With the advent of the information society, information is traded as a commodity, thus forming an information market.
In a narrow sense, the information market is a place for the exchange of information commodities. In other words, the information market brings information commodities into the whole economic activity, and circulates and exchanges them like other commodities.
Information market involves information commodities, information commodity trading places, information commodity producers, information commodity operators, information users and their economic activities and economic relations. Therefore, the generalized information market is the whole circulation process and field of information commodities from production to consumption, and it is the sum of the supply and demand relationship of information commodities.
Since 1980s, the information market in China has developed rapidly from the initial stage to now, especially since 2000. The state invested tens of billions of yuan to build more than 10 large-scale macro systems, which provided beneficial services and scientific basis for China's economic construction. At present, in 3 1 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) in China, an information network based on central cities and an information market mediated by information centers have initially formed.
The information service industry has also undergone a revolutionary turning point since 1990. The information supply industry has changed from manual and printed media to electronic mode; Software development and sales began to break away from manufacturing and embark on the road of independent development. Modern information service industry (that is, emerging electronic information service industry) has started its own development process, with an average annual growth of 25% ~ 30%.
Because China's information market started late, there is a big gap compared with developed countries in the world. In China, although the society's understanding of the information market has improved and the degree of information exchange and enjoyment has developed, the overall income level is still very low, which cannot be compared with Japan, the United States, Western European countries and other countries. In 2000, the total income of information service industry in China was only 55 billion yuan, while the income of information service industry in the United States and Japan reached $21700 million and $77.4 billion respectively in 1997, ranking the top two in the world.
Generally speaking, the information market is classified according to the following principles:
(1) According to the hierarchy. According to the hierarchical structure of information commodities, the information market can be divided into primary, secondary and tertiary information commodity markets. An information commodity market mainly deals with people's achievements in scientific research, production and management, and the most representative is the technology market, which provides various technical products and services. The secondary information commodity market and the tertiary information commodity market mainly exchange the information work achievements and products provided by the information system. The most representative secondary information commodity market is database market, which is an information commodity circulation field formed by computer-centered information technology used for information processing, storage and transmission. The third information commodity market mainly provides users with various information research results, research reports, feasibility demonstration reports, decision support reports and market research reports.
(2) According to the nature and form of the transaction. According to the nature and form of transactions, the information market can be divided into product-oriented information market and service-oriented information market. The product-oriented information market provides various information products, such as the transfer of scientific research achievements, sales of complete sets of technical equipment, database sales, special information release, data sales, etc. The service-oriented information market mainly provides intellectual services, such as information consultation, technical consultation, technical training, patent agency, information retrieval, translation and other services.
(3) According to the organizational form. According to the different organizational forms, the information market can be divided into fixed, exchange, temporary and joint venture information markets. The fixed information market has fixed operating institutions and trading places to conduct long-term information trading activities. Such as information shops set up by information institutions, scientific and technological information consulting service centers, and economic information consulting companies run by banks. The information market based on communication uses communication to conduct information business negotiations and information commodity transactions, and through commodity introduction, it urges users to directly purchase an information commodity or further negotiate. The information released by the temporary information market is centralized and timely, with great influence and wide benefits. Specifically, there are information release, scientific and technological achievements and new products fairs, trade fairs, scientific and technological gatherings, and scientific and technological caravans. The joint venture information market consists of a number of information commodity business organizations, which jointly form a business market and act as an agent for the trading of information commodities.
(4) According to the establishment attribute. According to the different organizational attributes, the information market can be divided into public information market and private information market. Public information market refers to the permanent information institutions established by the state. Private information market refers to the information market operated by individual workers, including private information companies, information service stations and information hotels.
(5) According to the types of information goods. According to the different types of information commodities, the information market can be divided into economic information market, scientific and technological information market and comprehensive information market.
(6) According to the way of information commodity circulation. According to the different circulation modes of information commodities, the information market can be divided into one-way correspondence information market, network consultation information market and mass media information market.
The above division of information market is not absolute, and it can be divided from other angles. But no matter how to divide it, we can abstract the isomorphic structure of the information market, that is, it must include suppliers, demanders, intermediaries and managers of information goods. These four aspects are indispensable, and there must be a reasonable structure to ensure the normal operation of the information market and give full play to its functions.
