No other electronic medium - in fact, no other medium at all - has become a mass medium as fast as the Internet did. At the beginning of 2008, there were more than 1.3 Billion users online, which accounts for roughly one fifth of the world population. Historically, the Internet has been conceptualized as a means of communication. Realizing its potential, however, it was soon used for commercial purposes as well. In addition to that, there is a third major area that has long been a major pillar of Internet usage: content.
Much of the tremendous growth of the Internet over the past decade can be explained by the fact that, apart from fees for the usage of bandwith, content and other services on the Internet have usually been offered for free, typically financed by revenues from online advertising. Faced with the burst of the Internet bubble and the sales from Internet advertising breaking away, however, online companies started looking for alternative ways of generating revenues. One of the most obvious options was to start charging consumers directly for the content offered to them, which was a rather significant paradigm shift.
The picture emerging today is twofold: On the one hand, online consumers who have grown accustomed to free services and content find the prospect of having to pay for those rather appalling. On the other hand, there is evidence that there is at least some degree of willingnes to pay for digital content among online consumers.
These controversial findings show that there is still a lot to be learned about business models, pricing strategies, and consumer attitudes towards paid content. It seems as if online consumers are definitely willing to pay for content under certain circumstances, yet there is much confusion about what these circumstances are exactly. As a result, there is apparently a great need for understanding online consumers' behavior and attitudes better in order to make more accurate decisions about when and how to put a price tag on digital content online.
This book intends to bridge this gap. However, the focus of is not on determining the optimal pricing strategy for providers of digital content. Instead, by adopting a consumer behavior perspective, it develops a conceptual framework that identifies the main factors influencing consumers' willingness to pay for digital content in an online context and thus deepens the understanding of how a company's specific pricing decisions affect those factors.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Introduction and Overview
- Justification of the Study and Problem Statement
- State of the Research
- Research Purpose and Chapter Overview
- The Concept of Digital Content – Definition and Classification
- The Concept of Electronic Markets as the Medium of Exchange
- The Internet Economy
- Electronic Markets and Electronic Commerce
- Definition of Digital Content
- Economic Characteristics of Digital Content
- Experience Good
- Indestructibility
- Transmutability
- Cost Structure
- Externalities
- Classification of Digital Content
- Pricing Strategies for the Online Distribution of Digital Content
- Analytical Framework
- Pricing Schedules
- Overview
- Alternative classification of pricing schedules for digital content
- Comparing usage-based with non-usage-based models
- Price Setting Policy
- Overview
- Decisions Regarding the Price Structure
- Decisions Regarding the Price Level
- Definition of Constructs
- The Concept of Willingness to Pay
- Theoretical Foundations
- Willingness to Pay in the Context of the Internet
- Willingness to Pay for Digital Content Online
- The Concept of Perceived Price Fairness
- Literature Review and Theoretical Foundations
- Perceived Fairness in the Context of the Internet
- The Concept of Perceived Risk
- Literature Review and Theoretical Foundations
- Perceived Risk in the Context of the Internet
- Theoretical Framework
- Overview
- Prospect Theory
- Mental Accounting
- Coupling and Mental Depreciation
- Analyzing Consumer Reactions to the Pricing Decisions of Digital Content Providers
- General Overview
- Determinants of Willingness to Pay for Digital Content Online
- Perceived Price Fairness
- Perceived Risk
- Model 1 - Comparing the Effects of Different Pricing Schedules
- Model 2 - Comparing the Effects of Different Price Setting Strategies
- Moderating Factors
- "Sponsored Lunch" Mentality
- Reputation
- Offline Pendant
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This research aims to develop a conceptual framework for analyzing consumer responses to pricing decisions regarding the online distribution of digital content. The study explores the factors influencing consumer willingness to pay for digital content, particularly focusing on the role of perceived price fairness and perceived risk.
- The definition and classification of digital content
- Pricing strategies for the online distribution of digital content
- Consumer behavior towards pricing decisions for digital content
- The influence of perceived price fairness and perceived risk on willingness to pay
- The development of a theoretical framework for understanding consumer responses
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
The first chapter introduces the study's justification, problem statement, and research purpose. It also provides a brief overview of the existing research in the field. Chapter 2 delves into the concept of digital content, defining it and exploring its economic characteristics, such as experience good, indestructibility, and transmutability. It also discusses the classification of digital content based on different criteria. Chapter 3 analyzes various pricing strategies for the online distribution of digital content, examining both pricing schedules and price setting policies. Chapter 4 defines key constructs like willingness to pay, perceived price fairness, and perceived risk, drawing upon relevant literature and theoretical foundations. It then introduces a theoretical framework that combines Prospect Theory, Mental Accounting, and Coupling and Mental Depreciation. Chapter 5 examines the factors influencing consumer responses to pricing decisions, specifically focusing on the impact of perceived price fairness and perceived risk on willingness to pay. It presents two models to compare the effects of different pricing schedules and price setting strategies. Finally, it explores the role of moderating factors such as "sponsored lunch" mentality, reputation, and offline pendants.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
Digital Content, Online Distribution, Pricing Decisions, Consumer Behavior, Willingness to Pay, Perceived Price Fairness, Perceived Risk, Theoretical Framework, Prospect Theory, Mental Accounting, Pricing Schedules, Price Setting Policy, Moderating Factors.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Lucian Morariu (Autor:in), 2007, "Will they pay for it?" A conceptual framework for analyzing consumer responses to pricing decisions regarding the online distribution of digital content, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/88047
