Digiral marketplaces and their effect to corporates’ business models and structures

The beginning of the era of digitalization is considered to be the 20s of the XX century, when electronic computers were invented, the accelerated development and implementation of which later captured all types of economic activity. By the 21st century digitalization has affected not only production processes and the service sector, but has also led to a transformation of forms of interaction between market participants: not only along the lines of “business - consumer”, “business - business”, “business - state”, “consumer - state/citizen”, but also in terms of the need for “physical presence” and “visual” interaction between market participants. Moreover, digitalization has led to a significant revision of the business models used by companies, which has significantly increased the performance of some, and “squeezed” those players in the markets of goods and services who have not been able to adapt to the new changing conditions. The purpose of this study is to identify the specifics of the transformation of companies’ business models in the context of digitalization, and, in particular, the changing role of digital trading platforms, which are moving from intermediary functions to directly replacing manufacturers of goods and services. The authors show the stages of transformation and gradual integration of digitalization into all structural components of the business model of a “traditional company”: from interaction with the consumer, to implementation in the formation of the final product, interaction with employees, infrastructure/production and suppliers. The subject of this study is digital trading platforms, which, as proved in this study, lead to the destruction of “traditional” stereotypes and the functioning of all structural components of “traditional business models”. The authors especially emphasize the fact that if initially digital trading platforms were not substitutes for manufacturers of goods or services, but represented intermediaries or hubs connecting market participants, now they have taken on more participation and more functionality that previously the “traditional business model” should have had. It is emphasized that along with the competitive advantages that marketplaces undoubtedly have by reducing the costs of manufacturers, they also carry a certain threat, which today consists in the potential displacement of other participants from the markets - direct producers of goods and services.