The valuation and pricing of information assets

Purpose - The valuation and pricing of information assets often presents managers with substantial challenges. Information assets are usually highly unique, lack objective price benchmarks, have a high potential for piracy, can be simultaneously accessed and enjoyed by multiple users and generally feature significant information asymmetry between sellers and buyers. This paper aims to discuss five methods that can be used to value/price information assets. Design/methodology/approach - This is a conceptual paper that draws and builds upon the multidisciplinary pricing literature. Findings - A tree diagram, one that matches particular combinations of information asset features with each of the five methods, is presented to assist practitioners with their choice of valuation/pricing method. Originality/value - The pricing of information assets is a challenging and even daunting task. The linkages specified by the paper's model, and in particular its matching of information asset characteristics with specific valuation/pricing methods, offers a decision tool that does not currently exist. This tool is capable of supporting practitioner decision-making and highlights avenues for future scholarly research.