Comparing Two Business Model Ontologies for Designing e-Business Models and Value Constellations

Business models have been an important topic in various disciplines and particularly e-business. Yet, little research has tempted to compare and integrate the different business model approaches. This paper compares two business model ontologies, the Business Model Ontology BMO and the evalue ontology, for the design of business models and value constellations. For that purpose it introduces a framework that allows the comparison of different conceptual approaches to business models. The two ontologies are illustrated through a case study in the domain of rights music management. The outcome of the analysis is twofold. Firstly, it permits a better understanding of business model research. Secondly, it highlights the possible paths to integrate the two ontologies in order to improve the representation, design, and analysis of business models.