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Updating Soon - May 2024
Cover of Information Systems: A Manager's Guide to Harnessing Technology v10.0
Publishing: 
May 2024
ISBN (Digital): 
978-1-4533-4121-6

Information Systems: A Manager's Guide to Harnessing Technology

Version 10.0
By John Gallaugher

Included Supplements

Homework and supplements available August 8, 2024.

Key Features

  • Distinctive approach that consistently leads with business-focused strategic thinking to provide crucial context before diving into core, technical topics
  • Two completely new chapters:
    • Chapter 9 “Shein and Temu: E-Commerce Giants from Asia Grow Globally”
    • Chapter 18 “Artificial Intelligence—The Tech Impacting Nearly Every Industry”
  • Substantial Revision. The convergence of new technologies and the accelerated pace of technological change prompted the author to prepare the most significant and thorough update since this book’s first version
  • Enhanced coverage of key topics, including artificial intelligence (AI), generative AI (GenAI), AI’s promise, AI’s risks and challenges, AI and ethics, the impact of AI on the semiconductor business, Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, 3D manufacturing, data analytics, new market players, updated discussions of existing market players, product and services innovations, social media platform evolutions, cryptocurrencies and markets, open-source software, Internet and telecommunications, information security, environmental concerns, and many more
  • Over 240 embedded hyperlinks to streaming videos curated and kept continuously up to date by the author enhance and enrich hybrid and online courses, engage students, further prepare students for class discussions, and reinforce or augment many of the presented topics
  • Contemporary Case Studies. Current and engaging chapter and smaller case studies based on well-known companies such as Airbnb, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Disney, Meta, Netflix, Roblox, Uber, Shein, Shopify, SpaceX, Spotify, Tesla, Volkswagen, Walmart, and Zara that invite students to immediately apply what they are learning to familiar organizations
  • Relevant industry integration of topic coverage related to key technologies, such as key players in online advertising and profiling technologies (Amazon, Apple, Meta, Google, governmental regulation), and key players in the semiconductor industry (ARM, Intel, Nvidia, and OpenRISC)
  • Supportive in-text learning features:
    • Chapter-Opening case scenarios grab the reader’s attention by weaving the chapter’s core concepts into real-world stories featuring well-known or up-and-coming organizations
    • Each main section is organized consistently:
      • “Learning Objectives” preview the material to come and prepare students to learn
      • Robust illustration program enhances the narrative without overwhelming it
      • Topical boxed features sprinkled throughout expand on key topics and provide unique insights into key strategic topics and technological developments
      • “Key Takeaways” reflect the section’s “Learning Objectives” and summarize key ideas in bullet-point fashion. “Key Takeaways” encourage learners to consolidate the information just encountered into a discrete “chunk” that encourages understanding and enhances retention
      • Questions and Exercises prompt deeper understanding and critical reflection, with many crafted to prompt engaging class debate and discussion, or further research beyond the classroom
  • Expanded Excel Appendix called “Essential Skills for Excel”
    • Covers key concepts and operations of Microsoft Excel 365
    • Features step-by-step instructional videos recorded by the author, John Gallaugher, and Joseph Manzo (Lehigh University)
    • The online reader includes downloadable files and spreadsheets students can use to complete exercises
    • Special section on using Microsoft Excel 365 with a Mac
    • Teaching tips and assessment items are included in the instructor and student supplements
  • Customizable
  • Online Access $39.95; Online Access with Print $64.95

Information Systems: A Manager’s Guide to Harnessing Technology is suitable for undergraduate and MBA-level courses usually called Introduction to Information Systems, Management Information Systems, Information Systems, or similar titles, such as Strategic Information Systems, Capstone Information Systems course, Technology Entrepreneurship, Digital Organization/Digital Leadership, Information Technology and primarily taught at four-year colleges and universities.


Information Systems: A Manager’s Guide to Harnessing Technology strikes a balance between core course content and new developments in a rapidly evolving field. The result is a regularly updated narrative grounded in relevant management theory and practice that features current, fresh, and engaging illustrative examples, case studies, and applications. All chapters in this new version have received a substantial refresh of examples, statistics, and concepts. Even so, the book’s underlying framework remains consistent and reflects time-tested management best practices for using and successfully leveraging technology for individual and company success.

New in This Version

Overall

  • Refer to the book’s preface for a detailed description of the many updates, revisions, deletions, and additions
  • Completely new chapters in Version 10.0:
    • Chapter 9 “Shein and Temu: E-Commerce Giants from Asia Grow Globally”
    • Chapter 18 “Artificial Intelligence—The Tech Impacting Nearly Every Industry”
  • Updated examples, statistics, data, and quotes throughout
  • Scores of new or revamped sections, subsections, features, and streaming video links

