平台定价与服务质量并行策略如何影响平台用户规模——基于美团外卖的案例考察

How Does the Parallel Strategy of Platform Pricing and Service Quality Affect Platform User Scale:Based on the Case Study of Meituan Takeaway

在互联网平台成长壮大过程中,为了获得更大的市场规模,平台可以采用价格竞争策略和非价格竞争策略来吸引用户接入。构建契合双边市场特征和互联网平台企业产业实践的双寡头竞争模型,考察双边用户多归属情形下,平台定价与服务质量并行策略对平台获取用户规模的作用机理,解析互联网平台企业定价策略的本质特征,结合美团外卖平台的产业实践数据进行实证检验。结果表明:较之平台服务质量,消费者对平台定价更为敏感;籍此特征,互联网平台企业可设置较低定价获取用户规模,并采取更为积极的服务质量策略,将消费者挽留在互联网平台中。进一步地,平台服务质量作用机制检验结果显示,互联网平台企业服务质量通过平台定价渠道影响用户规模,使得互联网平台企业在制定竞争策略时,需要综合考虑定价策略与服务质量策略。

In the process of growth and expansion of the internet platform,in order to obtain a larger market scale,the platform can use price competition strategies and non-price competition strategies to attract users.Based on the two-sided market and platform theory,this paper constructs a Hotelling duopoly competition model that conforms to the characteristics of the two-sided market and the reality of the internet platform.To study the impacts of platform service quality strategy and platform price strategy on user scale in the case of two-sided users multi-homing.Then using Meituan Takeaway data,we empirically tested the impact of the implementation of price strategies and service quality strategies on the scale of online platforms.Research findings are:(a)compared to the service quality of the platform,consumers are more sensitive to the pricing level of platform,and(b)the low prices set by platform companies are conducive to expanding the scale of platforms.The platform can attract more consumers and gain a larger market scale by improving its own services or strengthening the management of the merchants on the platform.In addition,the interaction effect between platform service quality and platform pricing level shows that internet platform enterprises should comprehensively consider price strategy and service quality strategy when formulating competitive strategies.