To cope with constant changes in the economic environment, organizations continuously strive to implement appropriate business models that will contribute to increased productivity, reduced costs and a competitive advantage. Organisations need however to choose among different business models and select the option that offer the greatest potential to improve their service delivery, reducing costs and enable them to focus on their core business. This study conceptualized the shared services business model, by focusing on key factors, such as the rationale for implementing a shared services unit over other business models, establishing the processes followed by the banking industry with the implementation of a human capital shared services model, identifying the advantages versus disadvantages of the implementation of the model and to provide recommendations for the development and implementation of shared services models within specific organisational context. The researcher conducted mixed method research to address the research problem which incorporated both qualitative and quantitative research. In the study research was conducted in three phases. During the first phase exploratory research was conducted, consisting of desk study research and industry reports as well as surveys, periodicals and academic publications.During the second phase qualitative research was conducted, through semi-structured interviews. Findings from this research phase were used during the third phase, which was a quantitative study, whereby information gathered from the interviews informed the design of questionnaires. It is evident from the results that there were many similarities between the analyses of the interviews and questionnaires in relation to the literature review. Many commonalities amongst the three banks were identified during the implementation process and in many instances corroborated statements by key authors during the literature review. Both the interviews and analysis of the questionnaires confirmed cost savings, improved customer services and standardization as benefits of a shared services model. It was concluded that the implementation of a human capital shared services model within the banking sector in South Africa contribute positively to each of the banks used in the sample, both from a cost perspective as improvement of efficiencies. It was further concluded that the processes, systems and people involved in the implementation process are critical to successful implementation. Based on the information gathered the researcher recommends that a project team be appointed from inception to finalization of the implementation of a shared services model, which will be required to deal with the planning phase, feasibility study and the full implementation plan relating to the implementation of the model. In practice, this study will provide shared services managers with insights with regards to the implementation process to be followed for implementing a human capital shared services model. It can also provide valuable insight to management with regard to important or key factors to consider, ensuring the effective implementation of the model. Findings of this study may also be extended to other organizations in South Africa, considering the implementation of the shared services model. / Graduate School for Business Leadership / Thesis (M.B.A.)

Dans les sphères du développement durable, des modèles d’affaires et du design de produit, certains leviers rendent le croisement de ces trois sphères de plus en plus pertinent. Au croisement de ces trois sphères se trouve une opportunité de comprendre les relations existantes entre le design de produit et les modèles d’affaires afin d’aider les décideurs à développer des solutions davantage durables. L’approche méthodologique de cette recherche utilise un système complexe et est basée sur un paradigme pragmatique. En vue de répondre à la question « Dans quelle mesure des modèles d’affaires et le design de produit sont liés dans un contexte de développement durable? », cette recherche a soigneusement analysé trois cas: Better Place, une compagnie californienne ayant développé une infrastructure permettant le chargement des voitures électriques; Interface Inc., un manufacturier mondial de tuiles de tapis commerciales établi à Atlanta; et Métacycle, un concept d’entreprise développé par une équipe de chercheurs en design à Montréal. Chaque cas a été analysé en corrélant des aspects du design de produit à des éléments de leur modèle d’affaires. Les résultats montrent que dans le contexte du développement durable, le design de produit et les modèles d’affaires sont interdépendants. Les résultats peuvent être résumés en six points: il existe des relations applicables universellement; les innovations de design substantielles jouent un rôle important dans le développement durable; la « durabilité » peut être une qualité émergente d’un modèle d’affaires; les partenariats peuvent être vitaux pour l’intégration des systèmes; un modèle de services a des bénéfices et des limitations considérables; le design peut agir comme levier à l’utilisation d’énergies renouvelables. Pratiquer simultanément l’innovation du modèle d’affaires et du produit peut apporter une valeur ajoutée, susciter des opportunités et augmenter l’efficience sur plusieurs facettes. Toutefois, les risques et les coûts de tels procédés sont souvent très élevés. En aidant à comprendre et définir comment les trois sphères mentionnées plus tôt sont interdépendantes, cette recherche pourrait idéalement inspirer des recherches supplémentaires sur le sujet. L’application par des organisations de la méthodologie et des apprentissages résultant de cette recherche peut permettre à d’autres d’utiliser le croisement entre l’innovation de produit et l’innovation du modèle d’affaires afin de résoudre des enjeux sociaux et environnementaux