Title: Value creation and appropriation in social media - the case of fashion bloggers in Sweden

Authors: Christofer Pihl; Christian Sandström

Addresses: Stockholm University School of Business, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden ' Chalmers University of Technology and the Ratio Institute, SE-412 96, Göteborg, Sweden

Abstract: This paper explores and explains the emergence of commercial blogging. Studying the contents of 18 of Sweden's top fashion blogs, our findings suggest that bloggers create value by generating improved transaction efficiencies. Fashion bloggers have high credibility and thus facilitate the flow of consumer information and choice. The blogs present a combination of private and commercial content, thereby creating a customer intimacy that differentiates them from more traditional market channels. The value of these relationships is appropriated partly through advertisements and partly from other sources of revenue, such as the creation of brands and online stores. Bloggers have become powerful intermediaries who often have a better contact with end consumers than fashion firms. This paper therefore suggests that management of the blogosphere is an emerging source of competitive advantage for fashion firms.

Keywords: social media; fashion blogs; fashion bloggers; business models; transaction costs; Sweden; value creation; value appropriation; commercial blogging; consumer information; consumer choice; customer intimacy; fashion industry.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTM.2013.052673

International Journal of Technology Management, 2013 Vol.61 No.3/4, pp.309 - 323

Published online: 23 Apr 2013 *

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