Digital Goods and Markets: Emerging Issues and Challenges

Abstract

This research commentary examines the changing landscape of digital goods, and discusses important emerging issues for IS researchers to explore. We begin with a discussion of the major technological milestones that have shaped digital goods industries such as music, movies, software, books, video games, and recently emerging digital goods. Our emphasis is on economic and legal issues, rather than on design science or sociological issues. We explore how research has been influenced by the major technological milestones and discuss the major findings of prior research. Based on this, we offer a roadmap for future researchers to explore the emergent changes in the digital goods arena, covering different aspects of digital goods industries such as risk management, value chain, legal aspects, transnational and cross-cultural issues.

Keywords: Digital goods, digital goods markets, piracy, pricing, emerging technologies, disembodiment, distribution, distribution channels, risk management, value chain, cross-cultural issues, economics, leal aspects, management