(Weill et al., 2004) 3. 1. What assets are involved? Our first dimension is simply what assets are involved in value appropriation. We consider four types of assets: physical, financial, intangible, and human. These are commonly referred to in the literature often as components of a resource-based view or some core competence. For example, (Teece et al. 1997) list as their"positions"financial assets and intangible assets, into which they group what they call technological, complementary and reputational assets. There is also a large literature that describes the differences among these asset types, and how the economy is shifting its weight on one to another-e g (Quah, 2002) (Rajan et al, 1998); (Varian, 2000) Physical assets include durable items(such as houses, computers, and machine tools) as well as endurable ones(such as food, clothing, and paper) Financial assets include cash and securities like stocks, bonds, and insurance policies that give their owners rights to potential future cash flows Intangible assets include legally protected intellectual property(such as patents, copyrights, and trade secrets), as well as other intangible assets like knowledge, goodwill, and brand image Human assets include people's time and effort. People are not"assets"in an accounting sense and annot be bought and sold, but their time(and knowledge)can be "rented out for a fee 3.2. What righ ts are belng sold? The first, and most obvious, kind of right a business can sell is the right of ownership of an asset Customers who buy the right of ownership of an asset have the continuing right to use the asset (almost) any way they want, including selling, destroying, or disposing of it. In the property rights literature, this is idea that the seller of an asset transfers residual rights to the buyer-e g,( Grossman et aL., 1986) and(Mahoney, 1992). Furthermore, we distinguish between sales that involve significantly transformed assets from those that do not This allows us to distinguish between firms that make what they sell (like manufacturers)and those that sell things other firms have made(like retailers). We could6 (Weill et al., 2004). 3.1. What assets are involved? Our first dimension is simply what assets are involved in value appropriation. We consider four types of assets: physical, financial, intangible, and human. These are commonly referred to in the literature, often as components of a resource-based view or some core competence. For example, (Teece et al., 1997) list as their “positions” financial assets and intangible assets, into which they group what they call technological, complementary and reputational assets. There is also a large literature that describes the differences among these asset types, and how the economy is shifting its weight on one to another––e.g., (Quah, 2002); (Rajan et al., 1998); (Varian, 2000). Physical assets include durable items (such as houses, computers, and machine tools) as well as nondurable ones (such as food, clothing, and paper). Financial assets include cash and securities like stocks, bonds, and insurance policies that give their owners rights to potential future cash flows. Intangible assets include legally protected intellectual property (such as patents, copyrights, and trade secrets), as well as other intangible assets like knowledge, goodwill, and brand image. Human assets include people’s time and effort. People are not “assets” in an accounting sense and cannot be bought and sold, but their time (and knowledge) can be “rented out” for a fee. 3.2. What rights are being sold? The first, and most obvious, kind of right a business can sell is the right of ownership of an asset. Customers who buy the right of ownership of an asset have the continuing right to use the asset in (almost) any way they want, including selling, destroying, or disposing of it. In the property rights literature, this is idea that the seller of an asset transfers residual rights to the buyer––e.g., (Grossman et al., 1986) and (Mahoney, 1992). Furthermore, we distinguish between sales that involve significantly transformed assets from those that do not. This allows us to distinguish between firms that make what they sell (like manufacturers) and those that sell things other firms have made (like retailers). We could