{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,2]],"date-time":"2025-08-02T17:26:46Z","timestamp":1754155606122,"version":"3.41.2"},"reference-count":34,"publisher":"Emerald","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2017,2,6]],"date-time":"2017-02-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1486339200000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/www.emerald.com\/insight\/site-policies"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["K"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2017,2,6]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n<jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Purpose<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>Consumers are increasingly using search-based advertising in e-Business platforms to seek their desirable products. Platforms will choose a centralized advertising mechanism (CAM) or decentralized advertising mechanism (DAM) to offer a search advertising service to lower consumer search cost, as represented by using search time length. It is important for the platform to decide how to choose advertising mechanisms, and how to determine the optimal advertising price and search time length. To address these issues, this study aims to develop a theoretical approach under each mechanism to examine the platform\u2019s optimal search-based advertising strategy by considering search cost.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec>\n<jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Design\/methodology\/approach<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>In this study, two models are developed to examine the optimal search-based advertising strategy by considering consumer search cost (i.e. search time length). By comparing the platform\u2019s profits under two models, the optimal advertising strategy, search time length and price are explored.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec>\n<jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Findings<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>It is found that when the seller\u2019s reserve benefit is sufficiently large, the platform benefits from choosing the DAM; otherwise, the CAM is a better choice. The advertising service is usually offered with a shorter search time length accompanied by a higher charge, and a longer search time length accompanied by a lower charge. Specifically, when the seller\u2019s reserve benefit is substantially high, a DAM that benefits both the platform and seller is a better choice. This can explain why many platforms offer advertising services with a DAM.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec>\n<jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Originality\/value<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>This paper is the first theoretical study on addressing the search-based advertising strategy, especially the choice of advertising mechanisms, in the online advertising context. It is also the first piece of analytical research that considers the effect of consumer search cost on product demand, and then examines the optimal advertising price and search cost (i.e. search time length) for online platforms.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1108\/k-10-2016-0296","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2017,2,10]],"date-time":"2017-02-10T06:36:11Z","timestamp":1486708571000},"page":"291-309","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["Online search-based advertising strategy for e-Business platform with the consideration of consumer search cost"],"prefix":"10.1108","volume":"46","author":[{"given":"Buqing","family":"Ma","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Xiaoyan","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yanhong","family":"Sun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yiwen","family":"Bian","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"140","reference":[{"issue":"1","key":"key2020120903434337000_ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"152","DOI":"10.1287\/isre.2013.0505","article-title":"Platform performance investment in the presence of network externalities","volume":"25","year":"2014","journal-title":"Information Systems Research"},{"issue":"4","key":"key2020120903434337000_ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"719","DOI":"10.2307\/2556072","article-title":"Pricing, product variety, and search costs: a Bertrand-Chamberlin-Diamond model","volume":"30","year":"1999","journal-title":"The RAND Journal of Economics"},{"issue":"1","key":"key2020120903434337000_ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"69","DOI":"10.1287\/mnsc.1120.1575","article-title":"The advertising mix for a search good","volume":"59","year":"2013","journal-title":"Management Science"},{"issue":"1","key":"key2020120903434337000_ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"190","DOI":"10.1287\/isre.1080.0222","article-title":"Research note \u2013 quality uncertainty and the performance of online sponsored search markets: an empirical investigation","volume":"21","year":"2010","journal-title":"Information Systems Research"},{"issue":"3","key":"key2020120903434337000_ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1213","DOI":"10.1093\/qje\/qjr028","article-title":"Position auctions with consumer search","volume":"126","year":"2011","journal-title":"The Quarterly Journal of Economics"},{"issue":"4","key":"key2020120903434337000_ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"864","DOI":"10.1287\/mnsc.2014.2022","article-title":"Repeated auctions with budgets in ad exchanges: approximations and design","volume":"61","year":"2015","journal-title":"Management Science"},{"issue":"5","key":"key2020120903434337000_ref007","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"669","DOI":"10.1287\/mksc.2015.0930","article-title":"Personalized online advertising effectiveness: the interplay of what, when, and where","volume":"34","year":"2015","journal-title":"Marketing Science"},{"issue":"11","key":"key2020120903434337000_ref008","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2037","DOI":"10.1287\/mnsc.1120.1535","article-title":"Optimal search for product information","volume":"58","year":"2012","journal-title":"Management Science"},{"issue":"4","key":"key2020120903434337000_ref009","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"606","DOI":"10.1287\/mksc.2015.0903","article-title":"Consumer search activities and the value of ad positions in sponsored search advertising","volume":"34","year":"2015","journal-title":"Marketing Science"},{"issue":"4","key":"key2020120903434337000_ref011","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"520","DOI":"10.1287\/mksc.22.4.520.24906","article-title":"Modeling the clickstream: implications for Web-based advertising efforts","volume":"22","year":"2003","journal-title":"Marketing Science"},{"key":"key2020120903434337000_ref035","unstructured":"Clover, C. 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