Effects of Different Types of Free Trials and Ratings in Sampling of Consumer Software: An Empirical Study

Journal of Management Information Systems, Volume 30, Issue 3, 2013

43 Pages Posted: 24 May 2015

See all articles by Young-Jin Lee

Young-Jin Lee

University of Denver, Daniels College of Business, Business Information and Analytics

Yong Tan

University of Washington - Michael G. Foster School of Business

Date Written: December 15, 2013

Abstract

Giving away free trials of software is a common practice for software developers to maximize the exposure of their products to potential consumers and to minimize the consumers’ uncertainty about software quality. There are two distinguishable free trials: (1) freeware, which consists of very basic features of focal software without a time lock, and (2) trialware, which has the full functionality of focal software with a time lock. In this paper, we study what factors make some free-trial software attract more potential adopters than others. Our empirical model under the traditional Bass-type diffusion examines the impacts of the different types of free-trial software and ratings on consumer software sampling and reveals the dynamics of sampling over time. Using free-trial software downloading data on Download.com, we observe that the consumer software sampling process can be described by the theory of information diffusion. We find that user ratings affect sampling performance positively, whereas third-party ratings need to be positive to be effective. Finally, our results do not show any discernible differences between freeware and trialware with regard to their impact on sampling performance. This study contributes to the understanding of software free-trial practice from the perspective of consumer sampling growth of different types of free-trials. Our findings can help design the free trial strategies to extrapolate the extent of consumer awareness of focal software and effectively convey its quality information to potential customers.

Keywords: software free trials, information diffusion, online user and third-party ratings, freeware, trialware, Hausman-Taylor estimation, software commercialization

Suggested Citation

Lee, Young Jin and Tan, Yong, Effects of Different Types of Free Trials and Ratings in Sampling of Consumer Software: An Empirical Study (December 15, 2013). Journal of Management Information Systems, Volume 30, Issue 3, 2013 , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2609495

Young Jin Lee (Contact Author)

University of Denver, Daniels College of Business, Business Information and Analytics ( email )

2101 S. University Blvd.
Denver, CO 80208
United States
303-871-4813 (Phone)

Yong Tan

University of Washington - Michael G. Foster School of Business ( email )

Box 353226
Seattle, WA 98195-3226
United States

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