Needs and expectations of customers in pre- and after-sales stages in the e-commerce purchase process in the luxury products sector are not well known and defined. We were interested in discovering the opinions of customers concerning the role of internet in the pre- and after-sales stages of the purchasing process in this industry. As we are just at the beginning of the e-commerce area in the luxury sector, we decided to focus on blogs' content. After-sales service in the luxury sector is considered with circumspection. Practitioners feel that consumers are still very much attached to the 'physical' experience. On the contrary, we assumed that Netsurfers belonging to net communities are also luxury goods and services consumers. According to the netnography methodology (Kozinets, 1998), we analyzed the Netsufers comments about pre- and after-sales services. We identified and selected blogs that are specific to the Web 2.0 generation; these blogs are discussing about luxury watches, cars, travels and art objects. The results permitted us to identify three categories of services needs: 1) the need for the service in broad terms, especially the service that should be linked to a product 2) the need for a specific information or a very specific service, and 3) specific complaint about service experiences. These insights were discussed to be fully integrated in the e-commerce strategy in general.
{"title":"Luxury E-Services at the Pre- and After-Sales Stages of the Decision Making Process: Watch, Car, Art and Travel Blogs Analysis Du Cahier De Recherche","authors":"A. Broillet, M. Dubosson","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.1126212","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1126212","url":null,"abstract":"Needs and expectations of customers in pre- and after-sales stages in the e-commerce purchase process in the luxury products sector are not well known and defined. We were interested in discovering the opinions of customers concerning the role of internet in the pre- and after-sales stages of the purchasing process in this industry. As we are just at the beginning of the e-commerce area in the luxury sector, we decided to focus on blogs' content. After-sales service in the luxury sector is considered with circumspection. Practitioners feel that consumers are still very much attached to the 'physical' experience. On the contrary, we assumed that Netsurfers belonging to net communities are also luxury goods and services consumers. According to the netnography methodology (Kozinets, 1998), we analyzed the Netsufers comments about pre- and after-sales services. We identified and selected blogs that are specific to the Web 2.0 generation; these blogs are discussing about luxury watches, cars, travels and art objects. The results permitted us to identify three categories of services needs: 1) the need for the service in broad terms, especially the service that should be linked to a product 2) the need for a specific information or a very specific service, and 3) specific complaint about service experiences. These insights were discussed to be fully integrated in the e-commerce strategy in general.","PeriodicalId":343564,"journal":{"name":"Economics of Networks","volume":"62 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2008-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121618662","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The new information society offers great potential in promoting sustainable development, democracy and transparency for developing countries. In this context it is very important, both for these countries governments and business communities, to develop successful electronic commerce and electronic business strategies.This paper discusses electronic commerce aspects, with specific attention focused on e-readiness - a country's ability to take advantage of the Internet as an engine of economic growth and human development. The paper proposes a theoretical investigation of the e-readiness rank in Romania, in the framework of an electronic commerce network provided by J.P. Singh and S.M. Gilchrist. There are presented some of the positive and negative implications that developing countries (and especially Romania) need to be aware of if appropriate strategies are to be put in place, and also several factors which will impede or support faster Internet penetration and e-commerce development in these countries (the regulatory framework, the situation of IT&C market, the (limited) use of credit cards and other ways of electronic payment, cyber space (in)security and the level of computer literacy, the penetration of mobile telephony as a basis for mobile Internet access). Also, there are presented some results of a survey published to the portal of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Al. I. Cuza University of Iassy, Romania, during July 2004. The study identifies electronic consumers' motivations and preferences. Ultimately, the user's opinion about electronic commerce can be identified, and used to develop a set of recommendation for Romanian and other developing countries e-readiness growth.