The basic modes of information market include consulting, fixing, physical display and virtual information market. The consulting information market takes a certain number of experts or expert groups as "information sources" and accepts users' telephone, written or face-to-face information consultation at any time; The fixed information market is a fixed information institution and trading place established for long-term information trading activities; The physical display information market provides a series of information about these products with the actual display of many product samples; Virtual information market is a variety of information trading places established on the Internet.
The information market is a special trading place. It has many characteristics different from other markets, mainly in:
(1) The invisibility of the transaction object. The transaction object of information market is information, which is a spiritual product, not a material product, but depends on a material carrier. In the process of information market transactions, information users do not want to obtain the material carrier itself, but want to obtain the real value of the information stored in the carrier. Therefore, the subject of information transaction has immaterial characteristics.
(2) the dynamic nature of the transaction object. The information flow in the information market is unstable. Information flow is often caused by different needs and different time and space. Due to this unstable factor, various operating mechanisms of the information market show dynamic characteristics.
(3) the change of the transaction object. As a commodity, information enters the market for trading, with the purpose of realizing the transformation of information, activating productivity or improving people's physical and chemical ability. Only in this way can we truly realize the use value of information and embody the commercialization of information.
(4) the timeliness of the transaction object. As a commodity, information has a certain life cycle when it enters the market, just like other commodities. Trading information needs to be timely, and once it exceeds its life cycle, it loses its effectiveness.
(5) Service of transaction process. In the process of information trading in the information market, information operators should not only provide real and available information to information demanders, but also provide "services" to customers, that is, provide reliable basis for the formation, source and time of this information, explain its fidelity, and prepare summary information about it for identification. This "service" is unified in the exchange process of information products.
6.3.2 Composition of information market system
The information market is the concrete embodiment and comprehensive reflection of the economic relationship of information commodities, and it is a dynamic organism in the * * * life relationship in which various markets are interrelated and restricted. There are five basic elements in the information market: information products, information providers, information demanders, information commodity intermediaries and information market managers.
6.3.2. 1 information market object
The object of information market refers to all kinds of trading objects, that is, information products, that participate in information market exchange activities. If there is no object of information market (information product), there will be no exchange relationship of information market; If the object does not have commodity attributes or commodity expressions, then the exchange relationship in the information market cannot be formed.
The main body of 6.3.2.2 information market
The main body of information market includes providers, demanders, intermediaries and market managers of information commodities. The provider of information commodity is the producer, developer or provider of information commodity. Without the provider of information goods, information market trading activities cannot exist. The demanders of information commodities are users of information commodities, who realize trading activities in the information market through purchasing behavior. Without the demand side, information products cannot be sold or traded. The intermediary of information commodity is the broker of information market and the bridge between supply and demand. They make the trading activities in the information market from possible to reality and play a "catalyst" role in the market trading process. Managers are the supervisors and law enforcers of the information market. They manage the activities of the information market from macro or micro to ensure the reasonable operation and healthy development of the information market.
6.3.3 Information market operation mechanism
The so-called information market operation mechanism is the exchange mechanism between the supply and demand sides of the information market, which refers to the process and function of mutual connection, mutual restriction and mutual influence among the components of the information market.
6.3.3. 1 supply and demand mechanism of information market
Information supply and information demand are the premise of the existence of the information market, and they are the decisive factors for the operation and development of the information market. With the information demand, we hope to have information suppliers to meet it; With information supply, we hope to find the information demanders and realize the transaction. Both supply and demand need to adapt to each other in order to achieve the balance and coordination of supply and demand. According to the relative relationship between supply and demand in the information market, there will be three forms in the information market: oversupply, short supply and balance between supply and demand. Balance between supply and demand is the most ideal form of market supply and demand, because it can maximize the overall welfare of the market. When there is information demand in the market, information commodity suppliers will sell goods at a certain supply and price. If the profit of goods is high, it will attract more suppliers of information goods. After the number of information commodity suppliers increases, the supply of information commodities will also increase greatly, and excessive supply will make the information commodity market oversupply. When the supply exceeds the demand, the choice of the demand side of information goods increases. In order to realize the transaction of goods as soon as possible, the suppliers of information goods are willing to cut the price of goods at the expense of reducing the expected profit, or reduce the output by reducing the supply, so as to achieve the balance between supply and demand as much as possible; When the production enthusiasm of market suppliers decreases, the existing market demand is difficult to meet, thus the demand exceeds supply again.
