Business model innovation in crowdsourcing multi-sided platforms.

Abstract

Business model has gained a lot of attention over the last years and the concept of business model innovation has probably never been more important than it is today. Phenomena such as digitalization have given rise to new products and service but most importantly, it has pushed companies to explore alternative and novel business model configurations. In particular, we have witnessed the rise of the multi-sided platform as one of the most disruptive and widely-adopted business model design in the current digital era. The thesis seeks to increase the understanding of the multi-sided platform business model and its possible developments with crowdsourcing practices. The study is conducted through a literature review on the concept of business model and business model innovation by relying on the main contributions from several authors on the topic. Thus, the main features of the multi-sided business model and the concept of crowdsourcing with its possible applications and integrations are examined. The study is then completed with a qualitative case study: this company operates in the business of digital testing for software, mobile applications and websites and it has adopted a crowdsourcing multi-sided platform business model in order to link companies that need to test their digital channels with real testers. Born as a start-up, the company has undertaken many innovations in its business model and thanks to those innovations it has become one of the leaders in the business of digital testing. The innovations are examined through a recent framework that aims to integrate the concept of modularity from the theory of complex systems for business modelling and business model innovation.