The Effects of Information Nudges on Consumer Usage of Digital Services under Three-Part Tariffs
构建动态模型研究三部分定价下，信息助推（全程或部分时段提供使用状态提醒）如何影响消费者使用决策和福利，发现助推能提升消费效率，福利呈倒U形，且助推时机重要。
We develop a dynamic model to examine how information nudges influence digital services’ consumer usage behavior and welfare under a three-part tariff structure. We study two types of information nudging: nudging through full and nudging through partial information provision. In the former, information nudges are provided to inform consumers of their usage status at every decision point in a billing cycle. In contrast, in the latter, consumers are nudged at one or more decision points within a billing cycle but not throughout the billing cycle. Our model considers two dimensions of consumer heterogeneity: inattentiveness and preference. Furthermore, our model investigates an important but under-investigated design element of information nudges, namely, the timing of the information nudges. We find that (1) nudging through information provision influences inattentive consumers’ usage decisions and improves consumption efficiency, (2) consumers’ welfare gains from full information nudging depict an inverted-U shape contingent on consumers’ preference heterogeneity, and (3) the timing of nudging matters. Our findings provide managerial implications for the design of information nudging strategies and procedures. Finally, we empirically illustrate the analytical results in the context of consumers’ mobile data usage behavior.