Internet business models and strategies : text and cases

The phrase ?business model? has found its way into the vocabulary of just about everyone who must manage or work in businesses with an Internet content, from venture capitalists to CEOs. Despite the enormous importance of the Internet and business models to firms, and the explosive interest in both subjects, there are no business school texts that address the impact of the Internet on firm performance. In Internet Business Models and Strategies: Text and Cases, we draw on research in strategic management and the management of technology to develop an integrative framework that allows readers to put their minds around what determines firm performance and the central role that business models play in the face of the Internet. We offer concepts and tools that students of management need to analyze and synthesize business models, especially Internet business models. The framework developed in the book allows its users to make more informed concept- and theory-grounded arguments about Internet start-ups, bricks-and-mortar firms that must face challengers, the relative merits of formulating and implementing Internet business models and strategies, and how much ventures might be worth. In the first part of the book, we explore the concepts on which Internet business models rest and the tools that can be used to analyze and appraise them. In addition to building a conceptual framework, the chapters include discussion questions and key terms to engage readers further with the subject matter. The second part of the book offers cases of both pure-play Internet firms as well as bricks-and-mortar firms that must formulate and execute successful business models and strategies in order to gain, defend, or reinforce a competitive advantage in the face of the Internet. To the best of our knowledge, no other book addresses the central issues of the impact of the Internet on business performance. This is not to say that there are no books on e-commerce or the impact of the Internet from a functional perspective, simply that they do not centrally address business issues, particularly the impact of the Internet on business models and firm performance.