Purpose

This study aims to fill a gap in the literature. The notion of giveaways/free has not been well addressed in management history literature and arguably is a valuable contribution in that it has a strategic dimension.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is conceptual. It is a structured survey of ideas/opinions about the notion of “free” in commercial endeavor. The survey is organized largely from a historical perspective.

Findings

Several categories of “free” are delineated and placed into a historical and strategic context.

Originality/value

The work has strategic implications and lays out a new research agenda for management historians.

中文翻译：

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没有牛排的嘶嘶声：数字时代接受免费产品的新兴战略影响

目的

本研究旨在填补文献空白。赠品/免费的概念在管理历史文献中尚未得到很好的解决，但可以说是一个有价值的贡献，因为它具有战略维度。

设计/方法论/途径

本文是概念性的。这是对商业活动中“免费”概念的想法/意见的结构化调查。这项调查主要是从历史的角度进行的。

发现

界定了“自由”的几个类别，并将其置于历史和战略背景中。

原创性/价值

这项工作具有战略意义，并为管理历史学家提出了新的研究议程。