Exploring consumer preferences in cloud archiving – a student's perspective

Daniel Burda and Frank Teuteberg

Behaviour and Information Technology, 2016, vol. 35, issue 2, 89-105

Abstract: Cloud storage has seen an increasing rise in demand and diffusion. Consequently, the cloud storage market is also becoming an increasingly commoditised market. That is, homogenous products are offered at equal prices, and this offer makes it more difficult for cloud storage providers to generate revenue and differentiate themselves from their competitors. Therefore, it is vital for providers to precisely understand customer preferences so that these can be targeted with appropriate services. To examine these preferences, we conduct a choice experiment and analyse choice decisions gathered from 340 German students by means of a conjoint analysis. We perform an individual-level analysis of preferences, which reveals significant differences and heterogeneity within the sample. By using a subsequent cluster analysis, we identify three distinct customer segments that also show significant differences in, for example, the perceptions of information privacy and risks. Our findings contribute to the literature by uncovering the preference structure and trade-offs that users make in their choice of storage services when employed for the purpose of archiving. We conclude the study with a discussion of practical implications that can aid cloud storage providers in service design decisions, and highlight the limitations associated with our research approach and drawn sample.

Date: 2016
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/0144929X.2015.1012650 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:tbitxx:v:35:y:2016:i:2:p:89-105

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/tbit20

DOI: 10.1080/0144929X.2015.1012650

Access Statistics for this article

Behaviour and Information Technology is currently edited by Dr Panos P Markopoulos

More articles in Behaviour and Information Technology from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().