Converting free users to paying customers in freemium services: a SaaS success model

IF 2.3 4区管理学 Q3 BUSINESS

Information Systems and e-Business Management Pub Date : 2024-10-24 DOI:10.1007/s10257-024-00690-2

Pei-Fang Hsu, Hsin-Ru Rebecca Yen, Paul Jen-Hwa Hu, Tuan Kellan Nguyen

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

A freemium strategy represents a popular business model for cloud-empowered services, in which a vendor gives away basic services for free and seeks to monetize premium services. The economic viability of freemium models depends on the vendor’s ability to convert free service users into paying customers. Different from prior studies that mainly examine users’ intention to pay, this study examines both users’ intentions to pay and their actual purchase behaviors by extending the IS success model to propose a software as a service (SaaS) success model. Our proposed model emphasizes two freemium-specific, user-oriented factors: (1) the fit between perceived value of provided services and user needs of premium services as a contingent factor, and (2) price consciousness resulted from free-mentality of SaaS as a moderating factor to understand how individual evaluations of provided services might lead to purchases of premium services. We empirically examine the proposed SaaS success model with data from 638 active SaaS users. The results indicate that SaaS users’ intentions to pay and actual purchase behaviors are shaped by their perceived value of and satisfaction with the provided services, moderated by price consciousness. Furthermore, the fit between perceived value and user needs has an important, contingent role in influencing users’ intentions to pay and purchase behaviors.

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在免费服务中将免费用户转化为付费用户：SaaS 的成功模式

免费战略是云服务的一种流行商业模式，在这种模式下，供应商免费提供基本服务，并寻求将高级服务货币化。免费模式的经济可行性取决于厂商将免费服务用户转化为付费用户的能力。与以往主要考察用户付费意愿的研究不同，本研究通过扩展信息系统成功模型，提出软件即服务（SaaS）成功模型，同时考察用户的付费意愿和实际购买行为。我们提出的模型强调了两个免费软件特有的、以用户为导向的因素：(1)所提供服务的感知价值与用户对高级服务需求之间的契合度，作为权变因素；(2)SaaS 的免费性所产生的价格意识，作为调节因素，以了解个人对所提供服务的评价如何可能导致购买高级服务。我们利用 638 名活跃的 SaaS 用户的数据对所提出的 SaaS 成功模型进行了实证检验。结果表明，SaaS 用户的支付意愿和实际购买行为受其对所提供服务的感知价值和满意度的影响，并受价格意识的调节。此外，感知价值与用户需求之间的契合度在影响用户的支付意愿和购买行为方面起着重要的或然作用。

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来源期刊

Information Systems and e-Business Management Multiple-

CiteScore

6.20

自引率

11.10%

发文量

期刊介绍： Nowadays, in the age of information technology and the internet, the creation and maintenance of business models has to consider the latest developments in information technology to ensure competitiveness and long-term success of the enterprise. The aim of Information Systems Management (ISM) is to integrate information technology into business models and business processes to explore its potential to meet the business goals. Many international journals in the field of information systems (IS) or information management (IM) focus primarily on the quantitative analysis of information systems phenomena, especially through the use of empirical studies. However, research on qualitative analysis, development, and deployment of information systems is not covered sufficiently by the existing international IS journals. Therefore, the journal Information Systems and e-Business Management (ISeB) focuses on the core tasks of Information Systems Management, the conceptual analysis, design, and deployment of information systems, as well as on all e-business related topics. 1. Editorial objective The central aim of the journal ISeB is to publish original, well-written, self-contained contributions that elucidate novel research and innovation in information systems management and e-business which advance the field fundamentally and significantly. Published quarterly, the journal will: - Provide a vibrant forum for both academicians and industry specialists to explore the information systems and e-business management field - Bring innovative research on all aspects of information systems management from analytical, behavioral and technological perspectives - Enable rapid dissemination of latest research and innovation, supported with a double-blind peer review process. 2. Nature of topics The function of information systems management is the use of information technology (IT) to meet the information requirements of a company. Core tasks of ISM are the generation of project ideas (e.g. identification of business opportunities enabled by new information technologies), conceptual analysis, design, and integration of information systems. Submissions to ISeB should have a clear business focus and use appropriate information systems methodologies. They should either be founded on theory or should have proven their value based on prototypes and their beneficial application in the field. The general applicability of the concepts presented is strictly required. Case studies are welcome, if the insights presented allow general applicability. Moreover, empirical studies are welcome if clear research questions with relevance to the field of information systems and e-business management are given and the studies are carried out correctly. ISeB topics focus on (but are not restricted to) the following areas: - Information Modeling: The central task of information systems modeling is the conceptual specification of information systems from the business point of view. Information modeling includes the development or the application of high-level modeling techniques used for conceptual modeling, e.g. event-driven process chain (EPC) for process modeling, entity-relationship model (ERM) for data modeling, and object-oriented methods like the unified modeling language (UML). - Domain-Specific Information Systems: Different industry domains (e.g. manufacturing, retailing, or finance) are characterized by different requirements to information systems that are reflected in different IS architectures for specific domains. The development and maintenance of information systems in an industry domain can be supported by these architectures. Either the development of generalizable domain-specific architectures or the employment of such architectures in practice can be discussed. - E-Business Management (intra-organization al and inter-organizational information systems): Possible sub-topics include the development and deployment of IS for electronic commerce and supply chain management, market places, new business scenarios enabled through new technologies. Based on a business strategy, submissions have to clearly state how the strategy can be operationalized using IS. - Information Systems Development: The development and deployment of large-scale IS (e.g. enterprise resource planning software) requires the use of appropriate software engineering methodologies, procedure models, and project management. Possible research areas are the development of software engineering methodologies, procedure models, and the design of project management methods. Empirical studies on IS development may focus on the application of well-founded methods in practice. - Information Technology Management: The function of information technology management is the provision and operation of the technical infrastructure and the planning of the technical orientation of information systems in an enterprise. An important aspect is the impact of changing information systems on organizational structures and processes – and vice versa. In this context, the use of information technology to realize a business strategy efficiently can be analyzed. - Latest Information Technology Developments: Latest developments in information technology have to be evaluated to explore potentials to generate new business strategies. Current topics and trends to be evaluated for business use are e.g. business intelligence systems, agent technology, and workflow management systems. Officially cited as: Inf Syst E-Bus Manage