complexes. / Certain drivers in the fields of sustainability, business models, and product design are making the intersection between these three fields increasingly relevant. At this intersection is the opportunity to understand the relationships that exist between product design and business models to help decision makers develop more sustainable solutions. The methodology of this research uses a complex systems approach and is grounded in a pragmatist paradigm. To answer the question “In the context of sustainability, in what way are business models and product design related?”, this research has carefully analysed three cases: Better Place, a US based company that has developed a charging infrastructure for electric cars; Interface Inc., a global commercial carpet tile manufacturer based in Atlanta, Georgia; and Metacycle, a company concept developed by a team of design researchers in Montréal, Québec. Each case is analysed by correlating aspects of product design to elements of the business model and assessing how these relationships affect the sustainability of the company. The results show that product design, business models, and sustainability are inextricably connected. The results can be summarized in six key insights: there are universally applicable relationships; discontinuous design innovation can play a vital role in sustainability; sustainability is an emergent quality of a business model; key partnerships support systems level integration; a service revenue model has significant benefits and limitations; design innovation can help drive the shift to renewable energy. Conducting business model innovation and product innovation simultaneously can have large payouts in the form of creating new value, uncovering opportunities, and increasing efficiencies many fold, however the risks and costs of such a process are often very high. Applying the methodology and lessons of this research to one’s own organization could help to uncover new opportunities for innovation and help create more sustainable solutions. This research, by helping to understand and define how these areas are inextricably related and interdependent, will hopefully inspire further research on the subject and help others to use the intersection between product design and business model innovation to solve complex problems, be they social, environmental or otherwise.

The area of business models for the Internet of Things and how to approach modelling them is relatively unexplored. Therefore this study researches how others have previously approached the area through a literature analysis. The articles showed several different ways of describing business models for IoT, some of these where based around old and well known tools such as Business model canvas. While other approaches where based on creating entirely new models based on modern technology. One of these models is based around blockchain technology, the last main approach is to innovate the tool used to describe business models in order to be able to manage the change in actors. After analysing the different approaches by comparing them to either their standard model or seeing what the key part of the model was, it became obvious that business models for IoT have certain areas that need to be taken into account. These areas are not commonly seen in previous tools used to describe business models. One of these areas is increased collaboration as a consequence of increased number of participants in the creation of an IoT service or product. The other area is increased focus on IT knowledge, partners and therefore also increased cost. This is a consequence of the increased amount of technology needed. These areas in particular the increased collaboration strongly affects the business model and therefore is one of the main reasons for the business model innovation in the IoT market.

Syfte: Studiens syfte är att utifrån ett ledarperspektiv få ökad förståelsen för vilka utmaningar organisationskulturen bidrar till vid arbetet med cirkulära affärsmodeller.   Metod: Studien utgår från en hermeneutisk vetenskapstradition med en induktiv ansats. Metoden som tillämpats är kvalitativ och data har samlats in genom 10 semistrukturerade intervjuer för att sedan sammanställas i en tematisk analys. Intervjuer har genomförts med ledare som arbetar med CE och varje respondent har fått en anonymitetskod för att de inte ska kunna identifieras.   Resultat & slutsats: Studien visar att de ledare som vi intervjuat arbetar främst med affärsmodellerna Regenerering, Share och Loop som är kopplade till ramverket ReSOLVE och som respondenterna kallar Förnyelsebar och Återbruka. De främsta barriär och hinder kopplad till organisationskulturen och CE handlar om kunskapshantering och motivation. Studien visar att en ledare kan hantera dessa hinder genom att främja ett öppet klimat och bygga in arbetet med CE som en naturlig del i arbetet. Organisationer med en kultur som har ett externt fokus och där medarbetarnas värderingar ligger i linje med organisationens värderingar främjar arbetet med CE.   Examensarbetets bidrag: Studien har bidragit med en ökad förståelse för att olika affärsmodeller i ReSOLVE kan ha varierad miljömässig påverkan. Att medarbetare ser ett större perspektiv och att CE är en naturlig del i processen underlättar arbetet med CE. En kundorienterad organisation visar sig också föra arbete med CE framåt. Förslag på fortsatt forskning: För att stärka vår studie ytterligare föreslår vi fortsatt forskning gällande ytterligare perspektiv utöver ledarens syn på arbetet med CE. Vi föreslår också att framtida forskning kan undersöka affärsmodellers påverkan på miljön samt att utveckla forskning kring sambandet mellan en kundorienterad organisation och CE. / Aim: The aim of the study is to increase the knowledge of the challenges that organizational culture contributes to when working with circular business models, based on a leadership perspective.   