This project is concerned with a class of commodities- information commodities- projected into prominence by information technology. The specific aims of the project are to: (1) Identify and describe information commodities currently in use or under development in several different industries; (2) Develop a taxonomy of information commodities that can be used in studying the evolving information marketplace; (3) Characterize - by means of graph theoretic representations - changes in production and marketing practices induced by information commodities in business organizations. The project is intended as a contribution to our understanding of the growing importance of information commodities in the economy. A sound taxonomy is indispensable for making reliable estimates of information-related employment and revenues. Systematic knowledge of the organizational impacts of information commodities will become a vital component of strategic planning by businesses. Such knowledge will become equally important for precise targeting of economic and social policy initiatives by government agencies.
