BUSINESS MODELS IN THE DIGITAL ECONOMY: AN …

FRAUNHOFER CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT AND KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY

BUSINESS MODELS IN THE DIGITAL ECONOMY: AN EMPIRICAL CLASSIFICATION OF DIGITAL MARKETPLACES

FRAUNHOFER CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT AND THE KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY

Business Models in the Digital Economy: An Empirical Classification of Digital Marketplaces

Business Models in the Digital Economy: An Empirical Study of Digital Marketplaces

Karl T?uscher Karl.Taeuscher@moez.fraunhofer.de Fraunhofer MOEZ, Fraunhofer Center for International Management and Knowledge Economy, St?dtisches Kaufhaus Leipzig, Neumarkt 9-19, 04109 Leipzig.

I want to thank Ki Bum Kim for his active contribution to this working paper.

ABSTRACT

Advances in digital technologies have led to the emergence of new business models that potentially challenge the status quo of many industries. The business models of ventures such as Airbnb or Uber have already created measurable changes for their industries. These businesses have built digital platforms that match two independent customer groups to enable commercial transactions. In the last years, hundreds of such digital marketplace business models (DMBMs) emerged. Yet, little knowledge on this type of businesses is available to date. Thus, this study aims to generate first empirical insights into DMBMs. In particular, the study examines a number of questions: How do seemingly simple business models like Airbnb create value for their users? When a lot of start-ups are claiming to build the next ?eBay for X? or ?Airbnb for Y?, what are the criteria to distinguish their business models? What are the key value propositions, customer segments, activities, resources, or revenue streams of DMBMs? This study constructs an empirical taxonomy to identify different types of DMBMs, building on a novel framework for the analysis of DMBMs that identifies their main attributes and specifications. The study systematically analyzes 100 DMBMs along 82 business model attributes. Using cluster analysis, we identify six different types of DMBMs. We characterize each of these types both quantitatively and through representative ventures to advance the understanding of DMBMs. The identified business model types can serve as an inspiration and blueprint for entrepreneurs as well as managers of established firms. Further, the research provides a contribution towards more rigorous approaches of business model analysis and classification.

Fraunhofer

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