Business Strategy in the Online Industry

"The Internet is like a 201'00t tidal wave coming thousands of miles across the Pacific and we are in kayaks. " Andi Grove In the course of the commercial distribution of Internet technology since the year 1995 new business models emerged and ultimately established the on-line industry as a distinct eco­ nomic environment. The author defines this new marketspace as " . . . . a multi-layered industry consisting of five main layers: network, hosting, software, content and devices. Each layer consists of sub-layers. Players from the converging industries telecommunications, computer hardware/software, media and consumer electronics conduct on-line business units offering a set of on-line services. " (S. 17). Significance and growth of the on-line industry are enormous. The market for multimedia products and services represents approximately 10% of the US GOP already today. The industry volume is expected to double every 12 to 18 months. The increasing relevance of the on-line industry is driving the interest of academia in a theoretical foundation of the observed economic phenomena. The term network economics establishes a new scientific area. Due to the specific structure and logic of the industry traditional business concepts and strategy approaches can be translated only in a limited way. At this point the work of Christian Gottsch comes in play, which - by utilizing the theoretical concepts of net­ work economics and game theory - models the structure of the on-line industry and delivers a methodic set of instruments to develop marketing strategies.

Dr. Christian Göttsch promovierte bei Prof. Dr. Hans A. Wüthrich am Lehrstuhl für Internationales Management der Universität der Bundeswehr München. Er ist heute im Corporate Development bei der Gruner + Jahr AG & Co für das Multimedia-Geschäft zuständig.