Business models, diffusion of innovation and imitation: The case of online press

LYUBAREVA, Inna and ROCHELANDET, Fabrice and ETIENNE, Jean-Michel (2016): Business models, diffusion of innovation and imitation: The case of online press.

Abstract

A body of literature shows the destabilizing role of ICT and change from analogue to digital in the cultural industries in general, and in press industry in particular. This literature demonstrates that constant experimentation and innovation in the area of organizational arrangements and business models (BM) has become a key competitive advantage. As a result, traditional BMs, which were dominant and stable in different cultural industries (such as media, film, music, publishing etc), have given rise to a multiplicity of arrangements in business management and the emergence of disruptive and innovative business models, which often successfully coexist in the same market segment. According to this view point, strategic and structural change is necessarily driven by competition or the need for efficiency. However alternative theories predicts that in depending on the industry structural characteristic, only early adopters of innovation may be driven by a desire to improve performance, whereas as an innovation spreads and organizational field becomes more established, there may be a push towards homogenization. The case of the French press is quite symptomatic of that standpoint. From the empirical analysis of 100 press websites observed over the period from 2004 to 2014, the paper substantiates the convergence process towards three dominant clusters of online BMs: “A minima Digital”, “Freebie Plus” and “Exploring Leaders”. Using a Random Effects Probit econometric model the paper puts forward that this isomorphic process is mainly due to the fact that mimetic behavior over-weights search for performance in French press.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Online Press, Business Models, Innovation of Service, Imitation, Isomorphism
• Subjects: L - Industrial Organization > L8 - Industry Studies: Services > L82 - Entertainment ; Media; M - Business Administration and Business Economics ; Marketing ; Accounting ; Personnel Economics > M2 - Business Economics; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O3 - Innovation ; Research and Development ; Technological Change ; Intellectual Property Rights > O33 - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences ; Diffusion Processes

References

Alchian, A.A., 1950. "Uncertainty, evolution, and economic theory", Journal of Political Economy, Vol.58, n°3, pp.211-221.

Arthur, B.W., 1989. "Competing technologies, increasing returns, and lock-in by historical events", Economic Journal, Vol.99, n°394, pp.116–131.

Attias, D., 2007. L’impact d’Internet sur l’économie de la presse : quel chemin vers la profitabilité ? Thesis, Sciences Economiques, Université de Paris Ouest, Nanterre la Défense.

Banerjee, A., 1992. "A simple model of herd behavior", Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol.107, n°3, pp.797–817.

Belussi, F., and S. Sedita, 2015. Managing situated creativity in cultural industries. Routledge.

Benghozi, P.-J., and I. Lyubareva, 2014. "When organizations in the cultural industries seek new business models: A case study of the French online press", International Journal of Arts Manangement, Vol.16, n°3, pp. 6-19.

Bikhchandani, S., D. Hirshleifer, and I. Welch, 1992. "A theory of fads, fashion, custom and cultural change as information cascades", Journal of Political Economy, Vol.100, n°5, pp.992–1026.

Brown, T., 2013. “Newspapers: Embattled news giants could provide key content for telcos.” Informa Telecoms and Media, Telecom markets n° 691, September, Informa Media Group Editor.

Caves, R.E., and M.E. Porter, 1977. "From entry barriers to mobility barriers: Conjectural decisions and contrived deterrence to new competition", Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol.91, n°2, pp.241–262.

Clausen, S.E., 2008. Applied Correspondence Analysis: An Introduction. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Gomes-Casseres, B., 1994. "Group versus group: how alliances networks compete", Harvard Business Review, Vol.72, n°4, pp.62-74.

Curien, N., M. Gensollen, and L. Gille., 2004. "Content distribution via the Internet: Comments on upload taxation plans", Communications and Strategies, n° 55, p. 17–44.

Dagiral, E., and S. Parasie., 2010. “Presse en ligne : où en est la recherche?” Presse en ligne, Special Edition, no 160/161, pp.13-42.

David, P.A., 1985. "Clio and the economics of QWERTY", American Economic Review, Vol.75, n°2, pp.332-337.

