IP Outreach Research > IP Crime
Reference
| Title: | The Effect of File sharing on Consumer's Purchasing Pattern: A Survey Approach |
| Author: | Seonmi Lee [University of Florida] |
| Source: | http://web.si.umich.edu/tprc/papers/2006/548/TPRC_Upload_08302006.pdf |
| Year: | 2006 |
Details
| Subject/Type: | Piracy |
| Focus: | Music |
| Country/Territory: | Republic of Korea |
| Objective: | To find out how freely available music products on the Internet and via MP3 affect consumer behaviour. |
| Sample: | 396 Korean university students |
| Methodology: | Questionnaire |
Main Findings
The study found that under a "non-free Internet availability of music" scenario, consumers' willingness to buy music depends on both price and non-price factors, whereas under a "free Internet availability of music" scenario, price has no significant effect on the willingness to buy, unlike non-price factors (such as genre preference, singer rating, amount of CDs purchased).
Thus, with the advent of file sharing, consumers react less to price than they did earlier, without the availability of "free" music products on the Internet.
As the average price level at which consumers are willing to buy plummets with the availability of "free music", firms should concentrate on non-price factors (such as leaflets containing lyrics, pictures, live concert tickets, etc accompanying CDs) and adopt new sales methods to target low-value consumers.
[Date Added: Aug 12, 2008 ]