IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/indorg/v103y2025ipbs0167718725000517.html

Collecting and selling consumer information: Selling mechanisms matter

Author

Listed:
  • Bounie, David
  • Dubus, Antoine
  • Waelbroeck, Patrick

Abstract

This article analyzes how take-it-or-leave-it offers (TIOLI) and auctions impact the selling strategy of a data intermediary, the price of information and the amount of consumer data collected. TIOLI leads to a higher consumer surplus compared to auctions, but encourages the intermediary to collect more consumer information than auctions, which is detrimental to consumer privacy. We discuss regulatory measures to protect at the same time consumer surplus and privacy.

Suggested Citation

  • Bounie, David & Dubus, Antoine & Waelbroeck, Patrick, 2025. "Collecting and selling consumer information: Selling mechanisms matter," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 103(PB).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:indorg:v:103:y:2025:i:pb:s0167718725000517
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijindorg.2025.103185
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167718725000517
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ijindorg.2025.103185?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wang, Ruqu, 1995. "Bargaining versus posted-price selling," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 39(9), pages 1747-1764, December.
    2. Rodrigo Montes & Wilfried Sand-Zantman & Tommaso Valletti, 2019. "The Value of Personal Information in Online Markets with Endogenous Privacy," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(3), pages 1342-1362, March.
    3. Bounie, David & Dubus, Antoine & Waelbroeck, Patrick, 2025. "Competition and the two margins of privacy," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    4. Ken Binmore & Ariel Rubinstein & Asher Wolinsky, 1986. "The Nash Bargaining Solution in Economic Modelling," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 17(2), pages 176-188, Summer.
    5. Qihong Liu & Konstantinos Serfes, 2004. "Quality of Information and Oligopolistic Price Discrimination," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(4), pages 671-702, December.
    6. Paul Klemperer, 1999. "Auction Theory: A Guide to the Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(3), pages 227-286, July.
    7. Paul Belleflamme & Wing Man Wynne Lam & Wouter Vergote, 2019. "Competitive Imperfect Price Discrimination and Market Power," CESifo Working Paper Series 7964, CESifo.
    8. Anne Layne-Farrar & A. Jorge Padilla & Richard Schmalensee, 2007. "Pricing Patents for Licensing in Standard Setting Organizations: Making Sense of FRAND Commitments," Working Papers wp2007_0702, CEMFI.
    9. Graef, Inge & Prüfer, Jens, 2021. "Governance of data sharing: A law & economics proposal," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(9).
    10. Hal Varian, 2018. "Artificial Intelligence, Economics, and Industrial Organization," NBER Chapters, in: The Economics of Artificial Intelligence: An Agenda, pages 399-419, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Dirk Bergemann & Alessandro Bonatti & Alex Smolin, 2018. "The Design and Price of Information," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(1), pages 1-48, January.
    12. S Nageeb Ali & Nima Haghpanah & Xiao Lin & Ron Siegel, 2022. "How to Sell Hard Information," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 137(1), pages 619-678.
    13. Jean Tirole, 2023. "Competition and the Industrial Challenge for the Digital Age," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 15(1), pages 573-605, September.
    14. Wang, Ruqu, 1993. "Auctions versus Posted-Price Selling," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(4), pages 838-851, September.
    15. Thisse, Jacques-Francois & Vives, Xavier, 1988. "On the Strategic Choice of Spatial Price Policy," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(1), pages 122-137, March.
    16. Alessandro Acquisti & Hal R. Varian, 2005. "Conditioning Prices on Purchase History," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(3), pages 367-381, May.
    17. Nancy T. Gallini & Ralph A. Winter, 1985. "Licensing in the Theory of Innovation," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 16(2), pages 237-252, Summer.
    18. Michael L. Katz & Carl Shapiro, 1985. "On the Licensing of Innovations," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 16(4), pages 504-520, Winter.
    19. Clavorà Braulin, Francesco & Valletti, Tommaso, 2016. "Selling customer information to competing firms," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 10-14.
    20. Paul Belleflamme & Wing Man Wynne Lam, & Wouter Vergote, 2020. "Competitive Imperfect Price Discrimination and Market Power," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 39(5), pages 996-1015, September.
    21. Laura Abrardi & Carlo Cambini & Raffaele Congiu & Flavio Pino, 2024. "User Data and Endogenous Entry in Online Markets," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 72(3), pages 1052-1088, September.
    22. Alessandro Acquisti & Curtis Taylor & Liad Wagman, 2016. "The Economics of Privacy," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 54(2), pages 442-492, June.
    23. Morton I. Kamien & Yair Tauman, 1986. "Fees Versus Royalties and the Private Value of a Patent," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 101(3), pages 471-491.
    24. Sameer Mehta & Milind Dawande & Ganesh Janakiraman & Vijay Mookerjee, 2021. "How to Sell a Data Set? Pricing Policies for Data Monetization," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 32(4), pages 1281-1297, December.
