Diamonds Are Forever, Computers Are Not: Economic And Strategic Management In Computing Markets Economic and Strategic Management in Computing Markets

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. 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 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 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.--book Jacket. Part I Musings 1 -- 1 Diamonds Are Forever, Computers Are Not 3 -- 2 A Birthday Even A Curmudgeon Could Love 7 -- 3 It Has Bugs, But The Games Are Out Of This World 12 -- 4 The Biology Of Technology 17 -- 5 Virulent Word Of Mouse 22 -- 6 An Earful About Zvi's E-mail 29 -- Part Ii Observations, Fleeting And Otherwise 35 -- 7 Repetitive Stress Injuries 37 -- 8 To Have And To Have Not 42 -- 9 Uncertainty, Prediction, And The Unexpected 46 -- 10 When Technologies Converge 51 -- 11 Forecasting Commercial Change 56 -- 12 The Tape Story Tapestry: Historical Research With Inaccessible Digital Information Technologies 61 -- Part Iii Developing The Digital World 77 -- 13 The Salad Days Of On-line Shopping 79 -- 14 Don't Call It A Highway! 83 -- 15 Commercializing The Internet 88 -- 16 Building The Virtual World 93 -- 17 A Revolution? How Do You Know? 98 -- 18 Pcs, The Internet, And You 104 -- Part Iv Internet Boom And Bust 109 -- 19 An Era Of Impatience 111 -- 20 Shortfalls, Downturns And Recessions 116 -- 21 Explaining Booms, Busts And Errors 121 -- 22 An Inside Scoop On The High-tech Stock Market Bust 126 -- 23 The Crash In Competitive Telephony 133 -- 24 Too Much Internet Backbone? 139 -- Part V Prices, Productivity And Growth 145 -- 25 Debunking The Productivity Paradox 147 -- 26 Banking On The Information Age 152 -- 27 Measure For Measure In The New Economy 157 -- 28 Pricing Internet Access 162 -- 29 E-business Infrastructure 167 -- 30 The Price Is Not Right 173 -- Part Vi Enterprise Computing 179 -- 31 Client-server Demand And Legacy Systems 181 -- 32 Upgrading, Catching Up And Shooting For Par 186 -- 33 How Co-invention Shapes Our Market 191 -- 34 Which Industries Use The Internet? 196 -- 35 Where Did The Internet Go? 201 -- Part Vii Microsoft, From The Sublime To The Serious 207 -- 36 Not A Young And Restless Market 209 -- 37 Return Of The Jaded 214 -- 38 Bill, Act Like A Mensch! 221 -- 39 Aggressive Business Tactics: Are There Limits? 228 -- 40 Hung Up On At & T 233 -- 41 Falling Through The Cracks At Microsoft 238 -- Part Viii Platforms And Standards 243 -- 42 Markets, Standards And Information Infrastructure 245 -- 43 Industrial Economics And Strategy: Computing Platforms 270. Editor Shane Greenstein. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.