Towards a Taxonomy for Design Options of Social Networking Technologies in Sustainable Business Models

• Main Authors: Axel Jacob, Frank Teuteberg
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-12-01
• Series: Sustainability
• Subjects: sustainable business models; social media; crowd concepts; gamification; taxonomy
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/1/81

Social networking technologies such as social media, crowd concepts, or gamification represent key resources for the integration of customers, value network partners, and the community into sustainable business models. However, there is a lack of understanding of how sustainable enterprises apply such technologies. To close this gap, we propose a taxonomy of design options for social networking technologies in sustainable business models. Our taxonomy comprises eight dimensions that deal with relevant questions of the design of social networking technologies. When creating our taxonomy, we built on existing literature and use cases and involved experienced practitioners in the field of sustainable business models for the validation of our taxonomy. In this way, our study contributes to knowledge on the use of social networking technologies in sustainable business models and how such technologies influence the boundaries of sustainable business models. Likewise, we provide practical insights into the use of social networking technologies in sustainable business models.