Free-driven web-based business models

Cinzia Battistella (), Gianluca Murgia () and Fabio Nonino ()
Additional contact information
Cinzia Battistella: University of Udine
Gianluca Murgia: University of Siena
Fabio Nonino: Sapienza University of Rome

Electronic Commerce Research, 2021, vol. 21, issue 2, No 9, 445-486

Abstract: Abstract Internet has increased the companies’ propensity to offer products/services free of charge through web-based platforms. This choice challenges the logic of traditional business models aimed at increasing the value captured by the firm. In order to analyse the impact of the free of charge offering on the enterprises’ web-based business models, we developed a systematic theoretical framework able to identify the key actors and flows of value involved in these business models. We tested this framework on 125 web-based platforms, clustering them through a combination of Multiple Correspondence Analysis and Hierarchical Clustering on Principle Components. The analysis allowed us to identify five different configurations of free-driven business models. Differently from the previous literature, we identify three specific configurations based on user-innovators, who are customers interested in participating in value creation processes, if adequately incentivized. These configurations are characterized by different sources of revenues and by the provision of specific free flows of value to user innovators, who can contribute to the business model with their working knowledge and reputation. Our analysis not only contributes to the academic debate on online business models, but it can support web-based companies in the definition of business model characterized by an effective and sustainable equilibrium between value creation and value capture processes.

Keywords: Business model; Free; Web 2.0; User innovator; Taxonomy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10660-019-09374-3 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:elcore:v:21:y:2021:i:2:d:10.1007_s10660-019-09374-3

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/journal/10660

DOI: 10.1007/s10660-019-09374-3

Access Statistics for this article

Electronic Commerce Research is currently edited by James Westland

More articles in Electronic Commerce Research from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().