Digital business models : the new value creation and capture mechanisms of the 21st century A business model basically describes the way a company makes money. Yet often we use digital services for free (e.g. Facebook Google or WhatsApp) or for what seems to be a relatively minor price (e.g. Blablacar Airbnb and Amazon). Digital business models are different to traditional business models. Digital Business Models explains the key challenges and characteristics of the various business models that are used by digital businesses. These companies can be a source of inspiration for traditional bricks and mortar companies that aim to go digital and or revamp their traditional business model. Most businesses rely on some form of digital technology for their marketing communication customer relationship management supply chain or distribution yet digital transformation entails a complete reassessment of the way value is created and captured. Digital Business Models details the successful customer acquisition tactics and the development of business ecosystems by digital players. Using the relevant academic and managerial body of knowledge the authors define the concepts describe the various ways digital businesses create and capture value and propose some useful tools for managers to analyse a situation formulate or implement a strategy. Different digital business types are evaluated such as multisided platforms digital merchants subscription based model freemium social media and sharing economy. Each chapter is illustrated with several examples and the appendix comprises four full length case studies.