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TEC 301 · Unit 2 of 6

Digital Economics

Technology, Innovation and Digital Business

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Learning objectives

After completing this unit, you will be able to:

  • to business decisions
  • Apply the frameworks in "Digital Economics" to a real management decision
  • Make progress on your Technology, Innovation and Digital Business case analysis applied project

Why this matters

Digital Economics is essential to Technology, Innovation and Digital Business. Lessons build fluency with anchor-company examples, worked problems, and assessments on the unit page.

Lesson

Unit overview

Complete all 5 lessons in order. Each lesson follows the program authoring standard: conceptual prose, worked examples, practice problems, and managerial judgment prompts. Finish unit exercises and the knowledge check before marking the unit complete.

Connection to applied work

This unit feeds directly into Technology, Innovation and Digital Business case analysis. As you read, capture notes, examples, and data you can reuse in that deliverable. Strong students finish each unit with a draft section of their project, not just highlights.

Practice

  1. Write a one-page summary of this unit in your own words without looking at the lesson.
  2. Find a real company example (public filing, news article, or personal experience) that illustrates the main concept.
  3. Draft one paragraph recommending an action a manager should take based on this unit.
  4. Add at least three terms from this unit to your course glossary.

Knowledge check

Answer these without notes before marking the unit complete:

  1. What is the central idea of "Digital Economics"?
  2. What mistake do beginners most often make when applying this material?
  3. How does this unit help you complete Technology, Innovation and Digital Business case analysis?
  4. What is one decision you face this month where this unit applies?

Key takeaways

  • to business decisions
  • Business concepts only matter when they change a decision.
  • Your TEC 301 assessment (Innovation, digital economics, platforms, transformation, and technology governance.) rewards applied understanding, not memorization.

Unit assessment

Complete each section below. Score 80%+ on the quiz to finish this unit's assessment.

40% applied project35% knowledge checks25% reflections

Exercises

Apply what you learned in this unit with structured practice.

ExerciseApplied practice: Digital Economics45 min
Complete a focused practice exercise on **Digital Economics**. 1. Choose a real company, product, or situation you know. 2. Apply one core framework from this unit to analyze it. 3. Write your analysis in 300–500 words with a clear recommendation. 4. Cite at least one credible source.

Deliverable

300–500 word analysis document saved to your portfolio under TEC 301.

Rubric

  • • Framework applied correctly (not just named)
  • • Specific evidence from a real example
  • • Clear recommendation with tradeoffs acknowledged
  • • Professional writing with source citation
ExerciseDrill: Digital Economics30 min
Work through the practice problems in the unit lesson without looking at notes. Then check your work against the lesson and write a short reflection: - What you got right - One mistake you caught - One concept to review before the next unit

Deliverable

Problem solutions + 150-word reflection in your TEC 301 workbook.

Rubric

  • • Attempted all practice items before checking answers
  • • Honest reflection on errors
  • • Identifies a specific review action

Case analysis

Analyze a case using frameworks from this unit.

CaseCase analysis: Digital Economics60 min
Analyze a real business case through the lens of **Digital Economics**. Choose a public company event, HBR-style case, or documented decision. **Deliverable structure:** 1. Situation summary (150 words) 2. Analysis using this unit's frameworks (400 words) 3. Recommendation (150 words) 4. Risks and what would change your mind

Deliverable

2-page case write-up in your portfolio.

Rubric

  • • Case facts are accurate and sourced
  • • Analysis uses unit frameworks explicitly
  • • Recommendation is justified with tradeoffs
  • • Risks are specific, not generic

Knowledge quiz

Check your understanding before marking the unit complete.

1. Nexa software ARR carries ~78% gross margin while blended margin is ~52%. What is the key managerial lesson?

2. Nexa added 310 robots with only 14 core engineers but 37 field engineers. This shows:

3. Nexa wants to use multi-customer telemetry to improve mis-pick models. First constraint to address?

4. Nexa marketplace partner apps increase customer attach. This is primarily:

5. Investors claim Nexa can be winner-take-all in all warehouse tech. Best response?

6. Bundling analytics free to win hardware deals most likely:

7. Rising services hours per new software dollar at Nexa signals:

8. To reach marketplace critical mass Nexa should most likely:

Next unit: Platforms and Ecosystems →