Chapter 1—Setting the Stage: Technology and the Modern Enterprise

  • New, updated, or expanded topics include: fully rewritten Introductory section, the “Hype Cycle” (a widely-used industry tool utilized to understand technology evolution), artificial intelligence (AI) that will be integrated throughout and subsequently featured in a full chapter (Chapter 18: Artificial Intelligence—The Tech Impacting Nearly Every Industry”), and new content introducing students to technology-based entrepreneurship
  • New subsections:
    • “A Quick Look at AI—The Hottest Topic in Tech and Business” (Section 1.1)
    • “Tech: It’s at the Center of Your Uncertain Future” (Section 1.1)
    • “Want to Start a Startup?” (Section 1.2)
  • New streaming videos include: “Will ChatGPT Take Your Job?” “How AI is Powering the Future of Financial Services,” “Generative AI and Programming,” and “The Hype Cycle”

Chapter 2—Zara: Fast Fashion from Savvy Systems

  • New, updated, or expanded topics include: the global political climate’s impact on business decisions, Zara's new in-store technology, sustainability concerns among governments and activists, and the impact of fast fashion on the environment
  • New streaming videos include: “A Look at the Tech in Zara’s Flagship Madrid Store” and “Fast Fashion Is Hot Garbage—A Humorous but Troubling Look at the Industry's Impact on the Environment”

Chapter 3—Strategy and Technology: Concepts and Frameworks for Achieving Success

  • New, updated, or expanded topics include: GenAI and substitute goods and FreshDirect coverage moved to Chapter 4 (replaced by a Zara example to illustrate straddling, distribution channels, and bundling strategies)
  • New key term: bundling
  • New features: 
    • "Nortel vs. Beer—The Beer Wins" (Section 3.1) 
    • “ChatGPT Is Killing Stack Overflow” (Section 3.4)
  • New streaming videos include: “Generative AI Is About to Reset Everything, and, Yes It Will Change Your Life”

Chapter 4—FreshDirect: A Tech-Heavy Online Grocer Succeeds Where Others Fail

  • New, updated, or expanded topics include: Getir’s acquisition of FreshDirect, FreshDirect’s challenges to scaling its appeal, and changes to Amazon Go
  • New subsection: “Acquisitions Are Tough: Watch This Space” (Section 4.2)

Chapter 5—Netflix: Sustaining Leadership in an Epic Shift from Atoms to Bits

  • New, updated, or expanded topics include: closing Netflix’s DVD-by-mail business, subscription sharing, advertising tiers, subscription tiers, misleading or exploitive actor promotions, free games, industry shifts, Max rebranding, and Paramount+
  • New feature: "Sports and Streaming" (Section 5.1) 
  • New streaming videos include: “Netflix Ending DVD-by-Mail Service with Disc Giveaway” and “Netflix’s Side Quest: A Deep Dive into Its Ambitious Plans to Become a Gaming Giant”

Chapter 6—Moore’s Law and More: Fast/Cheap Computing, and What This Means for the Manager

  • New, updated, or expanded topics include: AI-driven change, seventh wave of computing (artificial intelligence everywhere), Apple’s A17Pro chip, latency, and Disney’s MagicBand
  • New or revamped subsections:
    • “Moore’s Law Inside Your Medicine Cabinet . . . and Your Colon” (Section 6.1) 
    • “IoT—the Internet of Things: Tech Is Everywhere!" (Section 6.1) 
    • "The End of Moore’s Law? But Not Really an End to Fast-Cheap Computing" (Section 6.2)
  • New key term: yottabyte
  • New streaming videos include: “How Are Microchips Made?” "AI: Moore's Law Is Being Decimated,” "How a Robot Recycles Our Electronic Waste,” and “MagicBand+ Overview”

Chapter 7—Disruptive Technologies: Understanding Giant Killers and Tactics to Avoid Extinction

  • New, updated, or expanded topics include: Nvidia, a deeper dive into GenAI and machine learning, additive manufacturing, digital finance, decentralized finance (DeFi), collapse of FTX and Alameda, collapse of the NFT market, Bitcoin developments, and government-issued  central bank digital currencies (CBDC)
  • New or revamped sections: 
    • "Additive Manufacturing: Is 3D Printing Ready to Disrupt?" (Section 7.3)
    • “Tech to Consider: Crypto, Blockchain, and DeFi—Cesspools of Scammers or Disruptive Technologies?” (Section 7.4)
  • New or revamped features: 
    • “Intel—A Study of Disruption in Progress” (Section 7.1) which includes expanded information on ARM and the rise and importance of Nvidia
    • “Can China's Digital Currency Disintermediate the Dollar?” (Section 7.4)
  • New streaming videos include: “How Nvidia Grew from Gaming to A.I. Giant, Now Powering ChatGPT,” “Why 3D Printing Is Vital to Success of U.S. Manufacturing,” “The FTX Collapse,” and “China’s Digital Currency Revolution”

