Vertical Differentiation and a Comparison of Online Advertising Models
用博弈论模型比较了垄断和双寡头市场中在线服务商提供无广告、有广告或两者组合的策略，发现高广告收入率可能降低服务价格，且CPM模式比CPC模式降价更严重。
Designing business models that take into consideration the role of advertising support is critical to the success of online services. In this paper, we address the challenges of these business model strategies and compare different ad revenue models. We use game theory to model vertical differentiation in both monopoly and duopoly settings, in which online service providers may offer an ad-free service, an ad-supported service, or a combination of these services. Offering both ad-free and ad-supported services is the optimal strategy for a monopolist because ad revenues compensate for the cannibalistic effect of vertical differentiation. In a duopoly equilibrium, exactly one firm offers both services when the ad revenue rate is sufficiently high. Furthermore, we find that a higher ad revenue rate may lead to lower service prices. Consistently across both monopoly and duopoly settings, such price reductions are more severe in the cost-per-thousand-impressions model than in the cost-per-click model. Our findings emphasize the role of advertising revenues in vertical differentiation and offer strategic guidance for monetizing online services. © 2012 M.E. Sharpe, Inc. All rights reserved.