Title: Disruptive business model innovations in e-philanthropy

Authors: Chung-Shing Lee, Pi-Feng Hsieh

Addresses: ePLU E-Commerce and Technology Management Center, School of Business, Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, WA 98447, USA. ' Department of Accounting Information, Takming University of Science and Technology, 56, Sec. 1, Huanshan Road, Neihu, Taipei, Taiwan

Abstract: Philanthropic fund raising has evolved into a major business activity. Traditional models utilise one-on-one contact, direct mail and telephone bank fund raising. Most e-philanthropy companies| business models are simply the extension of the traditional brick-and-mortar paper-oriented processes. However, many business models have evolved into a set of opportunities that promises to disrupt traditional fund raising models. This paper examines the question of how online e-philanthropy companies can capitalise on the disruptive attributes of the internet and e-commerce to redesign their business and revenue models to achieve high performance. This paper will also evaluate various business models that promise to change the nature of philanthropic fund raising. Overall, the gains for the online company lie within the design and implementation of the virtual value chain and what the firm can do with the information it collects.

Keywords: philanthropy; e-commerce; innovation; charity; philanthropic fund raising; business models; electronic commerce; e-philanthropy; electronic philanthropy; online philanthropy; disruptive attributes.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIIM.2010.030712

International Journal of Intercultural Information Management, 2010 Vol.2 No.1, pp.79 - 95

Published online: 31 Dec 2009 *

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