Dr Jörn Rothe, MAR.6.13

This course is available on the CEMS Exchange, Global MSc in Management, Global MSc in Management (CEMS MIM), Global MSc in Management (MBA Exchange), MBA Exchange, MSc in Economics and Management and MSc in Management and Strategy. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.

This course may be capped/subject to controlled access. For further information about the course's availability, please see the MG Elective Course Selection Moodle page (https://moodle.lse.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=3840).

Basic knowledge of economics.

The internet has created many new market opportunities. Web-based technology allows for new kinds of products and market interactions. Understanding the design and functioning of these new markets is central for business strategy. This course develops the relevant economic principles and applies them to the formulation of strategies for the provision of information goods and the competition between online market platforms.

The course examines the strategic aspects of the provision of information goods (such as news, music, software, search results) and strategic competition in platform markets. Topics include the pricing of information goods, versioning and bundling, switching costs and network effects. The course provides a theoretical framework and relates theory to examples and case studies.

10 hours of lectures and 9 hours of seminars in the AT. 2 hours of lectures in the ST.

Students on this course will have a reading week in Week 6, in line with Departmental policy.

Two exercise sets.

Hal R. Varian: Intermediate Microeconomics, W.W.Norton, 2014 (selected chapters); Carl Shapiro and Hal R. Varian: Information Rules, HBS Press, 1999 (selected chapters). A detailed reading list will be provided at the beginning of the course.

Exam (100%, duration: 2 hours) in the spring exam period.