Business Models in Emerging Online Services

Due to advances in technology and the rapid growth of online services, a significant number of new and inventive web-based service models and delivery methods have been introduced. Although online resources and services are having an impact on more traditional service delivery mechanisms, it is not yet clear how these emerging mechanisms for online service delivery will result in profitable business models. In this paper, we consider emerging business models for online services and their implications for how services are delivered, used, and paid for. We demonstrate the changing roles of user / consumer and provider / seller. We also discuss the applicability of different business models for various domains

“Sharing economy” versus “informal sector”: Jakarta’s motorbike taxi industry in turmoil

Comparing conventional motor bike taxi services in Jakarta (ojek) to their recent online-based competitors (GoJek), this paper contrasts a prime example of the classic “informal sector” with newly emerging forms of the “sharing economy”. It challenges the notion of “informal economy” as an umbrella concept for such two different business models.Comparing conventional motor bike taxi services in Jakarta (ojek) to their recent online-based competitors (GoJek), this paper contrasts a prime example of the classic “informal sector” with newly emerging forms of the “sharing economy”. It challenges the notion of “informal economy” as an umbrella concept for such two different business models

A business model for collaborative commerce marketplace

Growth in eBusiness has led to an increase in the research of online business models characterized into two broad areas: goods and services provider models and collaborative models. Collaborative commerce marketplace (CCM) is vital in eBusiness models however it is only discussed in relation to the management of parts of the supply chain and not the system as a whole in the academic literature (Hodge and Cagle 2004). This paper proposes a comprehensive, visual business model for CCM with an emphasis on the interactions between core business competency to attain organizational objectives. An emerging competency of CCM such as partner/supplier identification is used to illustrate the versatility of the proposed model

The engagement of home-based businesses in the digital economy

This paper explores the engagement of home-based businesses in digital trading, measured as proportion of their sales from buying and selling services and products online of all their sales. Findings are drawn from a sample of 994 Small- and Medium-Sized Businesses that are members of the Federation of Small Businesses in Scotland. Multivariate findings show that home-based businesses are associated with high proportions of online sales supporting the view of home-based businesses as ‘online’ businesses. However, quantitatively, the overall transformational effects of digital technologies on the nature and processes of entrepreneurship are rather small as the vast majority of home-based businesses, like SMEs that are not home-based, trade offline. Online business models represent a very small proportion of the home-based business sector. Home-based businesses in rural areas do not make greater use of e-commerce. The findings add to the critical literature on the transformative nature of digital entrepreneurship and the emerging home-based business literature that question whether the role of digital technologies and online marketplaces for home-based businesses are being exaggerated, particularly in rural economies

An Examination The Implicit Costs on Emerging ICT-Driven Innovations

Innovations have been regarded as the key driver for business to achieve business competitive advantages and survive in a rigorous environment. Businesses need to continuously adopt innovative business models and exploit opportunities from new technologies. The information and communication technologies (ICT) are claimed not only important sources for efficiency, effectiveness, and quality but also essential drivers for business innovations. In particular, the recently emerged social networks and mobile applications have increased the speed of evolving business models and the content of a variety of services. Social networking services have radically changed our life over past few years. McKinsey & Company indicated that “It took 13 years for commercial television to reach 50 million households and 3 years for Internet service providers to sign their 50 millionth subscribers. Facebook hit the 50 million–user mark in just a year and Twitter in 9 months.” With continuous and seamless interaction between entities, the nature of social networking services keeps consumers stick with these innovations. On the other hand, mobile applications are also accelerating the pace of adoption by worldwide consumers, even in the developing nations. Given the continuously development of networking, mobile devices, and social media applications, those technologies have changed not only the way messages transferring but also the cost, frequency, and speed of transferring. While those innovations have accumulated a pervasive population, more businesses are interested in adopting those emerging ICT-driven innovations in order to capture opportunities in building channels and creating values. However, the characteristics of emerging ICT are totally different from traditional ICT, such as the adopting cost and implementation time. In difference to traditional technologies such as enterprise resources systems and supply chain systems which require great investment in money and time, emerging ICT present a more accessible and easier way to implement. For instances, Facebook’s Fan-page is a new channel for brands in social networking. This application is effective to access a great number of consumers that most of the worldwide brand such as Coca-Cola, Disney, and McDonald\u27s have created Fan-pages to seamlessly promote services and closely interact with netizen. In addition, this application is free and even a start-up company can offer. As a platform to communicate with consumers, Fan-page communication as well as other innovative applications, such instant messaging, social games, and mobile ordering, are characterized with a consumer-to-consumer communication and a low cost of establishment. In spite of the convenience characteristics of the social technology, potential problems may exist. The technological convenience may lead businesses easy adopt and easy drop the innovation without further consideration. This research tries to examine the unexpected results associated with the dropping of the emerging social technology and provide a framework of the implicit costs associated with the termination of business model innovations. Related to the explicit costs such as material, equipment, wage, and other expenses, the implicit costs are easily hidden, unavoidable, and immeasurable. The implicit costs may occur when companies adopt and drop emerging ICT-driven innovations without elaborated consideration. First, distorted messages. The frequency and speed of message transferring is the key characteristics of emerging ICT. While complex and plenty of messages are provided, enterprise decision-makers may become overwhelmed and confused in make accurate and proper decision. Second, the deployed deficiency in the human resources may occur. While all enterprises rely on the deployment of human resources to coordinate the physically and virtually networked resources, most enterprises may notice the cost of human resources in physical stores but ignore the service support needed on virtual platforms. Emerging ICT-driven applications require adequate deployment of the human resources to survive and react to the quickly distributing online WOM (word-of-mouth). Third, the disruption of consumer loyalty. While the online WOM quickly distribute, it would be a crisis when companies don’t deal well with any emergency or negative rumors. Moreover, the nature of Internet have intensified the negotiating power of consumers online. Companies have to carefully treat every consumers and keep away from concentrating and activating the angry netizens. The objective of this research is to discuss the realistic result of quickly adopted and dropped business innovations with emerging ICT. There are three contributions to the field of innovation study. Given the different characteristics between traditional and emerging technology, the study of emerging ICT innovations can lead to unexpected effects and additional costs which is rarely discussed so far. Second, in difference to most literatures which are focused on the benefit and competitive advantages gained by innovation adopters, this research tries to examine the causes of innovation failures. Lastly, this research tries to provide a framework of implicit costs for companies to plan for the risks in adopting emerging ICT-driven innovations

