| The rise of the Internet has led to an increased appreciation of online information goods---goods consisting of data, information, and knowledge content, often with high sunk costs, that are traded online at a close-to-zero marginal cost of production. The present study pays particular attention to a subset of information goods, namely, subscription-based online information goods (SOIGs)---online information goods acquired across time by an arrangement between the provider and the client in which the client pays a forward periodic fee to have access to the content made digitally available by the provider.; This research identifies three sets of factors---Expected Net Benefits, Attributes, and Reputation---that could be used by consumers to assess the value of a given SOIG. Using experiments, the present study examines consumers' assessments of value of SOIGs as measured by consumers' reservation prices.; The use of structural equation modeling and regression to analyze the data indicate that Expected Net Benefits is the sole responsible for the determination of reservation price, although both Attributes and Reputation have an important role in determining consumers' assessment of potential benefits. Analysis also indicates that both Attributes and Reputation have a similarly important role in the evaluation process. Although no conclusive evidence could be found about variations on the roles of Expected Net Benefits, Attributes, and Reputation across different types of content, types of consumption, and consumer knowledge levels, this study offer suggestions for some other research projects in the area. |
