Rating: 
Summary: Personalization is half baked.
Review: In my view this book explains on how quality experiences finishes the job where personalization leaves off. The Experience Economy is a exciting read and recommend you read slowly. In addition if you read Pine's previous book (Mass Customization) and blend the concepts.....wow.
Rating: 
Summary: The Most Disappointing HBS Book I've read in Years
Review: It was painful getting through this book. Partly because of the content, but mainly because of the writing style of the authors. That aside, let's talk about why I didn't like the book. First, the economic arguments for the 'Experience Economy' were flimsy at best. It seemed to me they were overly selective in choosing their supporting arguments, mainly because they needed to make their work seem larger and more broadly applicable than it really is. Second, much of their 'new economy' is really just an as-yet-little-discussed market segment. And many of their groundbreaking ideas traditional (and fundamental) marketing. Third, I found the religious (sorry, world-view) over- and under-tones of the last two chapters almost insufferable. Quite frankly, for two authors who talk about the importance of customization and segmenting according to world-view, they should have known better than to discuss religion in the manner they chose. Don't get me wrong, the book did have some very interesting points. I found the 'work as stage'concept and the review of 'experience development' concepts fascinating and applicable. I cannot, however, recommend this book to you. If you want the critical insights, borrow it from someone who did buy it, and read Chapters 2,3,6, and 7. Oh, and mind the typos, a few of them happen at the WORST possible places (like the misdrawn table 5.2).
Rating:
Summary: A must for anyone in any type business.
Review: Joe Pine and Jim Gilmore have identified an economic/business trend that has been so subtle as to go unnoticed, and gone on to show us how the economy is in a major shift from a service economy to an experience economy where experiences are distinct economic offerings that will be the driving force to future economic growth. What is so amazing about the book is that the authors have a perspective that is ten years out looking back at the present.The implications to anyone in business are enormous. The Experience Economy explains how this economic shift is a shift in the progression of economic value and how products and services that don't become experiential will stay or become nothing more than commodities. Sections of the book dissect and codify experience offerings, explaining the components of turning goods and services into experiences. I work in the entertainment industry. The book has opened my eyes and mind to a completely new perspective on not only my industry, but the entire economy. This book is a must read for anyone in business of any type who wants to prosper in the future.
Rating:
Summary: An Awakening
Review: No matter what your business, or your place in that business, this book is for you! You know the world is changing and you want stay in pace, this book will help you in that effort. As you read this book your personal experiences will be the confirmation of its content.
Rating:
Summary: An Awakening
Review: No matter what your business, or your place in that business, this book is for you! You know the world is changing and you want stay in pace, this book will help you in that effort. As you read this book your own personal experiences will be the confirmation of the content.
Rating: 
Summary: read it
Review: One of the challenges in implementing profound change in an organization is the ability to visualize the end result with crystal clarity, and articulating the outcome desired. I have been struggling how to articulate "the Disney way" without running into the prejudices against Micky Mouse-ification. sevice --> experience --> transformation works for me!
Rating:
Summary: The Divergence of Theory and Reality
Review: The book takes a very logical, reasoned approach towards the theoretical next steps of economic expansion. It reasons that margins drive profits and that by constantly searching for higher margin offerings, a company will naturally improve and increase its profitability. The logic is understandable... Commodity goods have small margins, as they are undifferentiated from each other and relativly easy to reproduce. Manufactured goods take things one step further, providing higher margins due to some level of product differentiation and brand specificity. Above that are Services, where the products don't last long enough to be copied and are customized enough to prevent easy manipulation. The higher margins should lead to higher profitability and better staying power. Fair enough. Where the book's logic becomes strained, however, is where it strethes out towards the next generation of higher margin offerings, "Experiences." While it is true that experience companies my be able to provide higher margins than can older economy companies, experience companies tend to suffer from a fatal flaw that has infected many of the companies praised in the book. That flaw is the utter lack of repeat business generated by most experience economy companies. Take two of the companies mentioned in the book as companies to emulate -- Planet Hollywood, the restaurant chain, and Peapod, the online grocery store. Planet Hollywood is under bankruptcy protection, because people are simply unwilling to pay through the nose repeatedly for the same experience over and over again. Peapod ran out of cash and is limping along only after being bought out by a Dutch firm. Hardly two stellar companies to emulate when searching for ever expanding profits. Throughout the book, by expounding the virtues of ever expanding margins, rather than focusing on goods, services, and 'experiences' that people would be willing to repeatedly pay to have, the authors make the mistake of ignoring the overall forest for the sake of a single tree. In the real world, experience companies know their limitations and create their pricing scheme to represent that fact. Amusement parks sell season passes for less than the cost of two visits -- acknowledging the fact that people may pay more for experiences, but only once, and repeat business depends heavily on making the repeat worth the cost. Had the book focused more on successful ways for experience economy companies to thrive, rather than spending its time drolling on about the virtues of failing companies with the right plan, it would have been far more believable and enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting premise -- but fades fast
Review: The concept of experience and its in role business is important. However the book treats the subject too lightly, I get the impression that all business will soon be DisneyWorld. The book's examples -- most focused on entertainment -- makes the concept appear trite and limited. Needed more real business issues and examples for my taste. I agree that experience is important, perhaps critical to the future--but this book does not give me much to go on.
Rating:
Summary: Astute insight but tries too much with too little
Review: The Experience Economy pulls from centuries of thought ranging from psychology to drama and applies them to the modern world of business. Though the authors claim to have identified a completely new and distinct model for viewing the present and rapidly approaching economy, it actually turns out to be an argument for a segment of the service economy. Despite its failure to live up to its grandiose claims, The Experience Economy is very significant in its own right. It provides a new lens by which business managers can scrutinize their companies and add value to their customers. The argument for building value with entertainment, aesthetic, escapist, and educational experiences gives insight on how customers interact with their environment. It also offers consumers and workers a new perspective on day to day experiences as they interface with people and organizations around them. The division of workers into different theatrical roles gives those on the stage (or in the trenches as it may feel) a new way of looking at the job descriptions passed in from above and the roles of other co-workers. The break down of different types of performances present the performer, which the authors suggest is all of us, a new tool for evaluating priorities and preparing for contingencies. Just as the authors allayed my fears that the experience economy will not mean a world of poor-performing, superficial used car salespeople trying to tell me how I should feel, they introduce "Transformational" economy, where corporate America offers meaningful, life-long change as a fee-for-services product. Skip the last two chapters for a delightful read about the one of the more insightful views into the "new" economy.
Rating: 
Summary: Goto bookstore and read first two chapters
Review: The first two chapters are well crafted and well written. After that, it seems book is reiteration of same points again and again. It is good idea which authors seems to have hard time backing it up.
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