新的信息社会在促进发展中国家的可持续发展、民主和透明度方面具有巨大潜力。在这种情况下，对于这些国家的政府和商界来说，开发成功的电子商务和电子商务战略是非常重要的。本文讨论了电子商务的各个方面，特别关注电子商务准备情况，即一个国家利用互联网作为经济增长和人类发展引擎的能力。本文在J.P. Singh和S.M. Gilchrist提供的电子商务网络框架下，对罗马尼亚的电子商务准备等级进行了理论研究。发展中国家(特别是罗马尼亚)如果要采取适当的战略，需要注意一些积极和消极的影响，以及阻碍或支持这些国家更快的互联网渗透和电子商务发展的几个因素(监管框架、信息技术和通信市场的情况、(有限的)使用信用卡和其他电子支付方式)。网络空间的安全和计算机素养水平、移动电话的普及作为移动互联网接入的基础)。此外，还介绍了2004年7月在罗马尼亚Iassy Al. I. Cuza大学经济与工商管理学院门户网站上发表的一些调查结果。这项研究确定了电子产品消费者的动机和偏好。最终，可以确定用户对电子商务的看法，并用于为罗马尼亚和其他发展中国家的电子商务准备增长制定一套建议。
{"title":"The Challenges of E-Commerce in Central and Eastern Europe: The Romanian Case","authors":"D. Popescul","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.1114484","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1114484","url":null,"abstract":"The new information society offers great potential in promoting sustainable development, democracy and transparency for developing countries. In this context it is very important, both for these countries governments and business communities, to develop successful electronic commerce and electronic business strategies.This paper discusses electronic commerce aspects, with specific attention focused on e-readiness - a country's ability to take advantage of the Internet as an engine of economic growth and human development. The paper proposes a theoretical investigation of the e-readiness rank in Romania, in the framework of an electronic commerce network provided by J.P. Singh and S.M. Gilchrist. There are presented some of the positive and negative implications that developing countries (and especially Romania) need to be aware of if appropriate strategies are to be put in place, and also several factors which will impede or support faster Internet penetration and e-commerce development in these countries (the regulatory framework, the situation of IT&C market, the (limited) use of credit cards and other ways of electronic payment, cyber space (in)security and the level of computer literacy, the penetration of mobile telephony as a basis for mobile Internet access). Also, there are presented some results of a survey published to the portal of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Al. I. Cuza University of Iassy, Romania, during July 2004. The study identifies electronic consumers' motivations and preferences. Ultimately, the user's opinion about electronic commerce can be identified, and used to develop a set of recommendation for Romanian and other developing countries e-readiness growth.","PeriodicalId":343564,"journal":{"name":"Economics of Networks","volume":"67 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2008-03-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125606608","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In recent weeks, an increasingly agitated community of music aficionados has been mounting a vocal campaign to save Internet radio. On March 2, 2007, the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) announced its decision to increase the rates of the statutory license for sound recordings paid by Internet radio stations. Webcasters immediately cried foul and stated that these fees would force most webcasters to cease broadcasting. While some of their comments have certainly been hyperbole, if the new rates take effect they will have a deleterious effect on Internet radio. There are two core problems with the current system. First, the current system fails to produce competitive rates for the statutory license. In the absence of a competitive market the recording industry is able to pursue monopolistic pricing. SoundExchange, a performance rights organization, negotiates a single royalty rate with webcasters for all music on behalf of the recording industry. Since SoundExchange has a monopoly on sound recordings, it exerts too much market power to be a fair negotiator. In addition, the current system does not allow record labels and artists to set competitive prices for their music. Instead of allowing the market to create competitive pricing, the government has imposed a single royalty rate for all music. Finally, in their most recent ruling the CRB established rates for all non-interactive webcasters based on contracts between large interactive webcasters and the recording industry. The decision did not account for price adjustments that the recording industry and small, non-interactive webcasters would negotiate. Second, the system discriminates against Internet radio. Although Internet radio and terrestrial radio are competing technologies, Congress has exempted terrestrial radio from paying royalties on sound recordings. The entire premise that Internet radio should pay an additional royalty violates a core governing principle of the new economy that policies be technology-neutral. Ultimately, the system is broken because no judgment from the CRB proceedings would have produced the optimal outcome: a system where copyright owners can set competitive prices for their recordings and get compensated fairly regardless of the technology used to broadcast their music. Congress needs to enact legislation to reform the current system. First, Congress should grant the same performance copyright to all broadcast technologies. If terrestrial radio is exempt from the sound recording performance copyright, then Internet radio should also be exempt. If Congress wants to impose this royalty then both should pay. Second, Congress should modify the statutory license to allow copyright owners to specify separate royalty rates for each sound recording. This change will promote more competitive pricing and ensure the market can respond to foreign competition. Third, Congress should allow copyright owners to assign separate royalty rates to small and noncommercial webcaster gro
