ERIC Number: EJ977313
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Sep
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0961-0006
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Which Factors Influence the Willingness to Pay for Electronic Library Services? A Study of the Portuguese Electronic Scientific Information Consortium B-On1
Melo, Luiza Baptista; Pires, Cesaltina
Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, v44 n3 p185-198 Sep 2012
This paper investigates the factors that influence the value for the users of the Portuguese electronic scientific information consortium b-on (Biblioteca do Conhecimento Online). We used the contingent valuation method based on a willingness to pay scenario to estimate the value that each user is willing to pay. Data were collected through an e-survey sent to all Portuguese academic users. The main aims of this study are: (1) to investigate whether the willingness to pay is influenced by a set of factors (the frequency of use, whether the user previously knew b-on or not, the type of the user, the scientific area of the user, and the institution of the user); and (2) to estimate the demand function of b-on services as function of the price and the previously mentioned factors. In order to achieve these objectives we use several regression analysis techniques--OLS, Tobit model, linear probability model (LPM), Logit and Probit models. The results show that the factors studied are all important explanatory variables of the willingness to pay for b-on and important determinants of demand for b-on services. Moreover, the demand for b-on services is quite sensitive to the "price". (Contains 8 notes, 3 tables and 1 figure.)
Descriptors: Electronic Libraries, Consortia, Probability, Library Services, Economics, Foreign Countries, Academic Libraries, Regression (Statistics), Predictor Variables, Questionnaires, Surveys, Pretests Posttests, Scientific and Technical Information
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Portugal
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
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