The Price Mechanism of 6.3.3.2 Information Market
The price formation of information commodity is influenced by supply and demand, competition form, monopoly degree and information commodity cost, but the basis of information commodity price formation is still value. The decision of price is directly proportional to the utility value. The price formation mechanism of information commodities will prompt information commodity producers to produce information commodities with great use value, high utility and quick effect as soon as possible, so as to obtain greater profits in the information market, and at the same time, it will also prompt information commodity producers to reduce costs and consumption as soon as possible and reduce unnecessary waste. As far as the demand side of information goods is concerned, as long as the expected utility value of information goods is high enough, its demand elasticity is small and its price sensitivity is low, because efficient information goods are beneficial to the demand side of information goods to obtain more benefits. It can be seen that under this price formation mechanism, the interests of both the supply and demand sides are consistent and have a good foundation for convergence.
The relationship between supply and demand in the information market will inevitably lead to price fluctuations. When the supply exceeds demand in the information market, the price of information commodities will fall; On the contrary, when the information market is in short supply, the price of information goods will rise. For information commodity producers, the price mechanism is the basis for adjusting the direction and scale of production, which will promote the coordinated development of information production departments in proportion.
The Competition Mechanism of 6.3.3.3 Information Market
Because of the sociality, diversity and distinct personality of information production and consumption, there is no identical information production process and information consumption process. As a result, the information market is divided by multiple factors, forming companies with different functions and properties. Producers will find their own markets in these various information commodities, and information users will also find their own markets. Therefore, the competition in the information market is different from that in the material market. Of course, there is still competition in the information market, and competition is an effective dynamic mechanism, which brings vitality and vitality to the information market.
The competition mechanism in the information market is mainly manifested as a competitive relationship in which suppliers, demanders and intermediaries of information commodities constantly make self-selection, self-adjustment and self-development in the process of production, development, management, trading and consumption of information commodities in order to gain a favorable market position.
The Risk Mechanism of 6.3.3.4 Information Market
Due to the incompleteness and asymmetry of information, all market participants are faced with uncertainty, which causes the risk of market operation. As far as the information market is concerned, there are more uncertain factors than the material market because of the invisibility of information commodities and the concealment and complexity of the relationship between information supply and demand. The risks in the information market are as follows:
(1) Risks of information commodity demanders. In the process of purchasing information goods, the demand side of information goods generally pursues the maximization of interests, but the price of information goods with great utility is also high, which brings risks to buyers; In the process of using information goods, information users need to learn and digest knowledge-based information goods or services, and the size of consumption power also brings risks to information goods buyers. For example, when an enterprise buys an information commodity, its employees cannot grasp the connotation of the information commodity because of their limited knowledge level, which leads to the unavailability of the information commodity.
(2) Risks of information commodity suppliers. In the process of development and investment, information goods need a lot of money, cutting-edge equipment and high-intelligence investment, which leads to risks; In the process of information commodity development, the failure of project selection and improper project implementation management make information commodity have the risk of development failure; In the process of information commodity exchange, suppliers can't obtain comprehensive and accurate market information, which leads to transaction risks.
(3) The risk of information commodity intermediary. Intermediary is the bridge and link between the supply and demand of information commodities, which leads to intermediary risk in successful transactions. In the transaction process, if the promise of either party is difficult to honor, then the intermediary will bear the credit risk. Credit is an important factor to measure intermediary. Many times, the supply and demand sides only realize the transaction because they trust the intermediary. Therefore, for intermediaries, establishing a credible customer base and an accurate and timely information resource base is the basis for winning in the information market.
Incentive Mechanism of 6.3.3.5 Information Market
The incentive mechanism of information market refers to mobilizing the enthusiasm and creativity of suppliers, demanders and intermediaries of information market through various effective management methods, so that they can strive to achieve their respective organizational goals and interests, especially material interests. Information market managers mainly encourage suppliers, demanders and intermediaries in incentive policies; Information market suppliers need to implement incentive measures from within the enterprise to expand their business scale. At present, China's information intermediaries include both public and private information institutions and various individual information operators. Only by implementing practical incentive measures can these information intermediaries take the initiative in the operation of the information market, keep close contact with the ever-changing information market and constantly reflect their own values. As far as the internal management of enterprises is concerned, the incentive mechanism is an important power source for employees' behavior. An effective incentive mechanism will enable employees to integrate their work with their personal career and create greater value for enterprises.