{"title":"Internet Radio and Copyright Royalties: Reforming a Broken System","authors":"D. Castro","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.1105104","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1105104","url":null,"abstract":"In recent weeks, an increasingly agitated community of music aficionados has been mounting a vocal campaign to save Internet radio. On March 2, 2007, the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) announced its decision to increase the rates of the statutory license for sound recordings paid by Internet radio stations. Webcasters immediately cried foul and stated that these fees would force most webcasters to cease broadcasting. While some of their comments have certainly been hyperbole, if the new rates take effect they will have a deleterious effect on Internet radio. There are two core problems with the current system. First, the current system fails to produce competitive rates for the statutory license. In the absence of a competitive market the recording industry is able to pursue monopolistic pricing. SoundExchange, a performance rights organization, negotiates a single royalty rate with webcasters for all music on behalf of the recording industry. Since SoundExchange has a monopoly on sound recordings, it exerts too much market power to be a fair negotiator. In addition, the current system does not allow record labels and artists to set competitive prices for their music. Instead of allowing the market to create competitive pricing, the government has imposed a single royalty rate for all music. Finally, in their most recent ruling the CRB established rates for all non-interactive webcasters based on contracts between large interactive webcasters and the recording industry. The decision did not account for price adjustments that the recording industry and small, non-interactive webcasters would negotiate. Second, the system discriminates against Internet radio. Although Internet radio and terrestrial radio are competing technologies, Congress has exempted terrestrial radio from paying royalties on sound recordings. The entire premise that Internet radio should pay an additional royalty violates a core governing principle of the new economy that policies be technology-neutral. Ultimately, the system is broken because no judgment from the CRB proceedings would have produced the optimal outcome: a system where copyright owners can set competitive prices for their recordings and get compensated fairly regardless of the technology used to broadcast their music. Congress needs to enact legislation to reform the current system. First, Congress should grant the same performance copyright to all broadcast technologies. If terrestrial radio is exempt from the sound recording performance copyright, then Internet radio should also be exempt. If Congress wants to impose this royalty then both should pay. Second, Congress should modify the statutory license to allow copyright owners to specify separate royalty rates for each sound recording. This change will promote more competitive pricing and ensure the market can respond to foreign competition. Third, Congress should allow copyright owners to assign separate royalty rates to small and noncommercial webcaster gro","PeriodicalId":343564,"journal":{"name":"Economics of Networks","volume":"55 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2008-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122860817","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Our societies are heterogeneous in many dimensions such as census, education, religion, ethnic and cultural composition. The links between individuals - e.g. by friendship, marriage or collaboration - are not evenly distributed, but rather tend to be concentrated within the same group. This phenomenon, called imbreeding homophily, has been related to either (social) preference for links with own--type individuals ( choice-based homophily) or to the prevalence of individuals of her same type in the choice set of an individual ( opportunity-based homophily). We propose an indicator to distinguish between these effects for minority groups. This is based on the observation that, in environments with unbiased opportunities, as the relative size of the minority gets small, individuals of the minority rarely meet and have the chance to establish links together. Therefore the effect of choice--based homophily gets weaker and weaker as the size of the minority shrinks. We test this idea across the dimensions of race and education on data on US marriages, and across race on friendships in US schools, and find that: for what concerns education i) opportunity--based homophily is much stronger than choice--based homophily and ii) they are both remarkably stationary in time; concerning race iii) school friendships do not exhibit opportunity-based homophily, while marriages do, iv) choice-based homophily is much stronger for marriages than for friendships and v) these effects vary widely across race.