Chapter 8—Amazon: An Empire Stretching from Cardboard Box to Kindle to Cloud

  • New, updated, or expanded topics include: fulfillment center procedures and the use of a new generation of robotics technology, robot–human interactions, logistics, Amazon Brands, Amazon Business, Amazon Prime, Amazon Style, Amazon One Palm payment, Amazon’s advertising business, investment in Anthropic, and Emmy-winning technology for live events 
  • Refreshed statistics and data throughout, applied to topics such as Amazon streaming, Echo/Alexa market penetration, and AWS/cloud computing 
  • New or revamped sections:
    • “The Emperor of E-Commerce” (Section 8.1)
    • "Reworking Brick and Mortar Retail" is renamed and significantly updated to include Amazon’s evolving strategy with physical stores (Section 8.4)
    • "Amazon’s Consumer Electronics” (Section 8.5)
    • “AI at Amazon” (Section 8.7)
    • “Is Amazon Too Big?” (Section 8.8)
    • “Shopify—A Decidedly Different E-commerce Player” (Section 8.9)
  • New feature: "Are Maturing Firms Degrading Customer Experience to Pursue Growth?" (Section 8.2)
  • New exercises include: visiting an Amazon fulfillment center, forming and running a Shopify business, and taking a free Amazon AI Ready course
  • New streaming videos include: “Introducing the Full Amazon Robot Lineup,” “Top 50+ AWS Services Explained in 10 Minutes,” “How Amazon Is Using AI to Deliver Orders Even Faster,” and “The Insane Rise and Fall of Shopify”

New Chapter 9—Shein and Temu: E-Commerce Giants from Asia Grow Globally

  • This fully new Chapter 9 explores the meteoric rise of Shein, a Chinese e-commerce-only fashion firm, that is the #2 global fashion firm, and Temu, its close follower
  • Describes how Shein successfully leverages information technology, Shein’s app and website, marketing strategies (flash sales, specials, gamification techniques, online ads, and aggressive data gathering via social media), AI-generated designs, A-B testing, tight inventory management, and strategies to avoid taxes, tariffs, and inspection delays
  • Explores weaknesses in Shein's business model, such as AI-driven product failures, negative environmental impacts, and competitive threats from Amazon, Alibaba, TikTok, and Temu
  • New streaming videos include: “The Rise of Shein,” “Social Media Influencers Facing Backlash over Videos Promoting Shein,” and “How Temu Makes Money From $10 Smartwatches From China”

Chapter 10—Platforms, Network Effects, and Competing in a Winner-Take-All World

  • New, updated, or expanded topics include: examples of international firms (Shopify, Spotify, and several Indian firms), EV charging standards, U.S. market cap of platform firms, Apple Vision Pro, Roblox mini-case, EV standards battle, free markets vs. regulation, OpenAI and Microsoft partnership, growth through direct customer subsidies, leveraging viral recruitment with social media, Blue Ocean strategies, backward compatibility, and post-pandemic Zoom
  • New section: “The Apple Platform Cashes In on Banking” (Section 10.6) 
  • New features:
    • “Electric Vehicle Charging Standards: Everyone vs. Tesla—and It Looks Like Tesla Won” (Section 10.3)
    • “Lessons from the Rise and Fall of Threads” (Section 10.5) 
  • New streaming videos include: “The Incredible Logistics of Tesla's Supercharging Network,” “Apple vs. Banks: The Digital-Wallet War,” and “Apple Vision Pro Impressions!” 

Chapter 11—Social Media, Peer Production, and Leveraging the Crowd

  • New, updated, or expanded topics include: reworked Introduction, social media platforms’ performance, TikTok, LinkedIn influencers, Apple’s AirTag, Substack vs. major news organizations, Chipotle’s #GuacDance campaign, Meta’s Workplace, SMART, conversion of Twitter to X, and a streamlined discussion on blogging
  • New key terms: content adjacency problem, corpus, doxxing, and influencers 
  • New sections:
    • “Substack: A Booming Self-Publishing Platform. Is Your Prof Writing There?” (Section 11.2)
    • “TikTok—The World's Addiction” (Section 11.6)
    • "I Know Victoria's Secret" (Section 11.9) 
  • New features: 
    • “Wikipedia: Trainer of AI, Destroyed by AI, or Both?” (Section 11.3)
    • “Spotify Wrapped: Give It Away and Go Viral” (Section 11.4)
    • “X: The Death of Twitter or the Rise of a Super App?” (Section 11.5)
    • “Taylor + Travis = NFL TikTok Gold” (Section 11.6)
  • New exercise: creating a Substack or similar blog
  • New streaming videos include: “Substack vs. The Giants, Challengers,” “Travis Kelce Breaks Silence after Taylor Swift Seen at Chiefs Game,” “Jax—I Wrote a Song Called Victoria’s Secret,” and “I Always Wanted to Be Part of a Flash Mob” 

Chapter 12—The Sharing Economy, Collaborative Consumption, and Efficient Markets through Tech

  • New, updated, or expanded topics include: sharing firms, Airbnb, and Uber
  • New section: “What's the Circular Economy?” (Section 12.1) 
  • New streaming videos include: “The Airbnb Effect: Why Second Homes Have Become So Divisive,” “Uber CEO Khosrowshahi on Profit, Autonomous Vehicles, AI,” and “What Is the Circular Economy?”

