{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,25]],"date-time":"2026-07-25T05:33:24Z","timestamp":1784957604332,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":50,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,20]],"date-time":"2023-11-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1700438400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JTAER"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Adopting subscription models has become a popular trend in e-commerce. Digital content platforms often use free trials to attract potential subscribers. However, rigorous research on platforms\u2019 free trial strategies is lacking. Our paper aims to fill this gap using a horizontal duopoly framework. We investigate both the scenario of market symmetry and of market asymmetry. We study the benchmark case with no free trial for each scenario and derive equilibrium results with free trial promotion. We find that the platform will not benefit from free trials unless consumers\u2019 learning rate exceeds a threshold. When a free trial is introduced in market symmetry, a higher rate of consumers\u2019 learning leads to a higher price of subscription and a shorter free trial length. In addition, when the network effect is incorporated, the platform will introduce a lower subscription price and a shorter free trial length. Under market asymmetry, our results show that the platform faces a higher threshold of consumers\u2019 learning rate. Additionally, it will offer a higher price and a longer period of free trial compared with those under the market symmetry scenario. Overall, our study provides useful managerial insights for online content platforms when considering their subscription strategies.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jtaer18040106","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,20]],"date-time":"2023-11-20T11:31:36Z","timestamp":1700479896000},"page":"2107-2124","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["Analysis of Online Platforms\u2019 Free Trial Strategies for Digital Content Subscription"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8337-9612","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Li","family":"Chen","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Broadwell College of Business and Economics, Fayetteville State University, Fayetteville, NC 28301, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101822","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jretconser.2019.04.019","article-title":"Curated subscription commerce: A theoretical conceptualization","volume":"54","author":"Bischof","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. 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