TITLE:
Business Models and Revenue Generation: Conceptualising the Development of Economic Value for Online Member Owned Communities
AUTHORS:
Barry Ardley, Jialin (Penny) Hardwick
KEYWORDS:
Business Model, Online Members, Communities, Revenue
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Business and Management,
Vol.12 No.3,
April
23,
2024
ABSTRACT: This work argues for the development of online member run communities based on increasing their economic value through adopting revenue streams strategically aligned with a coherent business model. Whilst there is a plethora of material on marketing and consumer culture in online communities, there exists a clear gap regarding the study of income generation and business model strategy. Consequently, the focus question here is about the better exploitation of business models and commercial opportunities by member owned communities, in a C2C context. Using a hypothetical case example of a fitness community, this paper analyses how a business model can shape revenue generating activities for its members. This conceptual paper furthers our understanding of the economic value of online communities, providing the potential basis for a new stream of research in a neglected area of inquiry.