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The paper proposes an analytical framework for comparing different business models for producing information goods and digital services. It is based on three dimensions that also refer to contrasted literature: the economics of matching, the economics of assembling and the economics of knowledge management. Our framework attempts to identify the principal trade-offs at the core of choices among alternative digital business models, and to compare them in terms of competitiveness and efficiency. It also highlights the role played by users in the production of information goods and competition with pure suppliers. IntroductionThe booming growth in computers and electronic networks has greatly transformed the production and consumption of information. With the arrival of the last generation of Information Technology (IT), symbolized by the Internet, information goods and services are characterized by significant network externalities, high fixed costs and variable costs (of reproduction) tending toward zero. Those features are due both to the particularities of the technologies that have been developed to manage information -characterized by high levels of interoperability and increasing returns of adoption; cf. Shapiro and Varian (1999) -and to the specificities of information as a public good (Arrow, 1962 In this paper, we define a business model as a pattern of organizing exchanges and allocating various costs and revenue streams so that the production and exchange of goods or services becomes viable, in the sense of being self-sustainable on the basis of the income it generates. With the passing of time, it is easier to identify the commonalities among the new business models that exploded with the growth of the Internet, although some had existed before. We believe they combine new and innovative ways of organizing the relationship between demand and supply, with pricing strategies that take into account network externalities, the specificity of information and the ability to differentiate and discriminate, thanks to digital technologies.These new business models contradict the prediction of a massive disintermediation caused by the strong development of digital technologies and of the Internet., Even if the Internet can reduce coordination costs, intermediaries are still needed. First, matching demand and supply plans, then performing transactions remains costly. Second, combining several digital goods to benefit from their interoperation -as is the case when a content is processed by a software run on a technical interface -is certainly much easier than it was in the past, thanks to standardized interfaces. However, it remains resource and time consuming to guarantee effective inter-operability between digital goods to benefit from a value-added service. Third, while a profusion of information goods is available both onand off-line, it remains challenging to guarantee a user access to the information or piece of knowledge they need. Those who can provide knowledge should receive appropriate incentives...

This paper aims to understand how Internet users may improve their social capital by investing in online social activities. We argue that the Internet can be a convenient and efficient means of maintaining existing social ties and/or of creating new ties. We seek to identify the determinants of online investments in social capital and the nature of the interaction with traditional forms of investment in social capital. Using a Luxembourg household survey, the econometric results reveal a significant positive impact of volunteer activities and trust (two measures of social capital) on online investments to maintain social capital, but more ambiguous results are found between online investments and face-to-face contacts with friends. By contrast, online investments to create new ties are poorly related to the Internet users' existing social capital, but depend on the opportunity cost of time. JEL: L86, Z13

International audienceGiven the increasingly prominent role the Internet plays in people's daily life, understanding its influence on individual well-being is crucial. Internet use yields direct utility and economic returns that may increase life satisfaction. But the Internet might also have detrimental effects (e.g. addiction, social isolation). This paper aims to examine the impact of Internet use on individual well-being. Using Luxemburgish data extracted from the European Value Survey, we find evidence that non users are less satisfied in their life than Internet users. Moreover, the positive influence of Internet use is stronger for individuals who are young or not satisfied with their income. These findings suggest that public policies aiming to reduce the digital divide by reaching out to non-Internet users are socially desirable