Chapter 13—Facebook: Platforms, Privacy, and Big Business from the Social Graph

  • New, updated, or expanded topics include: updated references to Meta (Facebook is used for historical references), WeChat, expanded coverage of Meta including new data, information on failed projects, new controversies, losses, layoffs, and a profit- and-growth rebound
  • New sections:
    • “The Metaverse and Meta on Your Face—Billions in Losses, but Does a Big Payday Await?” (Section 13.4) 
    • “AI: Essential to Meta's Success” (Section 13.5)
  • New subsections: 
    •  “TikTok Threatens. AI-fueled Reels Is a Success But Not a Killer” (Section 13.3)
    • “So What Is ‘The Metaverse?’” (Section 13.4)
    • “When Will This Thing Make Money?” in respect to Oculus (Section 13.4 )
    • “Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses—Not Metaverse, Yet” (Section 13.4)
  • New feature: “So Threads Is a Thing!” (Section 13.3)
  • New streaming videos include: “Mark Zuckerberg Talks Meta, AI, and Martial Arts with Forbes,” “Meta’s Ray-Bans, Hands-On: These Glasses Now Stream to Instagram,” and “Here's How Essential WeChat Is to Everyday Life in China," and “TikTok vs. Instagram Reels vs. YouTube Shorts: Who Will Win the Short-Video Race?”

Chapter 14—Rent the Runway: Entrepreneurs Expanding an Industry by Blending Tech with Fashion

  • New, updated, or expanded topics include: share price fluctuations, new retail collaborators (Amazon, Nordstrom Rack, and Saks Fifth Avenue), churn rate/CLV, making strategic choices using analytics, using AI and refining vague search terms, RFID tags, information on new, key competitors 
  • New section: “Worn with Love and Still Good—Retail Partnerships” (Section 14.6) 
  • New streaming videos include: “Rent the Runway on Post-Pandemic Comeback,” “How Rent the Runway Is Putting Your Closet in the Cloud,” and “How Urban Outfitters Is Winning the Clothing Rental Game”

Chapter 15—Understanding Software: A Primer for Managers

  • New, updated, or expanded topics include: "Hardware Layer Cake,” operating system variations, and smartphone market shares
  • New key terms: BIOS (Basic Input Output System), enterprise response planning (ERPs), AI queries, Python, CircuitPython, and a clarified definition of firmware
  • New subsections:
    • “AI Is Radically Changing Programming: Programmers Won’t Be Replaced, Instead Everyone Will Be Coding with a Co-Pilot” (Section 15.5)
    • “Low Code/No Code—Programming Without Coding” (Section 15.5)
    • “Software-Centric Products Aren’t Easy: VW’s Electric Vehicle Woes” (Section 15.8)
  • New exercises:
    • Students evaluate their devices (PCs, smartphones, smart devices) for firmware updates
    • Students evaluate accessibility features
    • Low code/no code-based tool activity and class presentation
  • New streaming video links include: “The Best Low Code/No Code Tools,” “Apple Previews Accessibility Features on Global Accessibility Awareness Day,” “VW Abandons Owners,” “What Is Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)?” and “Who Is Going to Win the Electric Car Race?” 

Chapter 16—Software in Flux: Open Source, Cloud, Virtualized, and App-Driven Shifts

  • New, updated, or expanded topics include: LAMP stack alternatives (Linux, Apache Web, MySQL, Perl/Python/PHP), interoperability, open source software (OSS), company-developed proprietary OSS toolkits, cloud computing, self-driving cars, Nvidia, Microsoft’s Circularity Center, and Kubernetes)
  • New key terms: "MEAN" stack (MongoDB, Express.js, AngularJS, and Node.js), front-end, back-end, stack, full-stack, SaaS, PaaS, IaaS, and cloud types (public, private, and hybrid)
  • New streaming video links include the following: “Microsoft Reveals Its MASSIVE Data Center,” “The Rise of Open Source Software,” “Microsoft Joins GM—Cruise Self-Driving Partnership,” “The Era of Gen AI Is Here,” and “Kubernetes in 100 Seconds” 

Chapter 17—Data and Competitive Advantage: Databases, Analytics, and Prepping Data for Use with AI

  • New, updated, or expanded topics include: Walmart’s warehouse robotics and various strategies (advertising, investment and acquisition, expansion into India, FlipKart, PhonePe, and competition with Amazon). Other coverage includes sports ticketing, Disney’s The Lion King, sales of personal data on dark web, and generative AI for data analysis
  • Revamped features: 
    • “Broadway Meets Big Data and Also Offers a Sports Ticketing Slam Dunk” (Section 17.1)
    • "Who’s Collecting Data about You?" (Section 17.3)
  • New key term: Beacons
  • New videos include: “What AI Tools to Learn for Coding and Analysis,” “Dynamic Pricing, Explained: Why Prices Are Changing More Often,” “Why Even Your Local Grocery Store Wants Your Digital Data,” and “A Look at Robots in Walmart Distribution Centers”

