Creative Destruction: The Economics of E-Commerce and the Internet by James Koch

  • Description
  • Table of Contents
  • About the Author
  • Supplements
Publication Date: Oct 2010
License: Creative Commons
ISBN 10: TBD
ISBN 13: TBD

Creative Destruction: The Economics of E-Commerce and the Internet is suited for courses in electronic commerce and the economics of electronic commerce, and as fascinating reading for anyone who has an interest in the economics of the internet.

This book demystifies two phenomena that permeate our existence---the Internet and e-commerce--and in the process provides students and readers with the ability to understand them and predict their future development

The book stresses understanding the structure and motivation behind the Internet, how it operates, and how sites such as Amazon, Google, eBay, Facebook and Yahoo use it to make money. Readers will learn how fundamental economic principles underpin e-commerce and the Internet. They’ll also emerge with a good idea about positive things the Internet and e-commerce can do for them and the negative things they can do to them.

The presentation emphasizes examples, anecdotes and uncomplicated data along with principles of economics level economic theory. The overriding goal is to enable readers to use the Internet and e-commerce more effectively because they will better understand what is going on. They’ll gain a handle on current policy issues such as Internet privacy, data mining, ID theft, who should pay for the Internet, file copying (and stealing!), and whether Internet purchases should be taxed. Finally, they’ll emerge with an excellent notion where all of this is headed, for example, whether we’re headed for a single super device that combines PCs, televisions and cell phones, and whether we’re headed for a new world in which price discrimination predominates and nearly everyone pays a different price for everything they purchase via the Internet. While conventional economic graphical analysis is presented where appropriate, readers who wish to will be able to skip over such material without losing the argument.

In the end, this book is an easy, readable way to learn about some complicated things that substantively impact our everyday lives.

  • The Internet Revolution: The Wheat and the Chaff
  • Internet Plumbing and Heating
  • Search is the Name of the Game
  • Networks: Some Of Us Are In It Together
  • Which Half of My Advertising Am I Wasting?
  • An Orange is An Orange Unless It’s Sunkist: Branding on the Internet
  • Nightmare On Digital Avenue: Limewire, Bittorrent and the Gang
  • Auctions: 100 Million People Must Know Something
  • Data Mining: They’ve Got Their Eyes On Us
  • Internet Pricing: Different Strokes for Different Folks
  • The Service Was, Well, Crummy
  • Going Direct to the Source: (Dis) Intermediation
  • I Didn’t Have to Pay Any Tax!
  • Multimedia Brawling
  • E-Commerce: The Invisible Mountain
  • I Was Cheated: The World of Phishing, Viruses and Internet Fraud
  • Internationalization: Is the E-Commerce World Really Borderless?
  • Winners and Losers
  • The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread?
James Koch
James Koch

James V. Koch is a former university President of both Old Dominion University and The University of Montana. He currently serves as a Board of Visitors Professor of Economics and President Emeritus at Old Dominion University.

Dr. Koch has published nine books and over 100 articles in refereed journals. His research has focused primarily upon applied microeconomics topics. His journal articles on the economics of intercollegiate athletics, the economics of discrimination and affirmative action, TQM, and the economics of education have been reprinted and cited frequently. Recently, he has done extensive work in the economics of e-commerce and published "Prices, Quality and Service on the Internet: Sense and Nonsense," in Contemporary Economic Policy (January 2002), "Are Prices Lower on the Internet? Not Always!" in Business Horizons (January 2003), and ""Much More at Stake Than Gewürztraminer: The U.S. Supreme Court's Wine Decision” in Business Horizons (June 2006), “Effects of Technological Breakthroughs on Electronic Markets,” Electronic Commerce Research Journal (6, 2006) and “An Empirical Analysis of Identity Theft Determinants in the U.S.,” Review of Business Research (6, 2007).

His current research examines the risk-taking behavior of corporate CEOs and has been funded by the Kauffman Foundation. The results of the research will be published in book form as Born, Not Made (Praeger, Summer 2008).

Dr. Koch's teaching and research roles took him to Illinois State University, California State University at Los Angeles, the University of Grenoble (France), Brown University, Rhode Island College, Ball State University, the University of Hawai'i, the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia and the University of Montana.

Dr. Koch has served as a consultant or expert witness for over fifty legal firms, corporations, and universities. His e-commerce cases have included issues such as the ordering and sale of wine via the Internet, and the value of intellectual property stolen by means of the Internet. He also has done significant research on the pricing of college textbooks and has testified before congressional committees on that subject.

Dr. Koch served as the President of Old Dominion University, 1990-2001. Prior to coming to Old Dominion, he was President of the University of Montana, 1986-1990. He was identified as one of the one hundred most effective college presidents in the United States in research funded by the Exxon Foundation. He serves on the boards of the MacArthur Foundation, Eastern Virginia Medical School and the Wheeling-Pitt Steel Company.

He holds a B.A. degree from Illinois State University and a Ph.D. degree in Economics from Northwestern University. He has been awarded honorary doctorates by Yeungnam University in Korea and Toyo University and Kyushu Institute of Technology in Japan.

  • Instructor Manual

    The Instructor Manual will help guide you through the main concepts of each chapter such as learning objectives, key terms and takeaways. Many also include explanations and answers to chapter exercises.

  • Solutions Manual

    For exercises that need a little more explanation, our Solutions Manual will take you step by step through solving the problem and offer explanations on the answer.

  • PowerPoint Lecture Notes

    A PowerPoint presentation highlighting key learning objectives and the main concepts for each chapter are available for you to use in your classroom. You can either cut and paste sections or use the presentation as a whole.

  • Test Item File

    Need assistance in supplementing your quizzes and tests? Our test item files (in Word format) contain many true/false, multiple choice, fill in the blanks, and short essay questions.

  • Testbank for Import to Learning Management System

    We have taken our test item file and created files to import into the following Learning Management Systems*: Blackboard, Angel, Moodle, WebCT. We also support a Respondus Neutral file that you can use to easily import our questions in any LMS supported by Respondus.

    * Please note that only certain versions of each LMS are supported. Click on Supplements for detailed information.

  • Test Generator

    Prefer printable tests? Download our test generator powered by Brownstone and start creating printable tests today! We offer a test generator for both PC and Mac users.