Chapter 9: from the Questions and Exercises at the end of 9.2 (page 267)
#1 What are the factors that contribute to the value created by network effects?
#4 Think about the kinds of technology products/services/projects you own. What sorts of switching costs are inherent in each of these? Are these strong switching costs or weak switching costs? What would it take for you to leave one of these services and use a rival? How might a competitor try to lessen these switching costs to persuade you to adopt their product?
Chapter 9: from the Questions and Exercises at the end of 9.4 (page 273)
#1 How is competition in markets where network effects are present different from competition in traditional markets?
#3 Does it make sense to try to prevent monopolies in markets where network effects exist?
#4 Are network effects good or bad for innovation? Explain.
Chapter 10: from the Questions and Exercises at the end of 10.4 (page 315)
#3 What factors might cause an individual, employee, or firm to be cautious in their use of social networks?
#10 Visit Quora, Stack Exchange, or another popular question-and-answer site (considered a subset of social networks by some). Search the website. Did you find that a question you were interested in was already answered? Do you trust answers on these websites, and would you return to use them in the future? Why or why not?
Chapter 10: from Questions and Exercises at the end of 10.6 (page 326)
#1 What makes for a “wise” crowd? When might a crowd not be so wise?
Chapter 10: from Questions and Exercises at the end of 10.7 (page 328)
#2 What ethical issues should firms be aware of when considering crowdsourcing? Are there other concerns firms may have when leveraging this technique?
