The conventional wisdom is that indirect network effects, unlike direct network effects, do not give rise to externalities. In this Paper we show that under very general conditions, indirect network effects lead to adoption externalities. In particular we show that in markets where consumption...

In this paper, the authors examine the development of the microcomputer market in the early 1980s. CP/M, a widely-adopted operating system, was orphaned by the user and the development communities. A new operating system, DOS, and a new hardware platform, the IBM PC, became the predominant...

In this paper, the authors examine the software provision decision of software firms. The provision decision by software firms determines the value and, hence, the market share of competing hardware technologies. The authors show how the provision decision by software firms determines whether...

The authors take a preliminary look at the interaction between patenting and standardization committee participation in the US modem industry. Both involve a much wider set of firms than the downstream modem manufacturers themselves. Not surprisingly, the two activities are highly correlated...