New Chapter 18—Artificial Intelligence—The Tech Impacting Nearly Every Industry

  • This fully new Chapter 18 focuses on artificial intelligence (AI). Topics covered include a deeper dive into generative AI, a managerial overview of how the technology works, a glossary of key terms, how firms are incorporating AI, AI’s risks and challenges, and ethical considerations surrounding AI
  • Chapter overview:
    • Introductory section: “AI, Write My Intro” composed partly of AI generated narrative  (Section 18.1)
    • “Generative AI: Whoa—This is Something Different!” introduces and explains key terms such as: artificial intelligence (AI), generative AI (GenAI), prompt, and hallucination (Section 18.2)
    • “So How’s This Stuff Really Work? A Manager’s Guide to Understanding GenAI” (Section 18.3)
      • Key terms: foundation model, LLM, and parameters
      • Feature: “The ‘Transformer’—No ChatGPT without Google” (Section 18.3)
      • Subsection: “How Will the Machine Learn” explains core large-language learning model (LLM) concepts, including supervised learning, self-supervised learning, semi-supervised learning, RLHF, and Constitutional AI (Section 18.3)
    • “Generative AI: Changing Products and the Nature of Work Itself” (Section 18.4)
      • AI applications including examples of GenAI uses, product integrations, and vertical segments (e.g., accounting, law, and consumer products such as beer)
      • Feature: “I Am Not a Robot, but I’ve Occasionally Taught Some” (Section 18.4)
    • “Understanding AI Risks” (Section 18.5) 
      • AI/GenAI security risks, bias: racism/sexism, deliberate misinformation and deception, copyright issues, job shocks; scale, environmental impacts; destructive capability, control issues
      • Features: 
        • "The AI Turned Me White" (Section 18.5)
        • “Google, Translate Kazakh to English. Bias Included at No Extra Charge” (Section 18.5)
    • “It’s Not as Easy as the Press Might State: Technical, Organizational, Legal, and Societal Challenges of AI and Machine Learning”(Section 18.6)
    • “Addressing AI Risks and Building More Responsible Technology” (Section 18.7)
      • Subsections:
        • “Recognizing Risks and Setting Standards” (Section 18.7)
        • “Steps in Developing and Deploying More Ethical, Less Risk-Prone Systems” (Section 18.7)
      • Features:
        • “Addressing Algorithmic Bias Is Hard, But Can Deliver Real Business Benefits” (Section 18.7)
        • “Crafting an Ethics Board—Not as Easy as It Sounds” (Section 18.7)
        •  “Catching the Golden State Killer: The Promise and Peril of Big Data’s Reach” (Section 18.7)
        • "AI as Your DJ—A Look at Spotify’s Magic” (Section 18.8)
    • “Streaming videos include: “How Large Language Models Work,” “GitHub Copilot: Getting Started with Chat,” “Prompt Engineering: Inside AI’s Hottest New Job,” “How AI Could Save (Not Destroy) Education,” “AI Is Dangerous, but Not for the Reasons You Think,” and “Generative AI, What Is It Good For?” 

Chapter 19—Advertising Technologies: Balancing Personalization with Privacy as Technology and Regulation Evolve

  • New, updated, or expanded topics include: iOS market penetration, app tracking technology, Google’s current privacy strategies, “identifier for advertisers” (IDFA), and SKAdNetwork technology’s impact on social media companies
  • New key terms: zero-/first-/second-/third-party data and app tracking technology (ATT)
  • New subsections: 
    • “Understand Key Terms: Zero, First, Second, and Third Party Data” (Section 19.1) 
    • “Why Is This URL So Long?” (Section 19.3)
    • “Do the Crime? You’ll Pay the Fine!” (Section 19.5)
  • New feature: “Did AI Make That Ad?” (Section 19.1)
  • New streaming videos include: “Understand SKAdNetwork in 90 Seconds,” “Meta's Record Fine Drives Pressure for EU, U.S. Data Privacy,” and “How to Collect Data without Cookies?”  

Chapter 20—A Manager’s Guide to the Internet and Telecommunications

  • New, updated, or expanded topics include: wireless Internet, browser security, top-level domain (TLD) ownership, Internet protocol (iPv) and iPv4 versus iPv6, DNS “cyber hygiene,” 5G networks, C0Band, Starlink, CSquared, and net neutrality 
  • New section: “To Infinity and Beyond: SpaceX Starlink and the Awesome Power Wielded by Elon Musk's Firms” (Section 20.5)
  • New streaming videos include: “How Does the Internet Work?—Glad You Asked S1,” “Why 5G Will Change the World,” and “What Elon Musk's 42,000 Satellites Could Do to Earth”

Chapter 21—Information Security: Barbarians at the Gateway (and Just About Everywhere Else)

  • New, updated, or expanded topics include: vulnerabilities, potential exploits, a manager's cybersecurity responsibilities, dark web markets, botnet hackers, ransomware and extortion,  phishing, corporate espionage, impact scale of cyberwar actions, software vulnerabilities, unintended consequences of user tracking information, two-factor authentication, passkeys, strategies to improve passwords, corporate security policies and employee compliance, system and organization controls (SOC) and similar certifications, and information security asset management software 
  • New key terms: two-factor authentication (2FA), and red teaming
  • New or revamped subsections:
    • “AI: A Hacker and Scammer's Best Friend” (Section 21.3)
    • “Push-Button Hacking, Made Worse by Generative AI” (Section 21.3)
    • “Passkeys—Delivering Us from Password Hell” (Section 21,3)
  • New subsection: “AI Can Help the Good Guys, Too!” (Section 21.4)
  • New Exercise: "hack slam" research and presentation activity
  • New streaming videos include: “Deepfake Technology: Biggest Cybersecurity Threat,” “MOVEit Transfer Zero Day Attack Case Study,” “EP003: Red Team, HACKING GOOGLE,” “How Cyberwarfare Actually Works,” and “Hacking with ChatGPT”

