The purpose of this commentary is to suggest a broader context for the
preceding paper, 'Redefining industry structure for the information a
ge' by Jeffrey L. Sampler. The important particular issues raised by S
ampler are really parr of a larger set of general issues facing schola
rs and executives concerned with strategic issues. The Sampler paper i
s an exemplar of a general area of investigation that is currently und
ernourished. Hopefully this general area will see considerable researc
h interest in the future. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.