The Emergence of Native Podcasts in Journalism: Editorial Strategies and Business Opportunities in Latin America

This article analyses the state of the art of podcasting in the new digital landscape as well as the structures, editorial strategies, and business models of native podcasts launched in Latin America over the last few years. To this end, a multiple case study has been made to examine the way new digital outlets are using audio content. This qualitative research is made up of a variety of approaches, such as interviews, online surveys of podcasters, as well as the collection and analysis of secondary data. A specific aim of this comparative study was to include a sample of podcasts produced by thirteen emerging media platforms from eight countries registered in the directory of digital natives conducted by SembraMedia (https://www.sembramedia.org). This is a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing the diversity and quality of Spanish language content by helping digital media entrepreneurs become more sustainable and successful. Results of this exploratory study reveal that native podcasting in Spanish is still expanding and that where the new media are small in scale, they are more oriented to the full exploitation of the narrative and innovative possibilities of this audio format and do not have responding to their target audiences’ needs as their main priority. These new media are finding different ways to become monetised (mainly content production for clients, sponsored content, sponsorship, consulting services, and advertising) and to make a profit

COVID-19 accelerated digital transformation: The case of Meituan

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic caused disruptions in supply chains. While most existing research suggests ways to improve organizational resilience, our research raises the question of whether the pandemic has accelerated digital transformation at the organizational level. Using the case of Meituan in China, we investigate the supply chain disruptions caused by COVID-19, the strategies taken by Meituan to address the problems and their strategic implications. Starting as a fast food delivery company, Meituan has developed into a leading online shopping platform in China specialized in using digital technologies to provide on-demand delivery services. Our research on Meituan during COVID-19 shows that companies can leverage emerging technologies to improve business models and deliver long-term strategic benefits through digital transformation, rather than focusing solely on improving organizational resilience to reduce uncertainty risk

The Industry and Policy Context for Digital Games for Empowerment and Inclusion:Market Analysis, Future Prospects and Key Challenges in Videogames, Serious Games and Gamification

The effective use of digital games for empowerment and social inclusion (DGEI) of people and communities at risk of exclusion will be shaped by, and may influence the development of a range of sectors that supply products, services, technology and research. The principal industries that would appear to be implicated are the 'videogames' industry, and an emerging 'serious games' industry. The videogames industry is an ecosystem of developers, publishers and other service providers drawn from the interactive media, software and broader ICT industry that services the mainstream leisure market in games, The 'serious games' industry is a rather fragmented and growing network of firms, users, research and policy makers from a variety of sectors. This emerging industry is are trying to develop knowledge, products, services and a market for the use of digital games, and products inspired by digital games, for a range of non-leisure applications. This report provides a summary of the state of play of these industries, their trajectories and the challenges they face. It also analyses the contribution they could make to exploiting digital games for empowerment and social inclusion. Finally, it explores existing policy towards activities in these industries and markets, and draws conclusions as to the future policy relevance of engaging with them to support innovation and uptake of effective digital game-based approaches to empowerment and social inclusion.JRC.J.3-Information Societ

The digital transformation of business models in the creative industries: A holistic framework and emerging trends

This paper examines how digital technologies facilitate business model innovations in the creative industries. Through a systematic literature review, a holistic business model framework is developed, which is then used to analyse the empirical evidence from the creative industries. The research found that digital technologies have facilitated pervasive changes in business models, and some significant trends have emerged. However, the reconfigured business models are often not ‘new’ in the unprecedented sense. Business model innovations are primarily reflected in using digital technologies to enable the deployment of a wider range of business models than previously available to a firm. A significant emerging trend is the increasing adoption of multiple business models as a portfolio within one firm. This is happening in firms of all sizes, when one firm uses multiple business models to servedifferent markets segments, sell different products, or engage with multi-sided markets, or to use different business models over time. The holistic business model framework is refined and extended through a recursive learning process, which can serve both as a cognitive instrument for understanding business models and a planning tool for business model innovations. The paper contributes to our understanding of the theory of business models and how digital technologies facilitate business model innovations in the creative industries. Three new themes for future research are highlighted

Developing strategic learning alliances: partnerships for the provision of global education and training solutions

The paper describes a comprehensive model for the development of strategic alliances between education and corporate sectors, which is required to ensure effective provision of education and training programmes for a global market. Global economic forces, combined with recent advances in information and communication technologies, have provided unprecedented opportunities for education providers to broaden the provision of their programmes both on an international scale and across new sectors. Lifelong learning strategies are becoming increasingly recognized as an essential characteristic of a successful organization and therefore large organizations have shown a preparedness to invest in staff training and development. The demands for lifelong learning span a wide range of training and educational levels from school-level and vocational courses to graduate-level training for senior executive