Chapter 22—Google in Three Parts: Search, Online Advertising, and an Alphabet of Opportunity

  • New, updated, or expanded topics include: a streamlined introduction, AI threats to companies, evolving Google search result displays, Google server farms, Google Search advertising, Google’s initial stumbles with GenAI, Google’s current AI strategy, Google Labs, Google Cloud, Waymo, Verily, Android, new skills required by AI, and competitive threats posed by Microsoft
  • New or revamped sections: 
    • “Generative AI and the Future of Search and Other Google Products” (Section 22.5)
    • "Alphabet’s Multi-Front Battle" (formerly “The Battle Unfolds”) (Section 22.6)
  • New feature: “How Google Might Merge AI Chat with Search” (Section 22.5)
  • New key terms: display advertising and ad creative
  • New streaming videos include: “Your Marketing, Multiplied by Google AI,” “Google Search VP Cathy Edwards Demonstrates Search Generative Experience,”
  • “Driverless Taxis in San Francisco Cause Traffic Jams, Chaos,” and “Google Cloud Unveils New AI Products at Next 2023 (Supercut)” 

In Progress

All instructor supplements will be available by August 8, 2024.

Homework system for this title will be live by August 8, 2024.

  • About the Author
  • Acknowledgments
  • Dedication
  • Preface
  • Chapter 1: Setting the Stage: Technology and the Modern Enterprise

  • 1.1 Tech’s Tectonic Shift: Radically Changing Business Landscapes
  • 1.2 It’s Your Revolution
  • 1.3 Geek Up—Tech Is Everywhere and You’ll Need It to Thrive
  • 1.4 Hey, Manager—You'll Need to See beyond the Hype Cycle!
  • 1.5 The Pages Ahead
  • Chapter 2: Zara: Fast Fashion from Savvy Systems

  • 2.1 Introduction
  • 2.2 Don’t Guess, Gather Data—Make Small Batches of What Customers Want and Ship It Fast!
  • 2.3 Moving Forward
  • Chapter 3: Strategy and Technology: Concepts and Frameworks for Achieving Success

  • 3.1 Introduction
  • 3.2 Powerful Resources
  • 3.3 Barriers to Entry, Technology, and Timing
  • 3.4 Key Framework: The Five Forces of Industry Competitive Advantage
  • Chapter 4: FreshDirect: A Tech-Heavy Online Grocer Succeeds Where Others Fail

  • 4.1 Tech-Driven Strategic Positioning for Market Dominance
  • 4.2 The Model Moves Forward
  • Chapter 5: Netflix: Sustaining Leadership in an Epic Shift from Atoms to Bits

  • 5.1 Introduction
  • 5.2 Netflix versus the Competition: Big Players, Bold Plans, but It's Getting Crowded
  • 5.3 Streaming to Win: Online Video and Competitive Advantage
  • Chapter 6: Moore’s Law and More: Fast/Cheap Computing and What This Means for the Manager

  • 6.1 Introduction
  • 6.2 The End of Moore’s Law? Not the End of Fast/Cheap Computing!
  • 6.3 The Power of Parallel: Supercomputing, Grids, Clusters, and Putting Smarts in the Cloud
  • 6.4 E-waste: The Dark Side of Moore’s Law
  • 6.5 Mickey’s Wearable: Disney’s MagicBand
  • Chapter 7: Disruptive Technologies: Understanding Giant Killers and Tactics to Avoid Extinction

  • 7.1 Understanding Truly Disruptive Innovation
  • 7.2 Recognizing and Responding to Disruptive Innovation
  • 7.3 Tech to Consider: Additive Manufacturing—Is 3D Printing Ready to Disrupt?
  • 7.4 Tech to Consider: Crypto, Blockchain, and DeFi—Cesspools of Scammers or Disruptive Technologies?
  • Chapter 8: Amazon: An Empire Stretching from Cardboard Box to Kindle to Cloud

  • 8.1 Introduction
  • 8.2 The Emperor of E-commerce
  • 8.3 The Lord of Logistics
  • 8.4 Reworking Brick and Mortar Retail: Failed Experiments but New AI-Fueled Tech
  • 8.5 Amazon’s Consumer Electronics (Kindle, Fire, Alexa) and Amazon as Publisher (Twitch, Print, Games, and Video)
  • 8.6 Amazon and the Cloud: From Personal Storage to AWS
  • 8.7 AI at Amazon: Powering the Firm and For Sale to Others
  • 8.8 Is Amazon Too Big?
  • 8.9 Shopify: A Decidedly Different E-commerce Player
  • Chapter 9: Shein and Temu: E-commerce Giants from Asia Grow Globally

