MOOC MONETIZATION CHANGES AND COMPLETION RATES: ARE LEARNERS FROM COUNTRIES OF DIFFERENT DEVELOPMENT STATUS EQUALLY AFFECTED?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sa'ar ◽  
José A. Ruipérez-Valiente ◽  
Giora Alexandron
Keyword(s):  
Business Models ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Completion Rates ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Development Status ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Sustainable Business Models ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Global Learners

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) offer online courses at low cost for anyone with an internet access. At its early days, the MOOC movement raised the flag of democratizing education, but soon enough, this utopian idea collided with the need to find sustainable business models. Moving from open access to a new financially sustainable certification and monetization policy in December 2015 we aim at this change-point and observe the completion rates before and after this monetary change. In this study we investigate the impact of the change on learners from countries of different development status. Our findings suggest that this change has lowered the completion rates among learners from developing countries, increasing gaps that already existed between global learners from countries of low and high development status. This suggests that more inclusive monetization policies may help MOOCs benefits to spread more equally among global learners.

scholarly journals The Impact of COVID-19 on Sustainable Business Models in SMEs

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1098
Author(s):  
Iva Gregurec ◽  
Martina Tomičić Furjan ◽  
Katarina Tomičić-Pupek
Keyword(s):  
Business Models ◽  
Service Industries ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Business Model Canvas ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Sustainable Business Models ◽  
Service Sectors ◽  
Unpredictable Environment ◽  
The Impact

Businesses have been exposed to various challenges during the global pandemic, and their response to this disruption has impacted their resilience as well as their chances to overcome this crisis. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are changing their business models in order to adapt to this changing environment. Service-based industries have been hit particularly hard. This research investigates how SMEs operating in service industries have been coping with the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This research aims to gain insights into which transformation drivers they have focused on and which technologies they have selected as a means to respond to the disruption. These insights regarding SMEs are then explored according to their influence on the redefinition of sustainable business models in SMEs. The review data was analyzed via a customized research framework that contains three dimensions and 30 subconcepts. The results show the distribution of drivers and technologies across service sectors. They are organized into a Business Model Canvas and could be considered useful for academia and practitioners. The highly unpredictable environment allows for only a few feasible strategic approaches regarding an SME’s decision on to follow incumbents, to become a challenger, or to reinvent themselves based on their own transformation drivers and readiness to apply digital technologies.

scholarly journals The New Visual Testimonial: Narrative, Authenticity, and Subjectivity in Emerging Commercial Photographic Practice

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 11-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Morton
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Commercial Practice ◽  
Convergence Culture ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Image Creation ◽  
Sustainable Business Models ◽  
Narrative Ability ◽  
The Impact

By studying the cultural and aesthetic impact of increasingly pervasive digital technologies and mass amateurization, this paper examines the ramifications of the networked information economy on professional photographic practice and considers the concomitant implications for the photographic classroom. Using the framework of convergence culture as per the writings of Yochai Benkler, Henry Jenkins, Mark Deuze, and Axel Bruns, the impact of accessible and instantaneous image creation and dispersal are explored. Given the rise of consumer engagement in brand co-creation on social media platforms, we can observe massive changes to professional practice in areas such as aesthetics, and the erosion of previous sustainable business models. Indeed, as traditional notions of “expertise” shift from technological prowess to narrative and disseminative abilities, the effects on commercial practice and photographic education need to be addressed. This paper argues that there are three emerging priorities for commercial image use: narrative ability, authenticity, and subjectivity and suggests initial steps in their pedagogical application. By acknowledging these transformations, this paper explores the idea that students need to harness technique, social media influence, adaptability, subjectivity, and storytelling power in order to better serve emerging image-based needs in commercial spaces.

scholarly journals Classification of Sustainable Business Models: A literature review and a map of their impact on the Sustainable Development Goals

2021 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 784-794
Author(s):  
Eleonora Boffa ◽  
Antonio Maffei
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Business Strategy ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Integration Process ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Sustainable Business Models ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
The Impact

Sustainable Business Models (SBM) have been seen as a suitable vehicle for organizations to convey sustainability. The SBM requires a company's business strategy to be shaped around sustainability goals. These goals can be integrated into the business strategy by creating an internal commitment focused on sustainability. Enablers play a crucial role in this integration process. The 2030 Agenda issued by the United Nations set clear goals on sustainable development, i.e. the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Firms are encouraged to design SBM to fulfil these goals. Yet, an extensive investigation of the effect of the SBM applications on the SDGs is lacking. This paper is based on a semantic analysis of the relevant literature. The results show the internal enablers that support the integration process of sustainability into the organization's strategy. In addition to that, the underlying classification process highlights the clusters of applications for the SBM. These are, in turn, mapped over the SDGs to show the impact of each cluster on each SDG.

