Title: Developing e-business models in practice: the case of the regional online newspaper

Authors: Cornelia C. Krueger, Paula M.C. Swatman

Addresses: Faculty of Informatics, University of Koblenz-Landau, Koblenz, Germany. ' University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia

Abstract: The dot.com and telecoms meltdown have led to claims in the popular press that e-commerce and e-business may have gone as far as they can. In practice, of course, the rationalisation of the internet-based marketplace has really only meant that sound business practices are now required for online companies, as well as for their more conventional brethren in the physical world. As companies and individuals become more accustomed to the convenience of doing business as and when they like, traditional companies in all sectors are increasingly seeking ways of internet-enabling their products and services. In this paper, we look at how the formerly very conservative newspaper industry – in particular, regional newspapers – has developed online business models. A review of relevant, literature-based e-business models is followed by a series of mini case studies of online regional newspapers in Germany, France and Italy. We find that the models actually in use by regional online papers are more sophisticated and more complex than those suggested in the academic literature and we discuss the ways in which practice can contribute to theory development. While the success of these models is not yet firmly established, it appears that there is considerable potential for successful online positioning of regional newspapers.

Keywords: electronic business; e-business models; online news; positioning; online news companies; Italy; Germany; France; regional newspapers.

DOI: 10.1504/IJITM.2004.005030

International Journal of Information Technology and Management, 2004 Vol.3 No.2/3/4, pp.157 - 172

Published online: 23 Aug 2004 *

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