    25. Josh Lerner & Jean Tirole, 2004. "Efficient Patent Pools," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(3), pages 691-711, June.
    26. Delbono, Flavio & Reggiani, Carlo & Sandrini, Luca, 2024. "Strategic data sales with partial segment profiling," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    27. Liran Einav & Chiara Farronato & Jonathan Levin & Neel Sundaresan, 2018. "Auctions versus Posted Prices in Online Markets," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 126(1), pages 178-215.
    28. Philippe Jehiel & Benny Moldovanu, 2000. "Auctions with Downstream Interaction Among Buyers," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 31(4), pages 768-791, Winter.
    29. Figueroa, Nicolás & Skreta, Vasiliki, 2009. "The role of optimal threats in auction design," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 144(2), pages 884-897, March.
    30. William Vickrey, 1961. "Counterspeculation, Auctions, And Competitive Sealed Tenders," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 16(1), pages 8-37, March.
    31. David Bounie & Antoine Dubus & Patrick Waelbroeck, 2021. "Selling strategic information in digital competitive markets," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 52(2), pages 283-313, June.
    32. Clavorà Braulin, Francesco, 2023. "The effects of personal information on competition: Consumer privacy and partial price discrimination," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    33. Jean Tirole, 2023. "Competition and the Industrial Challenge for the Digital Age," Post-Print hal-04464905, HAL.
    34. Klemperer, Paul, 1999. " Auction Theory: A Guide to the Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(3), pages 227-86, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. David Bounies & Antoine Dubus & Patrick Waelbroeck, 2020. "Market for Information and Selling Mechanisms," Working Papers ECARES 2020-07, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    2. David Bounie & Antoine Dubus & Patrick Waelbroeck, 2021. "Selling strategic information in digital competitive markets," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 52(2), pages 283-313, June.
    3. Abrardi, Laura & Cambini, Carlo & Pino, Flavio, 2025. "Data brokers competition, synergic datasets, and endogenous information value," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 103(PA).
    4. Flavio Pino, 2022. "The microeconomics of data – a survey," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 49(3), pages 635-665, September.
    5. Delbono, Flavio & Reggiani, Carlo & Sandrini, Luca, 2024. "Strategic data sales with partial segment profiling," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    6. Bounie, David & Dubus, Antoine & Waelbroeck, Patrick, 2025. "Competition and the two margins of privacy," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    7. David Bounie & Antoine Dubus & Patrick Waelbroeck, 2021. "Competition and Mergers with Strategic Data Intermediaries," CESifo Working Paper Series 9339, CESifo.
    8. David Bounie & Antoine Dubus & Patrick Waelbroeck, 2023. "Competition Between Strategic Data Intermediaries with Implications for Merger Policy," Working Papers hal-03336520, HAL.
    9. Dubus, Antoine, 2024. "Behavior-based algorithmic pricing," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    10. Clavorà Braulin, Francesco, 2023. "The effects of personal information on competition: Consumer privacy and partial price discrimination," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    11. Choe, Chongwoo & Matsushima, Noriaki & Tremblay, Mark J., 2022. "Behavior-based personalized pricing: When firms can share customer information," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    12. Clavorà Braulin, Francesco, 2021. "The effects of personal information on competition: Consumer privacy and partial price discrimination," ZEW Discussion Papers 21-007, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    13. Abrardi, Laura & Cambini, Carlo & Pino, Flavio, 2024. "Regulating data sales: The role of data selling mechanisms," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(8).
    14. repec:dpr:wpaper:1083r is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Shrivastav, Sumit, 2023. "Information, mis-information, and history-based price discrimination in a duopoly," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    16. Yiquan Gu & Leonardo Madio & Carlo Reggiani, 2022. "Data brokers co-opetition [The impact of big data on firm performance: an empirical investigation]," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 74(3), pages 820-839.
    17. Li, Guo & Tao, Yuwei & Zheng, Hong, 2025. "Endogenous information acquisition in a competitive market with personalized pricing," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 202(C).
    18. Kostas Bimpikis & Ilan Morgenstern & Daniela Saban, 2024. "Data Tracking Under Competition," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 72(2), pages 514-532, March.
    19. Yiquan Gu & Leonardo Madio & Carlo Reggiani, 2019. "Exclusive Data, Price Manipulation and Market Leadership," CESifo Working Paper Series 7853, CESifo.
    20. Shuaicheng Liu, 2024. "Privacy regulation in asymmetric environments," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 66(2), pages 157-173, December.
    21. Paul Belleflamme & Wing Man Wynne Lam, & Wouter Vergote, 2020. "Competitive Imperfect Price Discrimination and Market Power," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 39(5), pages 996-1015, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:indorg:v:103:y:2025:i:pb:s0167718725000517. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/505551 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.