scholarly journals Value Migration to the Sustainable Business Models of Digital Economy Companies on the Capital Market

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 3113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marek Jabłoński
Keyword(s):  
Capital Market ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Digital Economy ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Sustainability Concept ◽  
Sustainable Business Models ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Capital Market

The topic of a sustainable business model is currently the subject of much scientific research that covers a wide range of topics, from terminological aspects to aspects related to the impact of sustainability factors on company development. So far, however, the topic of sustainability in business models operating in electronic markets has only been studied to some extent. This article covers broad research into the value migration to sustainable business models of companies operating in the digital economy on the capital market. The aim of the article is to present key results of research into value migration to sustainable business models of companies operating in the digital economy on the capital market. The relevant literature on the trends in the application of the sustainability concept in the digital economy, the attributes of business models, and the interpretation of value within the concept of business models is also reviewed. The results obtained are ambiguous.

scholarly journals Transformative Sustainable Business Models in the Light of the Digital Imperative—A Global Business Economics Perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 4428 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Brenner
Keyword(s):  
Business Models ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Global Business ◽  
Business Economics ◽  
Sustainable Value ◽  
Value Propositions ◽  
Sustainable Business Models ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Considerable Body

The considerable body of literature on business models, business model innovation, and sustainable business models has yet to fully account for the impact of external dynamics—including the digital imperative—on generating sustainable value propositions. To address this issue, we developed a multifaceted framework of transformative sustainable business models, spanning three levels: the external environment, the organization, and the individual. We drew on the resource-based view and the literature on digitization to explain how organizations can capitalize on dynamic transformative capabilities to generate novel value propositions, based on both reconstructionist logic and shared-value logic. These include elements such as co-creation, usage-based pricing, agility, closed-loop processes, asset sharing, and collaborative business ecosystems.

scholarly journals Business model transformation toward sustainability: the impact of legitimation

2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (8) ◽  
pp. 1643-1662
Author(s):  
Roberto Biloslavo ◽  
Carlo Bagnoli ◽  
Maurizio Massaro ◽  
Antonietta Cosentino
Keyword(s):  
Business Model ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Business Model Innovation ◽  
Innovation Theory ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Case Study Methodology ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sustainable Business Models ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThis study aims to identify the legitimacy issues raised during a sustainable business model innovation, deployed by an Italian company, which was analyzed through the lens of the legitimation theory and the business model innovation theory.Design/methodology/approachA single case study methodology is employed for empirical research. Semistructured interviews, with top and middle management, were conducted together with the analysis of several internal and external documents, to corroborate the case analysis.FindingsResults show how the potentiality of digital technologies allows the development of new sustainable business models, which, though, still need to gain legitimation to be accepted. The study findings allow drawing both on the business model innovation theory and on the legitimation theory, as they show how legitimation is a dynamic concept that involves internal as well as external stakeholders to support business model innovation.Originality/valueThe paper is novel, since it addresses the topic of sustainable business models development, showing how companies can get legitimation. The paper builds on existing theories and provides a practical example.

scholarly journals Sustainability, Store Equity, and Satisfaction: The Moderating Effect of Gender in Retailing

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 1010
Author(s):  
Antonio Marín-García ◽  
Irene Gil-Saura ◽  
María Eugenia Ruiz-Molina ◽  
Gloria Berenguer-Contrí
Keyword(s):  
Brand Equity ◽  
Consumer Satisfaction ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Moderating Effect ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Retail Sector ◽  
Competitive Advantages ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Sustainable Business Models ◽  
Discount Stores

Currently, sustainability emerges as a key element on which the development of competitive advantages for businesses is based. In the dynamic and turbulent environment in which retail companies operate, sustainable practices are posited as an opportunity for their progress and survival. Through this article, it is intended to advance the nature and dimensions of this construct and examine its influence on store equity and consumer satisfaction. Furthermore, this work analyses the moderating effect of gender on these variables and the mediating nature of brand equity in the development of consumer satisfaction. All this is developed through a quantitative study carried out on a sample of 510 consumers of different food retail commercial formats (hypermarkets, supermarkets, and discount stores) in Spain. The technique used for data analysis is partial least squares (PLS) regression. The results show the importance of sustainability and brand equity in the development of consumer satisfaction in the retail sector, with the intensity of its effects being a gender issue. On the other hand, brand equity is positioned as a key element thanks to its mediating effect between sustainability and satisfaction. All of this points to the need to move towards more sustainable business models.

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