Research Of Pricing Strategy Of B2B Platform Based On The Theory Of Two-sided Markets

Globalization business development make the collaboration become more frequent amongEnterprises, B2B e-commerce market,as represented by the Internet economy,strengths therelationship between enterprises,and plays an important role in the market economic system withits high efficiency, low cost and wide radiation. As the intermediary platform of suppliers andpurchasers, B2B platform is a platform with obvious two-sided market characteristics, the tranctionvolume in the platform depends not only on the totel fees charging from suppliers and purchasersbut also fee allocation between them, therefore, to formulate a reasonable price structure isimportant for B2B platform operators, based on the theory of two-sided market,this paper willestablish the pricing models and analyze the pricing influencing factors of B2B platform.First of all, this paper reviews the basic theory of bilateral market and the pricing modelabout it,and summarizes the two-sided market characteristics of B2B platform, including theparticipation of different users, the remarkable network externalities between different users andthe asymmetry pricing structure of them,which constitute the important prerequisites for followingtheoretical models.Secondly,, this paper establishes the pricing models of B2B platform in different chargingcase, including the monopoly membership fee pricing model, monopoly transaction fee pricingmodel and monopoly two-step pricing model, and through calculation, solve the equilibriumpricing formula under the profit maximization of the platform,and discusses the key factors thataffect platform pricing and profitability. Furthermore,by introducing the Hotelling model, the paperestablishes a pricing model while both users are single-homing and discuss the related influcingfactors.Research result shows that different charging methods will not affect the platform’sprofit,and different network externalities will lead to non-neutial pricing structure: platform tendto charge more from the side of high network externality, little from the weaker side or even free tothem; the improvement of service level will help the platform set a higher price and obtain moreprofits; In a competitive environment, the improvement of platform differentiation degree will helpthe platform charge more and gain more profits.Then, this article selects a professional B2B platform-Toocle as a case to make a descriptiveanalysis, introduces Toocle’s asymmetry pricing strategy its different development pattern, the case study will verify the theoretical research conclusions to a certain degree. Finally, this papersummarizes the research conclusion and its shortcomings, and points out the direction of furtherresearch.