Davis, G.F., 1991. "Agents without principles? The spread of the poison pill through the intercorporate network", Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol.36, n°4, pp.583-613.

Debande, O., and G. Chetrit, 2001. The European audiovisual industry: An overview. Sector Papers, September. Luxembourg: European Investment Bank.

DiMaggio, P. J., and W.W. Powell., 1983. "The iron cage revisited" institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields", American Sociological Review, Vol.48, n°2, pp.147-60.

Edmonds, E., E. Guskin, T. Rosenstiel, and A. Mitchel., 2012. The State of the News Media 2012: An Annual Report on American Journalism, 18 March. Washington: Project for Excellence in Journalism, Pew Research Center.

Estok, D.M., 2011. "Paywalls", Journal of Professional Communication, Vol.1, n°1, pp.23-26.

Furhoff, L., 1973. "Some reflections on newspaper concentration", The Scandinavian Economic History Review, Vol.21, n°1, pp.1-27.

Garcia-Pont C., and N. Nohria, 2002. "Local versus Global Mimetism: The Dynamics of Alliance Formation in the Automobile Industry", Strategic Management Journal, Vol.23, n°4, pp.307-321.

Greenacre, M.J., 1984. Theory and Applications of Correspondence Analysis. London: Academic.

Greve, H.R., 1996. "The Diffusion of a Market Position in Radio Broadcasting", Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol.41, n°1, pp. 29-60.

Gustaffson, K.E., 1978. "The circulation spiral and the principal of household coverage", The Scandinavian Economic History Review, Vol.26, n°1, pp.1-14.

Hair, J.F., R.E. Anderson, R.L. Tatham, and W.C. Black., 1995. Multivariate Data Analysis, 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Haunschild, P.R., 1993. "Interorganizational imitation: The impact of interlocks on corporate acquisition activity", Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol.38, n°4, pp.564-592.

Kindleberger, C.P., 1978. Manias, Panics, and Crashes, Macmillan Press.

Lieberman, M.B, and S. Asaba, 2006. "Why do firms imitate each other?", Academy of Management Review, Vol.31, n°2, pp.366-385.

Liebowitz, S.J., and S.E. Margolis, 1990. "The Fable of the Keys", Journal of Law and Economics, Vol. 30, n°1, pp.1-26.

Osterwalder, A., and Y. Pigneur. 2009. Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers. Amsterdam: n.p.

Pickard, V., and A.T. Williams, 2014. "Salvation Or Folly? The promises and perils of digital paywalls", Digital journalism, Vol.2, n°2, pp.195-213.

Rebillard F. 2012. "Modèles socioéconomiques du journalisme en ligne et possibilités d'une information diversifiée", Les Enjeux de l'information et de la communication, Gresec - Université Grenoble 3.

Ruckman, K., N. Saraf, and V. Sambamurthy, 2015. "Market positioning by IT service vendors through imitation", Information Systems Research, vol.26, n°1, pp.100-126.

Schilling, M.A., 2002. "Technology success and failure in winner-take-all markets: The impact of learning orientation, timing, and network externalities", Academy of Management Journal, Vol.45, n°2, pp.387-398.

Schlesinger, P., 2007. "Creativity: From discourse to doctrine?", Screen, Vol. 48, no 3, p. 377–387.

Shafer, S.M., H.J. Smith, J.C. Linder., 2005. "The Power of Business Models", Business Horizons, Vol.48, n°3, pp.199–207.

Sonnac, N., 2009. "L’économie de la presse : vers un nouveau modèle d’affaires", Les Cahiers du Journalisme, n°20, pp.22-43.

Teece, D.J., 2010. "Business models, business strategy and innovation", Long Range Planning, Vol.43, n°2/3, pp.172–194.

Utterback, J.M., 1994. Mastering the dynamics of innovation: How companies can seize opportunities in the face of technological change, Harvard Business School Press.

Utterback, J.M., and W.J. Abernathy, 1975. "A dynamic model of process and product innovation". Omega, Vol.3, n°6, pp.639-656.

White, H.C., 1981. "Where do markets come from?", American Journal of Sociology, Vol.87, n°3, pp.517-547.