Online Business Models in Creative Industries. Diversity and Structure

International audienceIn recent times creative industries management seems to have been reshaped by the influence of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). Constant experimentation and innovation in the business model (BM) has become one of the key sources of firms' competitive advantage. As a result, traditional BMs, which were dominant and stable in their respective industries, have given rise to multiple disruptive BMs. Little is known about which elements contribute to structure and shape the diversity of new online BMs and why no production sector has established a dominant BM. This article addresses these issues. It is based on the empirical study of 34 cultural content websites accounting for the highest combination of digital output and technology in production processes: music, video, film, book, image, and publishing sectors. By means of Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA), three classes of online BMs were identified: the "participative model", "distribution model" and "editorial model." The article discusses these BMs, as well as their influence on creativity and cultural diversity