|
Lecture notes
- Part
I: Concepts of IT/IS Economics
- Part
II: Game Theory
- Part
III: Case Study
- Presentation
and discussion
Course
Overview
Economics of
Information Systems has gained considerable momentum recently as evidenced
by both large number of related papers published in leading journals and faculty
composition in leading business schools. This course introduces economics
methods to study the role of information and networks technologies in the
emerging digital/Internet economy. The course covers modeling methods (such
as game theory and industrial organization), economics issues (such as
information asymmetry, network externality, incentive design, and product
differentiation, cooperation and competition), and applications (such as
digital media pricing, network pricing, online reputation and trust
mechanism, P2P networks, online community, and electronic market). This
course offers an exposition of how research problems are formulated and
refined to a working definition, and how the actual research is conducted
and reported.
Utilizing the economics
methods, the course aims to help students transit from a consumer of
research to an active researcher and a contributor of insight. We will
achieve the course objectives through lectures, individual reading and
presentation of papers, class discussions, and development of a team
project. By the end of the semester, each graduate student is expected to
have a broad understanding of the methodologies, themes, and research
questions that identify the core identity of economics of the information
and networks research field.
Course
Outlines
- Introduction
to Economics of Information Technology
- Game-theoretic
Modeling
- Information
Asymmetry
- Incentive
Mechanism (Contract) Design
- Competition
and Cooperation
- Digital/Information
Goods
- Networks/Internet
Pricing
- Reputation
and Trust Mechanisms
- Applications
(Electronic Commerce, Online Community, Peer-to-Peer Networks, DRM
technologies, etc.)
Reference Book(s)
- Shapiro,C. and Varian, 1999, Information Rules. Harvard Business School
Press.
- Gibbons,
R, 1993. Game Theory for Applied Economists. Princeton University
Press.
- Shy,
Oz. 1996. Industrial Organization: Theory and Applications. MIT
Press.
Reading
We will select the
general articles from leading IT-Business Magazines such as Business
Week and Business 2.0, and research papers from top journals,
such as Management Science, Information System Research, Decision
Support Systems, IEEE TKDE, IEEE/ACM Trans. on Networking and
International Journal of Electronic Commerce. The scope of the
papers will include the areas of digital media, online community,
electronic market, and new Internet applications.
Class
Participation
All students are
expected to be ready to discuss the assigned articles on the class meeting
day.
The following are some
suggestions for reading and discussing the articles:
- Be
familiar with the assigned readings and be able to identify the
questions.
- Evaluate
the paper’s approach to the research question.
- Highlight
theoretical modeling issues related to the paper.
- Suggest
a research question that would extend the work.
Homework
The purpose of
assigning homework is to let students practice and familiarize the
methodologies we discuss in the class. All students are expected to solve
the problems by himself, however, the solutions of
the homework can be submitted individually or by a group.
Term
Project
At the end of the
class, students (individually or by a group) are required to turn in a term
project. The following are some suggestions for the term
project:
- Select
an interesting, timely, and promising IT related topic.
- Emphasize
the importance of the chosen topic (technology and business
opportunities).
- Utilize
the discussed methodologies to model the economic behaviors and derive
managerial implications.
Grading
- Homework
(20%)
- Participation
(20%)
- Presentation
(30%)
- Term
Project (30%)
|
