服务供应链视角下SaaS模式免费试用策略分析

针对处于市场推广期的SaaS模式中应用服务需求的不确定性,本文从服务供应链的视角对免费试用策略应对需求不确定性进行建模分析。设计了合作契约保证免费试用策略下服务供应链的协调;将免费试用策略绩效与传统的风险共担策略绩效作比较,得出免费试用策略的适用条件;通过数值分析验证了模型的有效性并得出了其管理学意义。研究表明,与风险共担策略相比,免费试用策略能够激励客户需求和有效规避SaaS模式中服务需求不确定性的风险,并提高服务供应链中各方收益;免费试用策略的适用性和绩效与应用服务提供商(ASP)技术能力水平有关;服务供应链协调可以使免费试用取得更好的效果。

Analysis of Free Trial Strategy in the SaaS Model from Service Supply Chain Perspective

Aiming at the uncertain demand in the developing SaaS model, we analytically investigate the free trial strategy, which copes with the demand uncertainty, from the perspective of service supply chain. We design a cooperation contract to ensure the service supply chain coordination under free trial. Comparing the performance of free trial strategy with that of the traditional risk-sharing strategy, we obtain an applicable condition of the free trial strategy. Through numerical exploration analysis, effectiveness of the model has been demonstrated and some managerial insights are obtained. The results show that the free trial strategy can stimulate customer demand, avoid service demand uncertainty risk in the SaaS model effectively, and improve the profits of the service supply chain members. The applicability and performance of the free trial strategy are related to ASP's technical ability. Furthermore, the coordination of service supply chain can make the free trial strategy achieve a better effect.