Adoption and Diffusion in Electronic Markets: An Empirical Analysis of Attributes Influencing the Adoption of Paid Content

The rapid growth of the Internet and electronic commerce stimulates new digital innovations. Electronic markets can influence both the adoption and diffusion processes of digital innovations in significant ways. The difficulties for market transactions of information goods and the change from free to paid content on websites in recent years has led to research questions about how individuals decide whether and when to adopt paid content innovations and how this innovation diffuses throughout a population. This paper presents empirical evidence regarding the adoption and diffusion process of paid content. It focuses on the differences of the adoption and diffusion process of different paid content types dependent on: (1) the existence of established, non-digital counterparts; (2) experience and familiarity with paid content and micropayment services; and (3) economic advantage and perceived convenience. Results pave a ground for a better understanding how paid content will support knowledge work in the