An Information Valuation Model for Knowledge-based Websites
Date Issued
2011
Date
2011
Author(s)
Lee, I-Jung
Abstract
With advance of information technology and the popularization of Internet, the information on websites has been created at unprecedented speed, and distributed boundlessly beyond spatial and temporal limitations. A knowledge-based website may provide us valuable information or knowledge; however, to the best of our knowledge, little research has been dedicated on valuing the information on a knowledge-based website. Therefore, in this thesis, we propose an information valuation model for knowledge-based websites. We first identify the contributing factors for the value of a knowledge-based website, namely, the amount of content, the amount of ads, the web traffic, and the content quality. Then, we utilize the optimal control theory to propose an information valuation model based on these factors, and analyze the proposed model in two aspects. First, we evaluate how the value of website, the amount of content, and the amount of ads are affected by the web traffic, where the content quality is set to a constant. Next, we evaluate how the value of website, the amount of content, and the amount of ads are simultaneously affected by the web traffic and the content quality. We also compare and derive the analytical results for both aspects. When the content quality is a constant, the amount of content increases with the rate of content-derived value, and the sensitivity to web traffic. However, it decreases with the sensitivity to quality. In addition, the amount of ads increases with the rate of ad-derived value, the content quality, the sensitivity to quality, and the sensitivity to web traffic; however, it decreases as the disutility of ads increases. Moreover, we find that the dynamic content quality allows the website to implement different strategies to retain or even increase the value of website. Finally, we discuss the management implications derived from the proposed models and how they affect the pricing and marketing strategies for knowledge-based websites.
Subjects
Information valuation
Knowledge-based website
Optimal control theory
Type
thesis
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