Competition in the mature markets of professional versus final consumer information products

Factors are explored of decision making in regard to buying and/or upgrading information products. Mature information product markets are considered. Comparing two cases - professional and final consumer information products - the decision making process is considered on the choice of product variant. We distinguish three groups of users according to their ultimate decisions to either not to upgrade the existing system, or to upgrade it with the existing provider, or to switch to another provider. Consumer decision is based on multiple characteristics of information product quality, network effects, price and switching costs, whereas producers have to compete not only with their competitors, but also with the previous versions of the own products. Based on the considered cases, differences in consumer priorities are discussed in the markets of professional versus final consumer information products.<br /

Competition in mature software markets

A theoretical framework is built for capturing properties of competition in mature monopolistic digital product markets. Based on an empirical study of the market of accounting software for small and medium enterprises, a consumer choice model is suggested, where a rational consumer is already using a particular version of a software package and is considering to chose from the following three options: either to continue using it, or to upgrade to a newer version of the product, or to switch to a competitive product. Consumer decision is justified by software quality, and network effects, under the price and switching costs constrains. A modified consumer demand function is used for the model, and theoretical conditions are analysed for choosing from one of the three above-mentioned options. The results are applicable to a wide range of digital products.<br /

Web publishing revisited-a case study of literary websites in Russia

The concept of web publishing has been widely discussed in IS research literature since the WWW emerged. The discussion in various publications often revolves around the issues of business success and profitability, web design, and effective content presentation. This paper is a study of one of the &ldquo;unknown&rdquo; segments of the Internet - a family of websites publishing literary works in the Russian language. We demonstrate that the innovative model adopted by site owners in building the relationships with the site customers, and the information technology selected for the sites can play a crucial role in the success of a web-based venture. Our analysis is based on the concepts of virtual community and socio-technical interaction. We discuss the&nbsp; contribution of this case not only to the innovative use of the Web-based business models, but also to the new forms of literary life and national&nbsp; culture. Some of the concepts, principles and practices, adopted on those sites may be of interest to the Internet developers and communities worldwide.<br /

Why don`t you give me a call?

In a mature mobile phone market, dollars still drive consumers&rsquo; decisions, write Gennadi Kazakevitch, Luba Torlina and Sharon Hendricks.<br /

Consumer loyalty versus propensity to switch between providers in mature IT markets (the case of mobile phone market)

The example of the youth mobile phone market is used for pilot empirical testing of a model of consumers&rsquo; decision making, based on common features of consumer behaviour in mature markets of information and high technology products. Firstly, we discuss the key properties of mature high technology markets which affect market behaviour and strategies. These properties include: established customer and provider bases; the elements of both oligopolistic and monopolistic competition; very short product life cycle; considerable product differentiation; and using product quality, versioning and price discrimination as planning and marketing tools. Secondly, a model of consumers&rsquo; decision making in such markets is suggested on the assumption that a choice is to be made between the following options: to continue using the existing version of the product, to upgrade it with the current provider or to switch to another provider. Product price, quality characteristics, switching costs and network effects are demonstrated to be the variables affecting consumers&rsquo; decisions and therefore, these variables should be considered by competing providers when they choose production and marketing strategies. In conclusion, the results of the empirical study are discussed in the context of their possible application to other information and high technology markets.<br /

Bridging thought worlds of an academic CoP and IT support

This paper reports a case study of a Community of Practice (CoP) of tertiary educators in information technology (IT), who seek ways to obtain adequate IT support to match their particular work environment. A facilitated workshop sought to bring members of the CoP and a key representative of the central IT department together with the aim of creating common ground for improved communication and collaboration. Subsequent individual interviews explored perceptions, boundaries and potential boundary spanning opportunities. While literature argues that shared domain knowledge and associated language should alleviate boundary issues, we found that in some circumstances it might intensify them.<br /

Consumer Loyalty versus Propensity to Switch between Providers in Mature IT Markets (The Case of Mobile Phone Market)

The example of the youth mobile phone market is used for pilot empirical testing of a model of consumers’ decision making, based on common features of consumer behaviour in mature markets of information and high technology products. Firstly, we discuss the key properties of mature high technology markets which affect market behaviour and strategies. These properties include: established customer and provider bases; the elements of both oligopolistic and monopolistic competition; very short product life cycle; considerable product differentiation; and using product quality, versioning and price discrimination as planning and marketing tools. Secondly, a model of consumers’ decision making in such markets is suggested on the assumption that a choice is to be made between the following options: to continue using the existing version of the product, to upgrade it with the current provider or to switch to another provider. Product price, quality characteristics, switching costs and network effects are demonstrated to be the variables affecting consumers’ decisions and therefore, these variables should be considered by competing providers when they choose production and marketing strategies. In conclusion, the results of the empirical study are discussed in the context of their possible application to other information and high technology markets

Methodology Pursuit for Complex KM Project: Applying Structured-Case with Action Interventions

Complex qualitative research projects often require not only adjustments during project implementation, but also adaptation of the methodology and research design. The paper discusses the enhancement of the structured-case approach to include action research style interventions within structured-case cycles. An application of this approach is presented based on a study of a Community of Practice (CoP) in the information systems domain conducted in four research cycles over several years. The major benefits of the evolved method include the flexibility of the resulting research process, and the capacity to capture diverse project outcomes, at the same time making theory building more transparen