Publication Type

Conference Proceeding Article

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

1-2016

Abstract

Product sampling allows consumers to try out a small portion of a product for free. Uncertainty associated with consumption of information goods makes sampling useful for digital entertainment providers. Firms offer some programming for free to attract consumers to purchase a series of programs. We explore the effectiveness of content sampling for information goods using a dataset containing more than 17 million free previews and purchase observations on households from a digital entertainment firm that offers video-on-demand (VoD). Based on theories related to product sampling and information goods, we analyze the relationship between free previews and VoD purchases for series dramas. Households with premium subscription packages show more interest in VoD, which implies higher utility for TV viewing. We also explore household sampling and purchasing patterns for VoD series dramas. Implementation of sampling plays an important role in stimulating more purchases, but in different and more nuanced ways than we expected.

Keywords

TV, Entertainment industry, Programming, Uncertainty, Context, Motion pictures

Discipline

Computer Sciences | Management Information Systems

Research Areas

Information Systems and Management

Publication

Proceedings of the 49th Hawaii International Conference on Systems Science 2016, Kauai, January 5-8

First Page

4750

Last Page

4759

ISBN

9780769556703

Identifier

10.1109/HICSS.2016.589

Publisher

IEEE Computer Society

City or Country

Los Alamitos, CA

Copyright Owner and License

LARC

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1109/HICSS.2016.589

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