B Mahadevan Associate Professor, Production & Operations Management Indian Institute of Management Bangalore 560 0 76, INDIA. e-mail: mahadev@iimb.ernet.in
To Appear in
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Abstract The success of Internet based businesses in the Business to Customer segment in recent years is an indication of the events to unfold at the dawn of the new millennium. It is widely projected that the Business to Business segment is poised for a spectacular growth. However, a consistent definition and a framework for a business model for the Internet based business is still non-existent. This paper is an effort to fill in this gap.
We propose a three dimensional framework for defining a business model and apply it to the emerging market structure. Furthermore, we also identify certain factors that would guide organizations in their choice of an appropriate business model. We also identify possibilities for further theory building in this area.
Business Models for Internet based E-Commerce: An Anatomy
Introduction
The growth of Internet based businesses, popularly known as dot coms is anything but meteoric. It has dwarfed the historical growth patterns of other sectors of the industry. Over years, several organizations doing business through the Internet have come out with their own set of unique propositions to succeed in the business. For instance Amazon.com demonstrated how it is possible to "dis-intermediate" the supply chain and create new value out of it. Companies such as Hotmail, and Netscape made business sense out of providing free products and services. On the other hand companies such as AOL and Yahoo identified new revenue streams for their businesses. It is increasingly becoming clearer that the propositions that these organizations employed in their business could collectively form the building blocks of a business model for an Internet based