Coordination Mechanism of 6.3.3.6 Information Market
In the information market, the role of intermediaries and managers is more important than the material market. Intermediaries need to play a coordinating role in the information market. For example, in the process of information commodity exchange, there are often many problems and conflicts between the supply and demand sides of information commodities. In this case, as an intermediary, it knows more about the industry information of information goods than its client, and should consider the overall interests of both parties from a fair standpoint, give reasonable suggestions, coordinate the two parties to reach the transaction with the least loss or end the transaction happily. At present, some domestic trade associations, such as China Securities Industry Association and Accounting Industry Association, and regulatory authorities, such as CSRC and CIRC, are all important managers of this industry. These managers do not provide supply and demand information products or services independently, but act as the fourth party to maintain the benign operation of industry information commodity trading and information market, and they play an important coordinating role in the stable development and effective organization and management of information commodity market.
These six mechanisms of information market do not exist independently, but interact and restrict each other. * * * together constitute the operating mechanism of the information market and become the basis and basis for the operation of the information market. In the information economy, supply and demand mechanism, price mechanism and competition mechanism are the most basic operating mechanisms of the information market, and supply and demand mechanism will affect the price mechanism and adjust the competition mechanism; The price mechanism will in turn regulate the supply and demand mechanism and stimulate the competition mechanism; Competition mechanism will also affect the price mechanism and promote the balance between supply and demand; The price mechanism indirectly regulates the supply and demand mechanism, stimulates the competition mechanism to play a role, and the incentive mechanism will also stimulate the fluctuation of prices and the increase of supply; There are risks in the information market, and the risk mechanism will not only affect the price mechanism and restrict the incentive mechanism, but also restrict the competition mechanism and supply and demand mechanism. Coordination mechanism is an important mechanism that runs through the development of information market. Market trading behavior can be restrained through reasonable management, so that market operation mechanisms such as price mechanism, competition mechanism, supply and demand mechanism and incentive mechanism can operate efficiently and orderly.
6.3.4 Information market management function
The management function of information market refers to the special responsibility that the management organization undertakes to carry out some procedural activities related to its main objectives. The management function of the information market is the basis of establishing a reasonable management organization structure and determining the scope and subordinate relationship of the management organization. The management function can only complete the corresponding information market management task with the help of the consistent management organization structure, and the management organization exists to perform certain functions.
The management functions of the information market include planning, organization, regulation, accounting, supervision, education and other aspects, and the functions are interrelated and interact with each other to achieve the purpose of management.
(1) Planning function of information market management. Its content includes a summary of the development of the information market, as well as policies, strategies and technical methods adopted to achieve strategic goals.
(2) Organizational function of information market management. Organization function, like planning function, plays an important role in information market management. The realization of organizational function is the condition for effectively organizing the distribution of market factors. It is realized by means suitable for the organized object, especially the formulation of standards, including rules, orders and other normative behaviors, which should be based on objective requirements and realistic conditions.
(3) The regulatory function of information market management. The supervision function is the direct management of the information market, which ensures the normal operation of the information market by maintaining the elements, behaviors and orderly state of the information market. At present, the main ways to adjust functions are: all kinds of mandatory orders, restrictions and plans; Economic means, administrative means and legal means; Improve social information awareness, use social moral public opinion propaganda, etc.
(4) Accounting function of information market management. The purpose of accounting function is to quantitatively measure, register and classify the results (intermediate results and final results) of information market activities.
(5) The supervisory function of information market management. The function of supervision is essentially to check the implementation of information market management on the basis of information management. Supervision can be divided into internal supervision and external supervision, self-supervision and mutual supervision, top-down supervision and bottom-up supervision. Can also be divided into prior supervision, professional supervision and post supervision. Prior supervision is the means and basis for evaluating the proposed tasks and selecting the tasks to be completed; Business supervision is to use organizational measures and technical measures to systematically evaluate and control the management situation; Post supervision is the most popular and common form of supervision, which improves management quality by evaluating management results and accepting feedback information.
(6) The educational function of information market management. The educational function is to educate and train all participants in the information market in ethics, law and business, so that they can improve their professional level, adapt to the requirements and constraints of the environment and work, and complete the goals and tasks of market operation with skilled work skills, which is a necessary condition for promoting the healthy development of the information market.
The above functions are interrelated, interactive and indispensable, which together constitute the functional system of information market management, from which the organizational structure of information market management can be constructed.