Product Marketing
Course Number: 46872
This course will focus on the strategies of technology-based products. We will examine how technology products differ from non-technology-based products and how the unique attributes of high-technology products influence the marketing strategies and tactics of those products. We will cover issues such as the diffusion of high technology products and "crossing the chasm"; pricing of technology products including versioning and bundling; compatibility; standardization within product markets; competition in technology-focused product arenas; continuous versus discontinuous product changes and the product line. Examples of technology-intensive industries are computer hardware and software, media and entertainment, telecommunications and e-commerce. Students explore the unique economic circumstances facing firms in these industries and identify strategies that enable firms to succeed given these circumstances. This course is ideal for students who want to pursue a career as a product/product line manager for a technology company. This course helps students understand the unique economic characteristics seen in today’s technology-intensive markets and how they impact the strategic interactions among firms and consumers. Students study, for example: Why firms in technology markets give away their best products for free. Why Apple taxes consumers for hardware but subsidizes music, movies, etc. while Amazon subsidizes their hardware but tax software (music, books, movies, etc.). Why Sony won the Blu-Ray format war against HD-DVD which was sponsored by a whole array of companies. In order for students to understand how firms strategically interact in technology-intensive industries this course will use a combination of simple but rigorous analytical models, emerging theories, and formal case studies.
Degree: MSPM
Academic Year: 2023-2024
Semester(s): Mini 4
Required/Elective: Elective
Units: 6