Economics of the Digital Age - Jagdish Sheth

The digital age has not just changed what we produce — it has fundamentally disrupted the economic rules that govern how industries compete, scale, and survive. This course examines how the economics of the digital era are radically different from those of the industrial age, and what that shift means for businesses today. Learners will explore why vertical integration — the dominant industrial-age strategy — becomes a liability in the digital world, and how speed and volume together, rather than volume alone, determine market leadership. Through the stories of IBM, Motorola, DirecTV, and Texas Instruments, learners will understand how companies that embraced digital economics transformed themselves, while those that didn't lost their competitive edge. This course provides a foundational framework for navigating the economic forces reshaping every industry in the digital age.