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3470Business model evolution based on the community is a powerful tool for Internet start-ups to cope with market changes and achieve transcendent development. This paper explores the sustainable impact of community operation on the business model of Internet start-ups through the double-case study of Xiaohongshu and Dedao business model evolution.
The conclusions are as follows: First, community is the direct driving factor of business model evolution in the context of digitization. Second, the continuous value creation and value acquisition of the business model of Internet start-ups depends on the continuous progress and balanced interaction of the value dimensions of the business model driven by the community. Third, the community-driven business model of Internet start-ups has undergone an evolution process from market adaptation to technology-driven to community ecology.
The following implications are obtained: First, deepen the content. Building quality content is the key to engagement and retention. Second, broaden the scene. Internet start-ups should make full use of emerging digital technologies to expand content production scenarios and respond to user needs more flexibly, conveniently and efficiently. Third, ecological empowerment. Through the establishment of reasonable interaction and connection mechanism, promote the exchange and sharing of resources, create a healthy and active community ecology, and realize the two-way promotion of community operation and value appreciation.
Future directions include that: Study the types of business model innovation and the universality of evolution path; explore business model evolution under the impact of more factors outside the community; continue to track the follow-up development process of the business model of case enterprises under the impact of community and make further interpretation to improve the current research conclusions.
The main contributions are as follows: First, this paper studies the business model evolution of Internet start-ups from the perspective of community, expanding the research on the antecedents of business model evolution in the digital era. Second, this paper focuses on the impact of community on the dynamic interaction of the value dimensions of business models, and advances the closed-loop research of business models. Third, this paper analyzes the evolution mechanism of business models driven by the community, and opens the black box of the process of business model innovation and evolution of Internet start-ups.
