Crowdsourcing in Business-to-Business Markets: A Value Creation and Business Model Perspective

The foundation for the analysis of this chapter builds on the value creation model of Amit and Zott (2001), where they studied the importance of sources of value creation in the field of electronic business. This model was chosen for the purposes of this study because it is developed from fundamental value creation models and dominates concerning value creation in e-business, of which crowdsourcing by utilizing social media tools represents also. Moreover, Amit and Zott’s business model (2001, p. 511), which focuses on e-business for B2C companies, can be adapted for all virtual markets in general, and also applies to B2B companies (2006, p. 20). Most importantly, the model enables to analyze the relations between value creation and business model. In next, the theoretical background of value creation is opened up especially in the context of business-to-business markets, and furthermore, the model of Amit and Zott (2001) is presented. Lastly, crowdsourcing in business-to-business markets as the research context of the present study is discussed.