Implementation of a pricing system for DecisionNet

Abstract

This thesis describes an implementafion of DecisionNet which uses updated, more efficient web technology and includes a pricing system. DecisionNet is an organized electronic marketplace of Intemet-accessible decision support systems. Providers register their decision support technologies in a online index. When consumers need a particular type of decision support system that they do not have, they can search the index to locate a system accessible over the web which might meet their needs, thus avoiding the purchase of a stand-alone system. Previous implementations of DecisionNet have assumed that decision support system providers allowed the use of their systems at no cost. The present implementation incorporates a simple pricing system for recovering fixed and variable costs associated with providing systems over the Intemet. Pricing of services over the Internet is still in its earliest stages and there is no single, generally accepted model that applies to pricing of Internet services. This thesis examines some academic studies of Intemet pricing and some pricing policies currently in use, then describes a flexible pricing system which permits the provider to experiment to find optimum prices for a changing market.