A01 chaf6542 06 se fm indd

Supply chain 

management (SCM)

The coordination of all 

supply activities of an 

organisation from its 

suppliers and partners to 

its customers.

Value chain

A model for analysis 

of how supply chain 

activities can add value 

to products and services 

delivered to the customer.

Value network

The links between an 

organisation and its 

strategic  and   non‑  strategic 

partners that form its 

external value chain.

Figure 1.10

Evolution of web technologies

Source: Adapted from Spivack (2009).

Connections between information

Connections between people

Intelligent personal agents

Widgets

Semantic Search

Mashups

Office 2.0

Social Networks

SaaS

Wikis

Lightweight Collaboration

Keyword Search

Directory Portals

Websites

Groupware

Databases

File Servers

File Systems

PCs

USENET

Email

Windows

SGML

MacOS

SQL

BBS Gopher

VR

HTTP

HTML

SOAP XML Java

Javascript

Flash

P2P RDF

RSS ATOM

AJAX

OpenID

OWL

SPARQL

SWRL

The Desktop

The Internet

Online Services

The Web

Social Web

Real-Time Web

Semantic Web

Intelligent Web

Web OS

IRC

FTP

Multimedia

CDROMs

Blogging Social Media

Virtual worlds

Memetrackers

Lifestreaming

Microblogging

Activity streams

Natural Language Search

Consumer online services

PC Era

1977

Web 3.0

2009

Web 4.0

2018

Web 1.0

1989

Web 2.0

1999

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Part 1  Introduction

Figure 1.11

Summary and examples of transaction alternatives between businesses, consumers and 

governmental organisations

Business-to-Consumer (B2C)

• Transactional: Amazon

• Relationship-building: BP

• Brand-building: Unilever

• Media owner – News Corp

• Comparison intermediary: Kelkoo,

  Pricerunner

Government-to-Consumer (G2C)

• National government

  transactional: Tax – inland

  revenue

• National government information

• Local government services

Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C)

Business (organisation)

From: Supplier of content/service

Government

Consumer or citizen

Business (organisation)

To: Consumer of content/service

Consumer or citizen

Government

• eBay

• Peer-to-Peer (Skype)

• Blogs and communities

• Product recommendations

• Social networks: MySpace,

  Bebo

Business-to-Business (B2B)

• Transactional: Euroffice

• Relationship-building: BP

• Media Owned: Emap business

  publications

• B2B marketplaces: EC21

Government-to-Business (G2B)

• Government services and

  transactions: tax

• Legal regulations

Consumer-to-Business (C2B)

• Priceline

• Consumer-feedback,

  communities or campaigns

Business-to-Government (B2G)

• Feedback to government

  businesses and non-

  governmental organisations

Government-to-Government (G2G)

• Inter-government services

• Exchange of information

Consumer-to-Government (C2G)

• Feedback to government

  through pressure group or

  individual sites

Mini case study 1.4

Betfair provides a great example of the creation of a digital business with an innovative business model. It 

holds licences to operate in the UK, US, Australia, Austria, Germany, Italy and Malta with just under 50% of 

all new registrations coming from outside the UK and Ireland. Its 2012 Annual Report notes that it has identi‑

fied Italy and Spain as priority markets attractive in terms of scale, growth potential and regulatory outlook. It 

is looking to achieve a  top‑  three position in this market. In this year it had around 744,000 active customers 

with average revenue per user (ARPU) of £360.  Twenty‑  three per cent of customers made an overall profit in 

the year. Commercial and marketing spend was £87.5 million representing 25% of revenue. Technology and 

product development costs were £67.2 million.

Betfair is the world’s biggest online sports betting company and pioneered the first successful betting 

exchange in 2000. Driven by  cutting‑  edge technology, Betfair enables customers to choose their own odds 

and bet even after the event has started. The company now processes over 6 million transactions a day from 

its 3 million registered customers around the world (the 3 million mark was passed in 2010).

Betfair introduced a novel form of betting which replaces the typical role of the bookmaker such as 

Ladbrokes or William Hill who provide fixed odds and take their own risk on the outcome. With Betfair, all 

bets placed are with other Betfair customers rather than with Betfair, which has no risks on the outcome. 

As with all forms of gambling, there is a risk of corruption ‘throwing the bet’; to reduce this risk Betfair has 

a transparent approach where evidence of corruption may be shared with the governing body of a sport.

Betfair profits with C2C online gambling service

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Chapter 1 Introduction to digital business and e‑commerce

Through providing an online service, there are additional aspects of its proposition:

● 

You can either place bets conventionally or request your own odds.

● 

You can choose the odds you want to play at.

● 

You can bet while the game is in play.