  • 9.1 The Overnight Fashion Giant
  • 9.2 Shein: They've “Out Zara'ed Inditex”
  • 9.3 Big Challenges and Blistering Criticism: Will Shein’s Stellar Growth Continue?
  • 9.4 Shein’s Future: Global Expansion, Marketplaces, and Competitors
  • Chapter 10: Platforms, Network Effects, and Competing in a Winner-Take-All World

  • 10.1 Introduction
  • 10.2 Platforms Are Powerful, but Where Does All That Value Come From?
  • 10.3 One-Sided or Two-Sided Markets?
  • 10.4 How Are These Markets Different?
  • 10.5 Competing When Network Effects Matter
  • 10.6 The Apple Platform Cashes In on Banking
  • 10.7 The Zoom Boom—Big Guys Can Be Beat
  • Chapter 11: Social Media, Peer Production, and Leveraging the Crowd

  • 11.1 Introduction
  • 11.2 Blogs
  • 11.3 Wikis
  • 11.4 Social Networks
  • 11.5 X: The Death of Twitter or the Rise of a Super App?
  • 11.6 TikTok—the World’s Addiction
  • 11.7 Prediction Markets and the Wisdom of Crowds
  • 11.8 Crowdsourcing
  • 11.9 Get SMART: The Social Media Awareness and Response Team
  • Chapter 12: The Sharing Economy, Collaborative Consumption, and Efficient Markets through Tech

  • 12.1 Introduction
  • 12.2 Boom Times and Looming Challenges in the Sharing Economy
  • 12.3 Future Outlook: Established Players Get Collaborative
  • 12.4 Airbnb—Hey Stranger, Why Don’t You Stay at My Place?
  • 12.5 Uber's Wild Ride: Sharing Economy Startup Success, Flailing after a Fallen Founder, and a Profitable Comeback
  • Chapter 13: From Facebook to Meta: Platforms, Privacy, and Big Business from the Social Graph

  • 13.1 Introduction
  • 13.2 Features and Competitive Advantage of Facebook and Other Meta Services
  • 13.3 Meta Goes Mobile and Grows by Acquisition
  • 13.4 The Metaverse and Meta on Your Face—Billions in Losses, but Does a Big Payday Await?
  • 13.5 AI: Essential to Meta's Success
  • 13.6 Lessons from Meta’s Platform Expansion: Big Growth, Bad Partners, APIs, and a Mobile Melee
  • 13.7 Move Fast and Break Things: Fumbles and Fake News
  • Chapter 14: Rent the Runway: Entrepreneurs Expanding an Industry by Blending Tech with Fashion

  • 14.1 Introduction
  • 14.2 Founding the Business: Are We On to Something?
  • 14.3 Subscription: Bigger than Rental
  • 14.4 Customer Engagement (Mobile, Social, and Physical Storefronts)
  • 14.5 Data
  • 14.6 Operations and Logistics
  • 14.7 Surviving and Thriving Post-Pandemic
  • Chapter 15: Understanding Software: A Primer for Managers

  • 15.1 Introduction
  • 15.2 Operating Systems
  • 15.3 Application Software: Apps, Desktop Products, and Enterprise Systems
  • 15.4 Distributed Computing, Web Services, and APIs: The Platform Builders
  • 15.5 Writing Software
  • 15.6 Software Development Methodologies: From Waning Waterfall to Ascending Agile, Plus a Sprint through Scrum
  • 15.7 Beyond the Price Tag: Total Cost of Ownership and the Cost of Tech Failure
  • 15.8 Software Centric Products Aren't Easy: VW's Electric Vehicle Woes
  • Chapter 16: Software in Flux: Open Source, Cloud, Virtualized, and App-Driven Shifts

  • 16.1 Introduction
  • 16.2 Open Source
  • 16.3 Why Open Source?
  • 16.4 Examples of Open Source Software
  • 16.5 Give It Away and Make Money: The Business of Open Source
  • 16.6 Defining Cloud Computing
  • 16.7 Software in the Cloud: Why Buy When You Can Rent?
  • 16.8 SaaS: Not without Risks
  • 16.9 Understanding Cloud Computing Service and Deployment Models: SaaS, PaaS, IaaS, and Public, Private, Hybrid Clouds
  • 16.10 Clouds and Tech Industry Impact
  • 16.11 Virtualization: Software That Makes One Computer Act Like Many
  • 16.12 Apps and App Stores: Further Disrupting the Software Industry on Smartphones, Tablets, and Beyond
  • 16.13 Make, Buy, or Rent
  • Chapter 17: Data and Competitive Advantage: Databases, Analytics, and Prepping Data for Use with AI

  • 17.1 Introduction
  • 17.2 Data, Information, and Knowledge
  • 17.3 Where Does Data Come From?
  • 17.4 Data Rich, Information Poor
  • 17.5 Data Warehouses, Data Marts, Data Lakes, and the Technology behind “Big Data”
  • 17.6 The Business Intelligence Toolkit
  • 17.7 Data Asset in Action: Technology and the Rise of Walmart
  • Chapter 18: Artificial Intelligence—the Tech Impacting Nearly Every Industry