{"title":"Opportunity and Choice in Social Networks","authors":"P. Pin, S. Franz, M. Marsili","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.1115748","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1115748","url":null,"abstract":"Our societies are heterogeneous in many dimensions such as census, education, religion, ethnic and cultural composition. The links between individuals - e.g. by friendship, marriage or collaboration - are not evenly distributed, but rather tend to be concentrated within the same group. This phenomenon, called imbreeding homophily, has been related to either (social) preference for links with own--type individuals ( choice-based homophily) or to the prevalence of individuals of her same type in the choice set of an individual ( opportunity-based homophily). We propose an indicator to distinguish between these effects for minority groups. This is based on the observation that, in environments with unbiased opportunities, as the relative size of the minority gets small, individuals of the minority rarely meet and have the chance to establish links together. Therefore the effect of choice--based homophily gets weaker and weaker as the size of the minority shrinks. We test this idea across the dimensions of race and education on data on US marriages, and across race on friendships in US schools, and find that: for what concerns education i) opportunity--based homophily is much stronger than choice--based homophily and ii) they are both remarkably stationary in time; concerning race iii) school friendships do not exhibit opportunity-based homophily, while marriages do, iv) choice-based homophily is much stronger for marriages than for friendships and v) these effects vary widely across race.","PeriodicalId":343564,"journal":{"name":"Economics of Networks","volume":"8 4 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2008-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128376038","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This paper provides a unified growth theory, i.e. a model that explains the very long-run economic and demographic development path of industrialized economies, stretching from the pre-industrial era to present-day and beyond. Making strict use of Malthus' (1798) so-called preventive check hypothesis - that fertility rates vary inversely with the price of food - the current study offers a new and straightforward explanation for the demographic transition and the break with the Malthusian era. The current framework lends support to existing unified growth theories and is well in tune with historical evidence about structural transformation.
{"title":"The Simplest Unified Growth Theory","authors":"H. Strulik, J. Weisdorf","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.1016982","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1016982","url":null,"abstract":"This paper provides a unified growth theory, i.e. a model that explains the very long-run economic and demographic development path of industrialized economies, stretching from the pre-industrial era to present-day and beyond. Making strict use of Malthus' (1798) so-called preventive check hypothesis - that fertility rates vary inversely with the price of food - the current study offers a new and straightforward explanation for the demographic transition and the break with the Malthusian era. The current framework lends support to existing unified growth theories and is well in tune with historical evidence about structural transformation.","PeriodicalId":343564,"journal":{"name":"Economics of Networks","volume":"14 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2008-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127441010","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In this paper, we compare two different representations of Framework Programs as affiliation network: “One-mode networks”' and “Two-mode networks”'. The aim of this article is to show that the choice of the representation has an impact on the analysis of the networks and on the results of the analysis. In order to support our proposals, we present two forms of representation and different indicators used in the analysis. We study the network of the 6th Framework Program using the two forms of representation. In particular, we show that the identification of the central nodes is sensitive to the chosen representation. Furthermore, the nodes forming the core of the network vary according to the representation. These differences of results are important as they can influence innovation policies.
{"title":"The Sixth Framework Program as an Affiliation Network: Representation and Analysis","authors":"David Frachisse, P. Billand, N. Massard","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.1117966","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1117966","url":null,"abstract":"In this paper, we compare two different representations of Framework Programs as affiliation network: “One-mode networks”' and “Two-mode networks”'. The aim of this article is to show that the choice of the representation has an impact on the analysis of the networks and on the results of the analysis. In order to support our proposals, we present two forms of representation and different indicators used in the analysis. We study the network of the 6th Framework Program using the two forms of representation. In particular, we show that the identification of the central nodes is sensitive to the chosen representation. Furthermore, the nodes forming the core of the network vary according to the representation. These differences of results are important as they can influence innovation policies.","PeriodicalId":343564,"journal":{"name":"Economics of Networks","volume":"41 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2008-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126843604","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This paper examines how the Internet has impacted job search behavior. Examining those who use the Internet for job seeking purposes, I show that the vast majority are currently employed. These employed job seekers are more likely to leave their current employer and are more likely to make an employment-to-employment transition. Examining the unemployed, I find that over the past ten years the variety of job search methods used by the unemployed has increased and job search behavior has become more extensive. Furthermore, the Internet has led to reallocation of effort among various job search activities.