Method: The study originates from a hermeneutical science tradition with an inductive approach. The method used is qualitative and data has been collected through semi structured interviews and later compiled in a thematic analysis. The interviews have been conducted with leaders working with CE and all of the respondents have been anonymized through anonymity codes.   Result & conclusions: The study indicates that the interviewed leaders primarily use the business models Regenerate, Share and Loop that are linked to the ReSOLVE framework, that the leaders refers to as Renewable and Reusable. Knowledge management and motivation are the main barriers and obstacles associated with the organizational culture and CE. The study shows that the leader can handle these barriers by promoting an open organizational climate and make CE as a natural part of the business. Organizations that have a culture with an external focus and where the employee’s values are in line with the values of the organization facilitates the work with CE.   Contribution of the thesis: The study has contributed to an increased understanding that different ReSOLVE business models can have different environmental effects. A bigger perspective and working with CE as a natural part of the process facilitates the work with CE. A customer-oriented organization have also turned out to foster CE.   Suggestions for future research: In order to further strengthen our study, we propose continued research regarding further perspectives on the work with CE in addition to the leader’s view. We also propose future research to investigate the environmental impact of the business models. And to develop research on the relationship between a customer-oriented organization and the work with CE.

O trabalho manual com facas nos frigoríficos geram altos índices de problemas ergonômicos, sendo um fator agravante o uso de facas com afiação deficitária que prejudica sua usabilidade. O objetivo deste trabalho é desenvolver uma inovação tecnológica aplicando o conceito de Internet das Coisas na criação de produtos inteligentes que permita aos frigoríficos atender requisitos informacionais de controle e registro de afiação das facas em uso e simultaneamente, propor alternativas de modelos de negócios que gerem vantagens econômicas para a empresa focal e seus clientes. Inicialmente é relatado o processo de desenvolvimento da inovação tecnológica batizada com o nome comercial SMARTKNIVES, a qual agrega à faca características de um produto inteligente que registra e compartilha dados e interage com outros sistemas. O valor adicional da informação gerada com os dados coletados permite para a empresa focal repensar seu formato de exploração comercial da inovação desenvolvida. São propostas três alternativas de modelo de negócio no conceito de Sistema Produto-Serviço após (i) revisão da literatura acerca de modelos de negócios com uso de Internet das Coisas e inovações tecnológicas, (ii) levantamento de dados sobre consumo e custo com facas tradicionais em dois frigoríficos brasileiros e (iii) comparação dos dados no modelo tradicional versus modelos propostos com o uso dos produtos SMARTKNIVES. Como resultado, foi possível atender os requisitos informacionais e normativos para o setor de frigoríficos brasileiros e observar a possibilidade de um aumento na vida útil dos produtos inteligentes. Tal aumento, aliado às novas possibilidades de monetização e modelos de negócios tipo PSS, permitem vantagens econômicas mais vantajosas que o cenário atual. / The manual work with knives in the slaughterhouses generates high rates of ergonomic problems, being an aggravating factor, the use of knives with poor edging that hinders its usability requiring greater physical effort during the labor activity. The objective of this paper is to develop a technological innovation that helps in the solution of the problems related to the sharpening and use of knives in the slaughterhouses and that still makes possible the proposition of innovations in business models that allow economic advantages for the manufacturer and their customers. This study in a first moment (Chapter 2) reports the process of developing a technological innovation for using knives in slaughterhouses trade named SMARTKNIVES that aggregates the knife features a smart product designed to integrate the day to day problems of customers, recording and sharing data as well as interacting naturally with other systems using Internet of things. The additional value of the information resulting from this development allows the focal company to rethink its format of commercial exploitation of the developed innovation. In the second stage of this study (chapter 3) the researcher proposes three new business model possibilities in the concept of Product-Service System (PSS) after; (i) review of the literature on business models with use of Internet of Things and technological innovations, (ii) data collection on consumption and cost in two Brazilian slaughterhouses using traditional knives and (iii) comparison with the results predicted by the focal company if the slaughterers used SMARTKNIVES products. The paper concludes that the proposed objectives were achieved because the technological innovation developed helps in the problem of knife sharpening in slaughterhouses and also allows the proposition of new business models economically more advantageous than the current one.