  • 18.1 AI, Write My Intro
  • 18.2 Generative AI: Whoa—This Is Something Different!
  • 18.3 So How Does This Stuff Really Work? A Manager’s Guide to Understanding GenAI
  • 18.4 Generative AI: Changing Products and the Nature of Work Itself
  • 18.5 Understanding AI Risks
  • 18.6 It’s Not as Easy as the Press Might State: Technical, Organizational, Legal, and Societal Challenges of AI and Machine Learning
  • 18.7 Addressing AI Risks and Building More Responsible Technology
  • 18.8 AI as Your DJ—a Look at Spotify’s Magic
  • Chapter 19: Advertising Technologies: Balancing Personalization with Privacy as Technology and Regulation Evolve

  • 19.1 Understanding Online Advertising
  • 19.2 Web Tracking: The Cookie Crumbles and Ad Tech Evolves
  • 19.3 App Tracking: Apple and Facebook Go to War over In-App Tracking
  • 19.4 Device Profiling: From Geotargeting to Televisions That Watch You
  • 19.5 Privacy Regulation: A Moving Target
  • 19.6 Privacy, Data Protection, Governance, and Management Policies
  • Chapter 20: A Manager’s Guide to the Internet and Telecommunications

  • 20.1 Introduction
  • 20.2 Internet 101: Understanding How the Internet Works
  • 20.3 Getting Where You’re Going
  • 20.4 Last Mile: Faster Speed, Broader Access
  • 20.5 To Infinity and Beyond: SpaceX Starlink and the Awesome Power Wielded by Elon Musk's Firms
  • Chapter 21: Information Security: Barbarians at the Gateway (And Just about Everywhere Else)

  • 21.1 Introduction
  • 21.2 Why Is This Happening? Who Is Doing It? And What’s Their Motivation?
  • 21.3 Where Are Vulnerabilities? Understanding the Weaknesses
  • 21.4 Taking Action
  • Chapter 22: Google in Three Parts: Search, Online Advertising, and an Alphabet of Opportunity

  • 22.1 Introduction
  • 22.2 Understanding Search
  • 22.3 Search Advertising
  • 22.4 The Google Ad Network: Distribution beyond Search
  • 22.5 Generative AI and the Future of Search and Other Google Products
  • 22.6 Alphabet’s Multi-Front Battle
  • Appendix A: Essential Skills for Excel

  • A.1 Introduction and Using Formulas
  • A.2 Basic Formatting and Understanding References
  • A.3 Manipulating Sheets
  • A.4 Freezing Panes, Sorting, and Using Filters
  • A.5 Tables and Autofill
  • A.6 Paste Special and Copy as Picture
  • A.7 Column, Bar, Pie, Line, and Scatter Charts
  • A.8 Functions Related to IF
  • A.9 The VLOOKUP and HLOOKUP Functions
  • A.10 Conditional Formatting
  • A.11 Pivot Tables and Slicers
  • A.12 Excel for Mac versus Excel for Windows
  • A.13 Additional Exercise Starter Files
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    John Gallaugher Boston College

    John Gallaugher (PhD Syracuse University School of Management) is the founder of the Boston College TechTrek field study programs, and as an advisor to multiple successful student entrepreneurs, John has had unprecedented access to the world’s leading technology and tech investment firms. An award-winning educator and author, John has been named a "Distinguished Educator" by Apple Inc., a "Most Popular Professor" by Bloomberg Businessweek, and “Guru to Grads” by Entrepreneur Magazine. He has also received the Boston College Trzaska Faculty Leadership Award, the all-university Boston College Teaching Award, the Carroll School of Management Teaching Award, and the student newspaper’s Momentum Award for campus impact. His bestselling textbook Information Systems: A Manager's Guide to Harnessing Technology has been used at over 450 universities worldwide, and has twice won the Textbook and Academic Authors' Association "Texty" award for excellence. John has taught on five continents and has led field study experiences in Seattle, San Francisco/Silicon Valley, Boston, New York, Dublin, Ghana, and Sydney. John’s research has been published in leading journals including the MIS Quarterly and Harvard Business Review, and he has consulted for leading organizations including Apple Inc., Accenture, ING, Partners Healthcare, State Street, and the U.S. Information Agency, among others. John has worked extensively with student entrepreneurs and has seen several former students gain admittance to elite accelerators (Y-Combinator, TechStars, MassChallenge), raise capital, and build thriving businesses, with some garnering unicorn ($1 billion plus) valuations. His comments on Business and Technology have appeared in several media outlets, including The New York Times, BusinessWeek, The Associated Press, National Public Radio, and Wired. One of the rare academics who teaches managerial as well as software and hardware programming courses, you can find hundreds of "flipped learning" and project videos at: YouTube.com/profgallaugher. John holds both a BA in Computer Science and an MBA from Boston College, and a PhD in Information Systems from the Syracuse University School of Management. He occasionally publishes on Substack (http://profgallaugher.substack.com) and is also active on social media—having left X for Threads: @john.gallaugher.

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