shapiro.Hal R. Varian
Published on 7 July 1999
Understanding the Network Economy is easy!
Understanding the Network Economy is easy, why? The rules to understand you already know. It is not magic, the same rules that businesses and markets, followed for many rules... Read more
Published on 25 Jun 1999
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