Optimal Dynamic Pricing of Online Platforms with Network Externalities
In this paper,we propose an optimal dynamic pricing strategy for a monopolistic online platform provider to achieve revenue maximization in a planning horizon.We use Pontryagin”s maximum principle to solve the optimal control model and obtain the closed-form solution of optimal subscription fee.Our results show that the optimal subscription fee is finally reduced to marginal cost,where the fee may drop below the cost.Furthermore,the firm cannot occupy the market completely even though it is monopolistic.We also investigate the impact of several relevant parameters,especially network externalities,on the number of subscribers and the optimal subscription fee based on the analytical and numerical results.This research contributes to the literature with several implications and provides insight into the pricing policy and operation of the online platform market.
dynamic pricing online platform network externalities optimal control
Guofang Nan Lin Chen Tianyu Wang Mingqiang Li
College of Management and Economics,Tianjin University,Tianjin 300072,China
国内会议
上海
英文
260-265
2017-10-20（万方平台首次上网日期，不代表论文的发表时间）