Valuation of online social networks - An economic model and its application using the case of Xing.com

Ubiquitous information technologies like RFID allow for immediate, extensive and fine-grained capture of real world information. Scalable and efficient networks for exchange of this vast amount of information amongst companies are crucial for the economic exploitation of benefits of ubiquitous information technologies. Existing networks bear several limitations like risks of single-point-offailures or bottlenecks, unequally distributed power and burdens as well as inflexibility through stringent structures and formats. In particular there is a need for improving the scalability of solutions and ensuring autonomy of network participants. In this paper we introduce a Peer-to-Peer-based architecture for exchanging distributed information, which are shared among participants of a supply chain facilitated with ubiquitous information technologies. This architecture builds on the wellestablished EPCglobal standards, but can be implemented as an autonomous network. Unlike other architectures it does not need central coordination mechanisms, because it is based on self-organizing Peer-to-Peer protocols. We argue that our architecture supports business processes especially of small and medium-sized enterprises better than other architectures. We provide a discussion about requirements for solutions and a simulation-based analysis of the proposed architecture

Storing data on RFID tags: A standards-based approach

Online social networks are gaining increasing economic importance in light of the rising number of members. The numerous recent acquisitions priced at enormous amounts illustrate this development. Therefore, the growing relevance of online social networks in science as well as in practise revealed the need for adequate valuation models, which take into account the networks’ specific characteristics. Thus, this article develops an economic model for valuation of online social networks. The model allows the evaluation of whether the purchase prices on the market, which recently amounted to millions, are justifiable. Finally, the practical application of the model is illustrated by an example of the major European online social network XING.com

Leveraging Trust and Privacy Concerns in Online Social Networks: an Empirical Study

Unprecedented success of Online Social Networks, such as Facebook, has been recently overshadowed by the privacy risks they imply. Weary of privacy concerns and unable to construct their identity in the desired way, users may restrict or even terminate their platform activities. Even though this means a considerable business risk for these platforms, so far there have been no studies on how to enable social network providers to address these problems. This study fills this gap by adopting a fairness perspective to analyze related measures at the disposal of the provider. In a Structural Equation Model with 237 subjects we find that ensuring interactional and procedural justice are two important strategies to support user participation on the platform

A Review of Information Systems Research on Online Social Networks

Over the last decade, online social networks have evolved into a global mainstream medium with increasing social, organizational, and economic impact. This paper provides a structured overview of Information Systems research on this outstanding techno-social phenomenon of the 21st century via a structured literature review. Based on our search in information systems journals and conference proceedings that resulted in 510 papers, we carve out and assess the knowledge and the research fields that have been predominantly addressed and impacted by the information systems research community so far. Moreover, we identify research gaps that future research should address. We analyze how the academic discussion on online social networks developed in the information systems literature over time, which publication outlets are most receptive to research on online social networks, which research areas have already been covered by information systems research on online social networks, and what potential future research areas exist that have not been covered by information systems research yet. We hope that our results will stimulate and guide future research in this field

Valuation of internet-based businesses

This study investigates the valuation of Internet-based businesses. In particular the influence of the implementation of an e-business strategy on the value of a business by focussing on its financial performance, will be determined. Although the valuation of businesses in general has been researched extensively, research on the valuation of Internet-based businesses produced contradictory findings. No consensus could be reached regarding the most appropriate valuation approach to be used. Some research findings indicated that the discounted cash flow approach was the most appropriate while others stipulated that a new valuation approach should be developed. Many authors state that the move to include an e-business strategy is natural, and that businesses cannot afford not to include some form of e-business strategy. Previous research has also shown that by including an e-business strategy, it is possible to improve efficiency of the business and ultimately increase profitability. However, there was no emphasis on how the e-business strategy will influence the business valuation. In order to establish whether an e-business strategy will create value for a business, an empirical investigation was undertaken

Valuation of online social networks - An economic model and its application using the case of Xing.com

Online social networks are gaining increasing economic importance in light of the rising number of members. The numerous recent acquisitions priced at enormous amounts illustrate this development. Therefore, the growing relevance of online social networks in science as well as in practise revealed the need for adequate valuation models, which take into account the networks’ specific characteristics. Thus, this article develops an economic model for valuation of online social networks. The model allows the evaluation of whether the purchase prices on the market, which recently amounted to millions, are justifiable. Finally, the practical application of the model is illustrated by an example of the major European online social network XING.com