Literature Survey: Mathematical Models in the Analysis of Durable Goods with Applications to IS Research

Many physical and information goods are not "consumed" during use e.g. airplanes and computer software. These 'durable goods' have been extensively studied over the last four decades in the economics, operations, information systems, and other literatures. Due to the heterogeneous nature of durable goods and their market contexts, the recommendations from the 'durable goods' literature cannot be adopted without careful consideration of the particular situation faced. Simple characterization of situations as involving 'durable goods' is certainly insufficient. Here we seek to create a simple framework for modeling durable goods, present a taxonomy of the models commonly used in the literature and the settings to which they correspond. Our objective is to present researchers with an integrated perspective of the research in this area and serve as a starting point for their own modeling efforts when analyzing markets involving durable goods. Applications to problems of interest to IS researchers are highlighted.