To Split or to Merge?: How Partitioning Affects Consumption and Engagement with Digital Content

Although serialized digital content is becoming increasingly popular in online platforms, authors and publishers have a limited understanding of the economic effects arising from content partitioning. This research investigated how partitioning serialized e-books affects the consumption patterns and engagement behaviors of consumers. Identical e-book titles were partitioned into two formats: small partitioning (SP), in which overlong stories are split into numerous short episodes per installment, and large partitioning (LP), in which narratives are divided into a few episodes, each delivered through longer storytelling. Drawing on the literature on resource partitioning and cognitive processing, we formulated hypotheses revolving around how these partitioning structures affect consumption quantity (i.e., the total number of words read) and progression rate (i.e., how far a consumer progresses into an entire serialized book). We then assessed the extent to which book length moderates the relationship between partitioning structures and consumption behaviors. Finally, attention was directed toward how partitioning structures influence engagement behaviors, such as consumption intensity (i.e., the use of textual annotations and highlights) and review propensity (i.e., the submission of book reviews). For empirical validations, we collaborated with a partner company in developing a consumption-tracing scheme, which keeps track of individual users’ consumption of and engagement with serialized content. The findings revealed that SP structures more effectively increase consumption quantity measured by the number of words read than do LP formats but that LP outcompetes SP in terms of elevating progression rate. As book length increases, the positive effects of SP and LP on consumption quantity and progression rate considerably diminish, respectively. Finally, LP is more effective than SP in inducing higher degrees of engagement measured on the basis of textual annotation and highlighting as well as the predisposition to submit book reviews. We provide scholarly and practical implications for how the partitioning of serialized content influences consumption and engagement patterns, which serve as essential resources in efforts to ensure the growth and sustainability of digital content platforms.