Web 2.0 Revealed - Business Model Innovation through Social Computing

P. Knol, M.R. Spruit, W.J. Scheper

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

The value of Social Computing and its application in business has largely remained unclear until now. However, this paper reveals that Social Computing principles may have important business value, as they can help to lower transaction costs through standardization on Internet. This makes the development here to stay, instead of another hype. This paper describes Social Computing with nine technological and social principles, obtained by comparing both Internet and academic sources in this field, being Open Platform, Lightweight Models, Enabling Services, Intuitive Usability, Long Tail, Unbounded Collaboration, Collective Intelligence, Network Effects, and User Generated Content. Through semi-structured interviews with thirteen experts the principles are validated and related to a generic business model. An hierarchical cluster analysis reveals three clusters of principles. The first cluster is labeled Open Collaboration and supports interaction with partners and customers. The second cluster is labeled Lean Configuration and supports a flexible and adaptive business setup. The third cluster is labeled Customer Value and supports enabling partners and customers in co-creating the value propositions of a business. The results show that Social Computing provides most support in those aspects of business where connections with the environment exist; the relations with partners and customers.
Original languageUndefined/Unknown
Title of host publicationProceedings of the Seventh AIS SIGeBIZ Workshop on e-business (WeB 2008)
Publication statusPublished - 13 Dec 2008

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