Online fantasy league business models

Abstract

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The main objective of this thesis is to depict the business model of an online fantasy league, that is, to investigate how an online fantasy league fundamentally creates value to its customers, and to pinpoint the differences between the various leagues business models as well as the reasons behind such discrepancies. This goal is further followed by a secondary objective, which is to assess what kind of fantasy league business models would be feasible in divergent market contexts.

METHODOLOGY

The theoretical part of the study is founded on an extensive literature review followed by qualitative empirical investigation. The literature review draws primarily from the business model research, focusing on the areas of e-commerce and online games which are succeeded by examination of the issues related to business model change. The empirical research builds on the qualitative data acquired by interviewing mainly the informants of a case company as well as personally participating and observing both the case company’s fantasy league and the leagues of its selected competitors.

FINDINGS

The findings of the thesis suggest that there are a number of similarities in the structure and organization of the various online fantasy leagues business models. All the examined leagues share the basic logic through which they create and deliver value to their customers, meaning that their value propositions and the activities necessary to provide the value propositions are largely alike. However, the individual characteristics of a business model are dictated by the strategic objectives of a key constituent affiliated with a given league that determine the rationale behind the fantasy league’s existence by specifying the target customers of the fantasy league, and thus set the boundaries for the market setting in which the league operates. Furthermore, depending on the market context, an online fantasy league can seemingly bring about a superior value proposition by either exploiting the comparative advantages of scale or through the innovation of some part of its business model.