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T16:45:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Andre Amaral Pinto.pdf: 767941 bytes, checksum: 26dd4e36ff56223a8f7e78086337f926 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-11-18 / This work is about strategies for the government and private initiative to adopt in order to deliver telecommunication services for the low-income people, with sustainable and profitable business models, without resorting to farewell policies. It s intended to show how telecommunication services driven to low-income can be transformer in their own environment and in a country level. It will focus on some initiatives carried out around the world where reaching this market brought enhancements to country s economy and to companies results. It will discuss, as well, the government role as market regulator, competition stimulator, direct investor and collecting agent. Finally, there will be discussed the telecommunication service operators, for whom attending the bottom of the pyramid must not be about fighting for the little money available for surviving, but bringing new ways for them to have means to increase their earnings through innovative services, in a win-win situation / Este trabalho trata de estratégias que governo e iniciativa privada podem adotar para levar serviços de telecomunicações para a população de baixa renda, com modelos de negócio sustentáveis e lucrativos, sem recorrer a políticas assistencialistas. Pretende-se mostrar o quanto os serviços de telecomunicações dirigidos para a baixa renda podem ser transformadores, tanto no seu ambiente próprio, como no âmbito nacional. Serão enfocadas algumas iniciativas desenvolvidas ao redor do mundo onde o atendimento deste mercado de baixa renda traz melhoras para a economia do país e para os resultados das empresas. Também discutirá o papel do governo como regulador de mercado, estimulador da concorrência, investidor direto e agente arrecadador. Por fim será discutido o lado das operadoras de telecomunicações, para quem o atendimento à base da pirâmide não deve se tratar de lutar pelos poucos reais que a população pode dispor para sobreviver, mas sim de trazer meios para ela ter condições de incrementar seus ganhos por meio de serviços inovadores, de forma que ambos ganhem

La demande croissante pour l’alimentation, l’énergie et les ressources naturelles, combinée à la limitation des ressources et à la libéralisation du commerce sont parmi les facteurs ayant entrainé une nouvelle « ruée sur les terres agricoles » observée depuis quelques années. Alors que certains ont exprimé des inquiétudes sur les implications potentielles de ces projets sur les droits et les moyens de subsistance des populations rurales des pays en développement, d’autres ont souligné le potentiel de ces opportunités dans la lutte pour la sécurité alimentaire et le développement rural que constituait ces annonces d’investissements dans un secteur longtemps négligé. Cette thèse interroge la complexité économique, institutionnelle et sociale des investissements fonciers à grande échelle et leur capacité à engendrer des restructurations agraires et un changement du modèle de développement agricole au Mozambique. En raison de leur fort taux d’échec et des difficultés d’implantation des projets, il apparait que les investissements fonciers à grande échelle n’ont pas entrainé une rupture dans les structures agraires locales marquée par un changement des caractéristiques des exploitations majoritairement productrices dans le secteur agricole national. En revanche, l’intérêt des investisseurs étrangers tend à influencer les autorités nationales vers une réactivation du modèle de développement agricole qui prévalait après l’Indépendance, c’est-à-dire un secteur agricole dual avec des agriculteurs familiaux marginalisés d’une part et des exploitations agricoles à grande échelle établies avec des investissements étrangers de l’autre. Ainsi, non seulement la grande majorité des agriculteurs familiaux ne bénéficient pas de la dynamique actuelle de projets d’investissement, mais les politiques agricoles et foncières et les mesures de soutien tendent à se détourner d’eux au profit de la facilitation des investissements à grande échelle. Nos résultats remettent en cause la capacité des projets actuels à enclencher une trajectoire de développement agricole capable de répondre aux défis des économies africaines. / The growing demand for food, energy and natural resources, combined with the limited stock of natural resources available and the process of trade liberalization are among the factors that have triggered a new rush for land observed in the last years. Despite an extensive literature, most analyses of large scale land based investment are politically and ideologically anchored, reflecting strong opposing stances. On one hand, some have expressed some concerns on the potential implications of these projects on peasants’ land rights and livelihood. On the other hand, some other researchers have argued that these projects should be seen as opportunities in the struggle for food security and rural development. This thesis questions the economic, social and institutional complexity of large scale land based investment including their differentiated evolutionary dynamics and implications in terms of agricultural development and agrarian change in Mozambique. Because of a high failure rate and difficulties to establish the production structures, it appears that large scale land based investments haven’t led to a shift from small scale farming to large scale farming as the main farming organization in Mozambique. However, the rising interest of foreign investors tend to influence national authorities in rehabilitating the post-Independence agricultural development model, which was characterized by a dual system composed of marginalized subsistence farmers on one hand and foreign owned large scale farms. So, not only do smallholders benefit little from present agricultural investment dynamics, but also agricultural policies and support measures tend to shift away from the former towards the facilitation of large-scale investment. Our results questions the capacity of actual large scale land based investments to trigger a trajectory of agricultural development able to meet African economies challenges.