{"title":"The Internet and Job Search","authors":"Betsey Stevenson","doi":"10.3386/W13886","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3386/W13886","url":null,"abstract":"This paper examines how the Internet has impacted job search behavior. Examining those who use the Internet for job seeking purposes, I show that the vast majority are currently employed. These employed job seekers are more likely to leave their current employer and are more likely to make an employment-to-employment transition. Examining the unemployed, I find that over the past ten years the variety of job search methods used by the unemployed has increased and job search behavior has become more extensive. Furthermore, the Internet has led to reallocation of effort among various job search activities.","PeriodicalId":343564,"journal":{"name":"Economics of Networks","volume":"21 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2008-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114752469","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Third-party access to rail infrastructure in Western Australia's Pilbara region is a contentious issue due to concerns about how third-party trains might impact on incumbents' operations. A recent State Government proposal involves a haulage regime, rather than access by third-party trains. This article explores the ramifications of haulage by examining voluntary haulage in the United States. It finds, with some caveats, that haulage seems more appropriate to the Pilbara situation than access.
{"title":"Assessing the Costs of a Haulage Regime","authors":"N. Wills-Johnson","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.1104964","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1104964","url":null,"abstract":"Third-party access to rail infrastructure in Western Australia's Pilbara region is a contentious issue due to concerns about how third-party trains might impact on incumbents' operations. A recent State Government proposal involves a haulage regime, rather than access by third-party trains. This article explores the ramifications of haulage by examining voluntary haulage in the United States. It finds, with some caveats, that haulage seems more appropriate to the Pilbara situation than access.","PeriodicalId":343564,"journal":{"name":"Economics of Networks","volume":"13 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2008-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"117134820","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The nature of the problem tackled by the ATLAS collaboration - the creation of a radically innovative particle detector experiment - makes ATLAS an exceptional case for studying DPSNs. The problem solving is distributed across multiple groups of problem solvers comprising 2000 scientists in 165 working groups across the globe. Similarly, the engineering, construction and installation of the many components is distributed across this collaborative network. The initially surprising finding of the case study is that this joint innovation effort succeeded despite breaking with most rules of traditional project management. Philipp Tuertscher analyzes what it took to make such a loosely structured organization work, and raises the question if such structure was even required to develop a complex technological system like the ATLAS detector?
{"title":"The Atlas Collaboration: A Distributed Problem-Solving Network in Big Science","authors":"Philipp Tuertscher","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.1326515","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1326515","url":null,"abstract":"The nature of the problem tackled by the ATLAS collaboration - the creation of a radically innovative particle detector experiment - makes ATLAS an exceptional case for studying DPSNs. The problem solving is distributed across multiple groups of problem solvers comprising 2000 scientists in 165 working groups across the globe. Similarly, the engineering, construction and installation of the many components is distributed across this collaborative network. The initially surprising finding of the case study is that this joint innovation effort succeeded despite breaking with most rules of traditional project management. Philipp Tuertscher analyzes what it took to make such a loosely structured organization work, and raises the question if such structure was even required to develop a complex technological system like the ATLAS detector?","PeriodicalId":343564,"journal":{"name":"Economics of Networks","volume":"171 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2008-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131562272","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Many software firms offer a fully functional version of their products free of charge, for a limited trial period, to ease consumers' uncertainty about the functionalities of their products and to help the diffusion of their new software. This paper examines the trade-off between the effects of reduced uncertainty and demand cannibalization, uncovers the condition under which software firms should introduce the time-locked free trial software, and finds the optimal free trial time. As software firms have the option of providing free trial software with full functionalities but a limited trial time or limited functionalities for an unlimited trial time, we develop a unified framework to provide useful guidelines for deciding which free trial strategy is preferred in the presence of network externalities and consumer uncertainty.
{"title":"Optimal Software Free Trial Strategy: The Impact of Network Externalities and Consumer Uncertainty","authors":"H. Cheng, Yipeng Liu","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.1013459","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1013459","url":null,"abstract":"Many software firms offer a fully functional version of their products free of charge, for a limited trial period, to ease consumers' uncertainty about the functionalities of their products and to help the diffusion of their new software. This paper examines the trade-off between the effects of reduced uncertainty and demand cannibalization, uncovers the condition under which software firms should introduce the time-locked free trial software, and finds the optimal free trial time. As software firms have the option of providing free trial software with full functionalities but a limited trial time or limited functionalities for an unlimited trial time, we develop a unified framework to provide useful guidelines for deciding which free trial strategy is preferred in the presence of network externalities and consumer uncertainty.","PeriodicalId":343564,"journal":{"name":"Economics of Networks","volume":"59 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2008-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129204407","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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