Social media based value creation and business models

The purpose of this paper is to create an organized picture of the current understanding of social media-based value creation and business models.

Following the process model presented by Fink (2005), a systematic literature review of academic journal articles published between 2005 and 2014 was conducted. The research was grounded on the theoretical foundations of service-dominant logic.

This study offers detailed descriptions and analyses of the major social media mechanisms affecting how value is created in social media-based value networks and the kinds of impact social media can have on present and future business models.

The study is limited to academic research literature on business organizations, excluding all studies related to public and non-profit organizations.

Attention is given to developing an in-depth understanding of the functions and concrete value creation mechanisms of social media-based co-creation within the different organizational processes (e.g. in product and service development and customer services) and to updating the related practices and knowledge.

This study provides new insight into the challenges related to research models and frameworks commonly used for observing value creation, thus highlighting the need for further studies and updates.