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CMIT IEB - Information, Economics and Business*

Faculty
Ioanna Constantiou, Associate Professor
Course Coordinator
Ioanna Constantiou, Associate Professor
Prerequisite/progression of the course
The course builds on the teaching of an introductory course in Economics at the bachelor program.
Course content, structure and teaching
Economics of information and organization form the core of this course. The course will start by presenting some basic theories from industrial organisation and business economics that are prominent for managing information efficiently, and for analysing business strategies in the Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) industries. Then, selected issues with wide impact on individual decision making, firm’s strategy and market analysis will be presented. Indicative examples include pricing of information goods, auction design, the boundaries of the firm, the firm as a nexus of contracts, economics of virtual communities and open source.
Taking these topics as points of departure the course will address some fundamental economic issues for the ICT industries such as: What are the optimal pricing strategies for information goods? How do firms maximise profits in the ICT industries? What are the costs of IT products and/or services development? How do firms deal with the uncertainty in case of IT investments? What are the different types of Information Technology markets? How do firms exploit their strategic resources in the ICT environment? How do firms ignite positive feedback? When are business networks successful in IT markets? Why do developers participate in open-source communities? Why do firms design auctions for selling IT services or products?
The course will be conducted in sessions of three time-slots (3x45). Each session is strongly based on students’ participation. Following the introduction, each session includes lectures presenting specific theoretical issues, practical examples to further the understanding of the theory as well as students’ presentations.
The course's development of personal competences
During the course the students will develop analytical skills and abilities to assess market developments, and thereby, improve their capabilities to engage in individual and group decision making under uncertainty and solve specific business problems. Upon completion of the course the students will be able to develop and present concrete solutions to market problems and advise firms about how to deal with information technology challenges and opportunities.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:
  • Explain how economic theories have been applied to the Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) markets, through examples based on business cases or sectoral analysis.
  • Use a set of theoretical tools to analyse prominent economic phenomena in the ICT markets.
  • Identify and reflect upon the strategic implications of the analysed phenomena for the different market players.
Type of examination, exam aids and assessment
Synopsis with Oral individual exam -Internal second examiner
Recommended literature
  • Clemons, Eric K., S.P. Reddi & M.C. Row (1993) The Impact of Information Technology on the Organization of Economic Actitivity:”The move to the middle hypothesis”. Journal of Management Information Systems 10 (2), Fall, 9-35.
  • Liebkowitz, S.J. and S. E. Margolis (1994) Network Externality: An Uncommon Tragedy”. Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 8.133 – 150.
  • Douma S. and H. Schreduder. Economic Approaches to Organizations. Prentice Hall 4th edition. 2007
  • Shapiro, C. and H. R. Varian. Information Rules. A Strategic Guide to the Network Economy. Harvard Business School Press, Boston, Mass. 1999.

Sidst opdateret af The Electives office 31.01.2010