A classification for business model types in e-commerce

Abstract

Internet business models have been widely discussed in literature and applied within the last decade. Nevertheless, a clear understanding of some e-commerce concepts does not exist yet. The classification of business models in e-commerce is one of these areas. The current research tries to fill this gap through a conceptual and qualitative study. Nine main e-commerce business model types are selected from literature and analyzed to define the criteria and their sub-criteria (characteristics). As a result three different classifications for business models are determined. This study can be used to improve the understanding of essential functions, relations and mechanisms of existing e-commerce business models.