Network Externalities in Microcomputer Software (Classic Reprint)

Erik Brynjolfsson, Chris F. Kemerer

ISBN 10: 1333150016 / ISBN 13: 9781333150013

Published by Forgotten Books, 2018

About this Item

Print on Demand. This book explores the economic implications of software's unique qualities: low marginal costs but high fixed development costs. The author constructs and evaluates econometric models to determine which product features are most influential in purchase and pricing decisions for microcomputer software, with a special emphasis on identifying the effects of standards and network externalities. The primary example used is the microcomputer spreadsheet market for the period 1987-1992. The author finds that hedonic regression techniques can estimate the value users place on specific features, and that network externalities significantly influence the value of products, with each 1% increase in a product's installed base enabling an additional price premium. Purchasers also value adherence to standards, such as the Lotus menu tree interface, with a premium of approximately 30% of the average price in the sample. The results indicate opportunities created by changes in technology architecture, and offer guidance into current public policy issues such as the value of intellectual property in software. This book is a reproduction of an important historical work, digitally reconstructed using state-of-the-art technology to preserve the original format. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in the book. Seller Inventory # 9781333150013_0

Bibliographic Details

Title: Network Externalities in Microcomputer ...

Publisher: Forgotten Books

Publication Date: 2018

Binding: Paperback

Condition: New

Book Type: print-on-demand item

About this title

Synopsis:

Excerpt from Network Externalities in Microcomputer Software: An Econometric Analysis of the Spreadsheet Market

These five factors the large market, the low marginal cost, the high learning costs, the network externalities, and the complementarity relationship with hardware provide opportunities for vendors to price their products strategically, taking into account factors such as industry standards, competitor's installed bases, and discontinuities in the hardware market.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

About the Author:

Erik Brynjolfsson, Schussel Family Professor at MIT's Sloan School of Management and Director of the MIT Center for Digital Business, is the coeditor of "Understanding the Digital Economy: Data, Tools, and Research" (MIT Press).