MBA Online

ICS , Graduate School of International Corporate Strategy

[Term 4] The Information Economy (R. Davies) (2009/Term 3&4 (Spring&Summer))

Advances in digital technologies and network services continue to fuel expansion of the information economy. Epitomized by companies such as Amazon, Google, Yahoo!, eBay, Apple, Microsoft, Nokia, NTT DoCoMo, Sony, and Nintendo, the information economy is at the leading edge of new business models for selling products and services, with and without analogues in the traditional economy.

At the center of this evolution are software platform ecosystems, consisting of constellations of mutually dependent communities of businesses and consumers with a symbiotic relationship to one another that create value through the coordinated efforts of their members. Analysis of the underlying economics of these ecosystems provides important insights into business models, product design, pricing structures, and competitive dynamics, as well as the variable nature of the upstream and downstream integration of software platforms with hardware manufacturers, content providers, application and middleware developers, and end users.

These developments have also given rise to profound changes in the retail market, both traditional and virtual, as exemplified in Long Tail economics. The most successful Internet businesses today are capitalizing on new digital technologies that drive demand down the Long Tail distribution curve and create markets of infinite choice for consumers. By applying principles from economics, history, and business analysis to case studies and other media sources, this course aims to identify the fundamental trends that are shaping the information economy, forming new industries, transforming others, and often sweeping away old ones in a wake of “creative destruction.”
Course Structure

The course begins with introductory lectures on (1) the Long Tail, which currently manifests itself largely as an Internet phenomenon, and (2) the underlying features of software platform ecosystems. By mapping these ecosystems, we will discover important principles that influence pricing, design, organization, and the governance of businesses operating in the information economy. Subsequent lessons apply these principles to detailed analyses of some of the most prominent platform-based industries today, including personal computers, smart phones, video games, and digital media (music, movies, and books), identifying sustainable business models and the key technological drivers and revenue streams that lead to profitability. Following an investigation into issues involving copyrights in cyberspace, the focus shifts to an examination of business models that underlie Web-centric services, such as search and advertising, online auctions and payment systems, e-tailing, and social networking. The choice of cases, articles, and topics is updated each year. In the past, the course included cases on Apple iPod/iTunes, Electronic Arts, NetFlix, BitTorrent, Google, Amazon, eBay, NTT DoCoMo, Mobile Felica, and LinkedIn.
Teaching Method

The course will be taught using interactive lectures and class discussions based on assigned cases and other readings. There will be a midterm paper and an in-class final examination (open book), requiring focused analysis of specific industry trends and business models that will allow students to apply insights discovered in class and formulate their own views.

ECON6011
Microeconomic Theory
General Information
This course covers how consumers and producers make choices and how these choices are equilibrated by the market. In the part on choice theory, utility maximisation and profit maximisation problems, together with corresponding dual problems, are considered. Optimal value functions are studied and used to perform comparative static analysis. Restrictions imposed by optimisation on consumer and producer behaviour are discussed. Choices under uncertainty are also investigated. The second part mainly covers the equilibrium in perfectly competitive markets and the two fundamental welfare theorems. It will also discuss the consequences of market failures, including public goods, externalities, and market power. Game theory will also be introduced.

MFIN7002A
Fundamentals of Asset Valuation II
5
Chan, Alex W. H.
General Information
Asset valuation is the core skills of financial analysts and asset managers. This course covers fundamental asset valuation concepts and techniques in three major areas: basic quantitative methods and portfolio management, asset pricing models and alternative investments. Essential elements in portfolio management are the risk and return tradeoff, efficient frontier development, and the optimal portfolio choice. Asset pricing models of the CAPM (Capital Asset Pricing Model) and APT (Arbitrage Pricing Theory) will be discussed. Alternative investments cover topics for hedge funds and investment company management.
MFIN7002B
Fundamentals of Asset Valuation II
5
Chan, Alex W. H.
General Information
Asset valuation is the core skills of financial analysts and asset managers. This course covers fundamental asset valuation concepts and techniques in three major areas: basic quantitative methods and portfolio management, asset pricing models and alternative investments. Essential elements in portfolio management are the risk and return tradeoff, efficient frontier development, and the optimal portfolio choice. Asset pricing models of the CAPM (Capital Asset Pricing Model) and APT (Arbitrage Pricing Theory) will be discussed. Alternative investments cover topics for hedge funds and investment company management.

Marketing

The Marketing Department continuously strives to achieve excellence in research. The faculty members are renowned for high-quality, cutting-edge research, publishing their work in the top international marketing journals, such as Journal of Marketing Research (JMR), Journal of Consumer Research (JCR) and Marketing Science (MS). The Marketing faculty is ranked seventh in the world in terms of the number of papers published in JMR and JCR in 2000-2006 (ahead of Berkeley, Chicago, Carnegie Mellon, INSEAD, MIT, Stanford and Yale).

The goal of the PhD program is to develop outstanding scholars who are able to secure academic jobs at top international universities and to become first-rate contributors to marketing knowledge.

Our program provides solid training in the theory and methods of various subfields of marketing such as consumer behavior and marketing models. Apart from gaining in-depth knowledge, students gain hands-on experience in the research process from the very early stages of the program.

The faculty is highly committed to the PhD program. State-of-the art courses are offered on themes such as information processing, behavioral game theory, experimental designs, judgment and decision making, choice modeling, and analytical marketing science. These courses and the research training are very demanding but at the same time highly rewarding.

A well-equipped behavioral lab and many opportunities for research collaboration with the faculty contribute to the learning experience. In addition, students benefit from two research centers housed in the Marketing Department – the Center for Experimental Business Research and the Center for Marketing and Distribution. Some of our students have published papers in top research journals. The program offers students a very good intellectual environment and enables them to become outstanding researchers. One recent graduate was selected for the Marketing Science Institute’s Young Scholar Program, one of the highest accolades a young researcher in the field can receive.