The literature review on emerging concepts of 'Business model' and 'Business model innovation' finds significant theoretical and practical potential to facilitate the strategising and innovating activities of modern organisations operating in complex and dynamic business environments. However, a further review of extant literature reveals that although a significant knowledge-base has been accumulated focusing on the content and process aspects of the phenomenon, very few of the conducted studies take a practice-based perspective. Therefore, in keeping with the broader research question of current strategising practices, this research investigates the issue from many possible philosophical, theoretical and methodological angles, in turn making several contributions to the theory and practice of business models while also opening up several potential future research avenues. This research consists of four main research stages sequentially covering problem formulation, two theory creation phases and problem solving, thereby meeting the requirements of a practice-based management research through relevance rather than merely rigour, as in conventional scientific research. As a result, it offers several research contributions to both the theory and practice of business models, which can be immediately put into practice by theorists, practitioners and entrepreneurs: a pluralistic business model research classification framework; a dynamic practice-based approach to the construction of business models; a knowledge-based conceptualisation of business models and a dynamic capability matrix for business model practices. Additionally, this research also offers potential future contributions to adjacent research streams such as dynamic capabilities, strategy as practice and research methodology. Overall, by utilising the philosophy of pragmatism, this thesis advances the contemporary discipline of business models towards a practice-based science, crucially and timely bridging the knowledge gap in existing practice-based theories and frameworks business models. It is hopes that this work will gave rise to a new movement of research on business models, positioning itself as a well established applied-oriented management science among the broader disciplines of strategy, innovation and entrepreneurship.

As cidades inteligentes emergiram como uma alternativa no trato das dificuldades oriundas do crescimento populacional observado nas áreas urbanizadas. Entre as iniciativas propostas por essa nova abordagem nos espaços urbanos, destaca-se a mobilidade inteligente. Ela propõe o uso dos recursos tecnológicos a fim de aprimorar a experiência de deslocamento de pessoas e de cargas, objetivando melhorar a qualidade de vida dos cidadãos. Nesse contexto, ressalta-se a importância do compartilhamento de carros como uma das alternativas para reduzir os índices de congestionamento, a emissão de poluentes e a demanda por áreas de estacionamento; além disso, esse serviço promove a interação com outros modais de transporte e os hábitos mais saudáveis entre os indivíduos que os utilizam. Ao analisar os modelos de negócio das empresas que operam nesse mercado, notam-se diferentes modalidades: compartilhamento de carros (ida e volta), compartilhamento de carros (trecho único), compartilhamento de carros (P2P), compartilhamento de corridas e caronas, empresas de redes de transporte e serviços de táxi. Também é possível identificar estreita relação com o consumo colaborativo (também denominado economia compartilhada), fenômeno amplamente explorado a partir da década de 2000, que fomenta o uso ou acesso aos bens em detrimento da propriedade. Assim, os usuários de carros compartilhados podem utilizá-los sem a incidência das obrigações e dos custos fixos associados à posse desses bens. Ambos os paradigmas utilizam a Internet, as redes sociais, os sistemas de informação e os recursos tecnológicos para prover seus serviços e conectar os usuários, criando as chamadas plataformas multilaterais. Estas suportam a criação e a operação em espaços físicos ou virtuais, conectando diferentes grupos de usuários; assim, ao reduzir os custos e as dificuldades desses encontros, disponibiliza-se um ambiente favorável à realização das transações, ou seja, ao compartilhamento dos carros. Esta tese de doutorado aplicou a análise qualitativa comparativa (QCA), a técnica MSDO, a análise de conteúdo e a análise cruzada de casos aos modelos de negócio de 14 organizações que atuam no segmento de carros compartilhados com a finalidade de identificar e descrever como os componentes da mobilidade inteligente, do consumo colaborativo e das plataformas multilaterais foram incorporados nas operações dessas companhias por meio de estudos de caso múltiplos. Os resultados alcançados indicaram alguns fatores críticos do sucesso empresarial desses modelos de negócio, entre eles: a análise de dados massivos por intermédio de ferramentas de big data, a disponibilização de aplicativos para dispositivos móveis, a implementação dos recursos de segurança física e lógica para os usuários dos serviços de carros compartilhados, o estímulo à colaboração on-line e ao uso de redes sociais e a operação em um mercado regulamentado. Devido à causalidade assimétrica, também