Network Externalities in Microcomputer Software: An Econometric Analysis of the Spreadsheet Market (Classic Reprint) - Softcover

Erik Brynjolfsson

 
9781333150013: Network Externalities in Microcomputer Software: An Econometric Analysis of the Spreadsheet Market (Classic Reprint)

Synopsis

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.

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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).

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