Freemium Business Models as the Foundation for Growing an E-Business Venture: a Multiple Case Study of Industry Leaders

• Autorzy: Franziska Günzel-Jensen , Anna B. Holm
• Języki publikacji: EN

Abstrakty

EN

In e-business freemium business models have become legitimate. However, current research provides little insight on how the free and premium offering should be employed to lead to growth and success in the long run. The presented research aims to fill this gap by investigating how the property 'free' was employed in young entrepreneurial ventures' business models in the initial life-cycle stages - opportunity recognition, market entry, and market exploitation. We find that various forms of freemium business models are employed through the initial life-cycle stages of a new venture for reasons of trial-and-error, learning, exploration, legitimization and resource acquisition. A freemium business model can also serve as a nascent business model, though without a sustainable monetization component, for finding a sustainable business model through a series of dynamic adjustments. With our findings we contribute to the business model literature in three ways: First, our empirical findings show the many-sidedness of the component 'free' in freemium business models. Free users are of importance for network building, exploration and exploitation and growth over time. Moreover, free users enable directly and indirectly further resource acquisition. Second, while previous literature has taken a static perspective, we contribute by illustrating the dynamic process of strategic business model design for growth. Finally, we introduce the concept of the nascent business model which is new to the literature. (original abstract)

W e-biznesie modele biznesowe Freemium stały się legalne. Jednak obecne badania dostarczają znikomej wiedzy na temat sposobu w jaki oferta free i premium powinna być użyta, by w dłuższej perspektywie doprowadziła do wzrostu i sukcesu firmy. Prezentowane badanie ma na celu wypełnienie tej luki poprzez zbadanie, w jaki sposób cecha "free" została zastosowana w modelach biznesowych młodej przedsiębiorczości w początkowej fazie etapów cyklu życia - rozpoznaniu możliwości, wejścia na rynek, i eksploatacji rynku. Uważamy, że różne formy modeli biznesowych Freemium są stosowane w początkowych etapach cyklu życia nowego przedsięwzięcia z powodu prób i błędów, uczenia się, poszukiwania, legitymizacji i pozyskiwania zasobów. Model biznesowy Freemium może również służyć jako powstający model biznesowy, choć bez trwałego komponentu monetyzacji, może być wykorzystany w celu znalezienia trwałego modelu biznesowego poprzez serię dynamicznych zmian. Nasze ustalenia to wkład w literaturę dotyczącą modelu biznesowego na trzy sposoby: po pierwsze, nasze badania empiryczne pokazują wielowymiarowość komponentu "free" w modelach biznesowych Freemium. Darmowi użytkownicy mają znaczenie dla budowania sieci, poszukiwania i eksploatacji oraz rozwoju z upływem czasu. Ponadto, tacy użytkownicy umożliwiają, bezpośrednio i pośrednio, dalsze pozyskiwanie zasobów. Po drugie, podczas gdy dotychczasowa literatura prezentowała perspektywę statyczną, nasz wkład ilustruje dynamiczny proces projektu strategicznego modelu biznesowego na rzecz jego wzrostu. Wreszcie, wprowadzamy pojęcie powstającego modelu biznesowego, który jest nowy w literaturze. (abstrakt oryginalny)

Słowa kluczowe

EN

Business models; e-business; Information Technology (IT)

PL

Modele biznesowe; Biznes elektroniczny; Technologia informacyjna

• Czasopismo: Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Innovation (JEMI)
• Rocznik: 2015
• Tom: 11
• Numer: nr 1 Business Model Innovation - a Concept Between Organizational Renewal and Industry Transformation
• Strony: 77--100

Twórcy

autor

Franziska Günzel-Jensen

• Aarhus University, Denmark

autor

Anna B. Holm

• Aarhus University, Denmark

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Identyfikatory

DOI

10.7341/20151115