emergiram componentes associados ao insucesso, entre eles: a ausência do uso de ferramentas de big data para análise dos dados massivos dos usuários; a indisponibilidade de aplicativos para dispositivos móveis; os recursos ineficazes de segurança física e lógica; a adoção de estratégias inócuas ou ausentes para a resolução do problema de massa crítica nas plataformas multilaterais; a dificuldade na obtenção de recursos financeiros para realizar investimentos nos diferentes grupos de usuários e a operação em um mercado sem regulamentação. / Smart cities emerged as an alternative in dealing with the difficulties arising from population growth observed in urbanized areas. Among the initiatives proposed by this new approach in urban spaces, smart mobility stands out as an essential service for the operation of cities. It proposes the use of technological resources in order to improve the experience of moving people and cargo, aiming to improve the quality of life of citizens. In this context, the importance of car sharing is highlighted as one of the alternatives to reduce congestion rates, the emission of pollutants and the demand for parking areas; in addition, this service promotes interaction with other transport modes and healthier habits among the individuals who use it. When analyzing the business models of the companies that operate in this market, different modalities are observed: car sharing (round trip), car sharing (one way), car sharing (P2P), carpooling, transport network companies and taxi services. It is also possible to identify a close relationship with collaborative consumption (also called sharing economy), a phenomenon widely exploited since the last decade, which fosters the use or access to goods over property. Thus, users of shared cars can use them without the incidence of the obligations and the fixed costs associated with the possession of these goods. Both paradigms use the Internet, social networks, information systems and technological resources to provide their services and connect users, creating the so-called multisided platforms. These support operation in physical or virtual spaces, connecting different groups of users; thus, by reducing the costs and difficulties of these matches, a favorable environment is provided to carry out the transactions, that is, the car sharing. This PhD thesis applied the qualitative comparative analysis (QCA), the MSDO technique, content analysis and cross-case analysis to the business models of 14 organizations operating in the car sharing segment with the purpose of identifying and describing how the components of smart mobility, collaborative consumption and multisided platforms have been incorporated into the operations of these companies through multiple case studies. The results achieved indicated some critical success factors of these business models, among them: analyzing massive data through big data tools, making mobile applications available, implementing physical and logical security features for users of car sharing services, the stimulation of online collaboration and the use of social networks and the operation in a regulated market. Due to asymmetric causality, components associated with failure also emerged, among them: the absence of the use of big data tools to analyze the users\' massive data; the unavailability of mobile applications; inefficient physical and logical security features; the adoption of innocuous or absent strategies for solving the critical mass problem in multisided platforms; the difficulty in obtaining the financial resources to make investments in different groups of users and the operation in a market without regulation.

<p>This thesis examines companies offering their services for free to Internet users, byemploying digital free business models. As a framework Chris Anderson’s classificationsof “free” business models are used. A sample of eleven companies that provide “free”services was selected and divided into four groups. These were search engine, socialnetworking/community, content based and others. Their profitability was then measuredin relation to their valuation with the help of P/E ratios within and among the groups. Aregression analysis was also conducted to compare profitability of either one of two“free” business models used by the researched companies.Findings were that search engine and social networking/community companies appear tohave profits for the period researched. No strong trend for overvaluation could be foundin either of these groups, except for individual companies with high P/E ratios. Neithercompany within the content based group showed any profits. Their marginal costs weretoo high but this may change with technological progress. Regression analysis could notshow any significant results employing either the “Freemium” or the advertising “free”business model to be more profitable than the other. Significant results could be shownbeing a content based company and being unprofitable. Comparison between specificcompanies gave mixed results but network effects appear to create dominant playerswithin each group. Employing more than only the advertising “free” business modelseems to be efficient in raising revenue per user for social networking/communitycompanies.</p>