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The cover of Information Rules

Information Rules

Carl Shapiro, Hal R. Varian

How should you price, version and protect information products when classic supply and demand teaching no longer helps?

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At a glance

Author
Carl Shapiro, Hal R. Varian

Why read it

  • You will learn how to set prices for different customer groups and design product lines for information goods
  • You will know that companies have wide freedom to charge different prices through versions, which rarely draw antitrust attack
  • You will weigh the authors' expectation that governments will not step back, because information markets tend toward concentration and standards

Who it is for

  • A software executive pricing a new subscription
  • A publisher deciding what content to give away
  • A strategist worried about being locked into one vendor

Contents

  1. Preface
  2. INFORMATION
  3. The Cost of Producing Information
  4. Managing Intellectual Property
  5. Information as an “Experience Good”
  6. The Economics of Attention
  7. TECHNOLOGY
  8. Systems Competition
  9. Lock-In and Switching Costs
  10. Positive Feedback, Network Externalities, and Standards
  11. POLICY
  12. HOW WE DIFFER
  13. THE COST OF PRODUCING INFORMATION
  14. COSTS AND COMPETITION
  15. When Information Is Commoditized
  16. Market Structures for Information Goods
  17. Differentiation
  18. Cost Leadership
  19. First-Mover Advantages
  20. PERSONALIZING YOUR PRODUCT
  21. KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER
  22. Registration and Billing
  23. Observation
  24. PRICING YOUR PRODUCT
  25. PERSONALIZED PRICING
  26. Personalized Pricing in Traditional Industries
  27. Personalized Pricing on the Internet
  28. Lessons in Personalized Pricing
  29. GROUP PRICING
  30. Price Sensitivity
  31. Network Effects
  32. Lock-In
  33. Sharing Arrangements
  34. The Electric Library
  35. LESSONS
  36. DESIGNING YOUR PRODUCT LINE
  37. Delay
  38. User Interface
  39. Convenience
  40. Image Resolution
  41. Speed of Operation
  42. Flexibility of Use
  43. Capability
  44. Features and Functions
  45. Comprehensiveness
  46. Annoyance
  47. Support
  48. ADJUSTING PRICE AND QUALITY
  49. Discounting Your High-End Product
  50. Value-Subtracted Versions
  51. PITFALLS—AND HOW TO AVOID THEM
  52. ON-LINE AND OFF-LINE VERSIONS
  53. HOW MANY VERSIONS?
  54. Analyze Your Market
  55. Analyze Your Product
  56. GOLDILOCKS PRICING
  57. CUSTOMIZING BROWSER AND CONTENT
  58. BUNDLING
  59. Dispersion in Customer Value
  60. Other Reasons for Bundling

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