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value network: on one hand in the operations of the
selling and purchasing process of conventional
products/services. On the other hand, they are
included in the VC scheme of the platform.
The four case studies were compared along
seven characteristics that are directly linked to the
organization-, service and financial design of
business models: (i) the side(s) of the market on
which the VC is oriented; (ii) whether the platform
itself provides goods or services for which the VC
can be redeemed; (iii) the strength of the
enforcement to use the VC in the network; (iv)
whether Third parties also redeem the VC; (v) if the
scheme rewards desired customer behaviour; (vi) if
and from which side of the market the platform
generates revenue by selling the VC; (vii) and if an
expiration date is introduced that can build another
income stream for the platform.
Each case follows a different strategy concerning
the implementation of VC. One consistency is
however, the purpose of strengthening loyalty
towards the platform on one or both sides of the
market. VC can be used as a tool to locked-in Third
parties and customers and thus discourage them
from switching to competitors. The realization
ranges from weak measures, where VC is handled as
benefit or bonus program, to strong measures where
loyalty is enforced by setting usage obligations in
the network.
Second the analysis revealed that all platforms
use the VC as a source of revenue, albeit to a
different extent. Purchasing VC can either be an
additional option granted to customers (besides
rewarding) or obligatory for customers or Third
parties. In line with the two-sided market theory, in
the examples where both sides are included, revenue
is generated on one side of the market while the
other one is included for free (with the option to buy
VC made available as incentive).
Although many more factors influence the
success of a platform’s business model, it can be
concluded that VC has the necessary attributes to
support platforms strategies in their service and
financial designs by encouraging loyal behaviour (or
even enforcing it by locking stakeholders in) and
opening a source of revenue for the platform.
The authors acknowledge that industries are still
in an early phase of experimenting with new
business models concerning VC strategies, in
particular with mobile devices opening up new
possibilities such as the broader use of location-
based services. Further research is thus required
reflecting the development of the market, also from
a technical point of view.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
CoMobile is an R&D project cofunded by IWT
(Agentschap voor Innovatie door Wetenschap en
Technologie), the government agency for innovation
by science and technology founded by the Flemish
Government. Companies and organizations involved
in the project are C2P – ClearPark, Alcatel-Lucent,
Netolog, CityLive – Mobile Vikings, Colibri,
Belgian Direct Marketing Association,
K.U.Leuven/COSIC, K.U.Leuven/CUO,
K.U.Leuven/ICRI, UGent/MICT, iMinds/iLab.o.
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