Paper Info
Title
When Loyalty Points Become Virtual Currencies: Transforming Business Models for Online Platforms.
Abstract
Information and Communication Technology is characterized by far-reaching platformisation that affects a wide range of online services. Platforms focalize principally on attracting, and locking-in, various stakeholders groups - and balancing interests of these - rather than on profit maximization in a single market. One option to reach this objective is the implementation of loyalty programs. But rather than a mere adoption of initial mechanisms, digital technology allows platforms to transform loyalty points in order to obtain Virtual Currency (VC), i.e. a tool to support multiple usage options granted to various users and utilizations throughout the value network. This paper enhances knowledge upon tendencies and trends of platform's VC strategies and the corresponding impacts on the business model. It reveals how the implementation of a VC affects a platform's gatekeeper position, the encouragement of loyalty of stakeholder groups and the opening of new income streams for the platform.
Year
DOI
Venue
2013
10.1007/978-3-662-44788-8_8
Communications in Computer and Information Science
Keywords
Field
DocType
Loyalty schemes,Virtual currency,Business models,Two-sided markets
Stakeholder,Computer science,Loyalty,Knowledge management,Single market,Business model,Information and Communications Technology,Profit maximization,Virtual currency,Value network,Marketing
Conference
Volume
ISSN
Citations 
456
1865-0929
0
PageRank 
References 
Authors
0.34
1
3
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Uschi Buchinger101.69
Heritiana Ranaivoson202.37
Pieter Ballon312425.44