Knowledge Marketplaces: An Analysis of the Influence of Business Models on Instructors’ Motivations and Strategies
Unlike MOOC platforms such as Coursera or edX, which typically partner with institutions of higher education, online knowledge marketplaces allow anyone to broadcast courses and charge for them. In this article, we investigate, through a mixed-method approach, the motivations and strategies of the i...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Athabasca University Press
2021-04-01
|
| Series: | International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/5459 |
| _version_ | 1818884559432843264 |
|---|---|
| author | Matthieu Tenzing Cisel David Pontalier |
| author_facet | Matthieu Tenzing Cisel David Pontalier |
| author_sort | Matthieu Tenzing Cisel |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Unlike MOOC platforms such as Coursera or edX, which typically partner with institutions of higher education, online knowledge marketplaces allow anyone to broadcast courses and charge for them. In this article, we investigate, through a mixed-method approach, the motivations and strategies of the instructors of Udemy and Skillshare. Semi-structured interviews and a quantitative analysis of the characteristics of Skillshare’s courses, obtained using a Web scraper, suggest that while a significant proportion of the marketplace’s instructors are outreach driven, the majority are income driven. They develop strategies to maximize their revenues, notably by adapting the characteristics of their courses, such as the number of videos, to the business model of the platform. Courses are shorter on Skillshare than on Udemy, where instructors’ incomes are proportional to the number of registrations. We hypothesize that the latter platform’s business model incentivizes instructors to create longer courses in order to attract wider audiences. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T15:51:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ac4c8920d439468b866fdeb9fa997249 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1492-3831 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T15:51:28Z |
| publishDate | 2021-04-01 |
| publisher | Athabasca University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning |
| spelling | doaj.art-ac4c8920d439468b866fdeb9fa9972492022-12-21T20:15:12ZengAthabasca University PressInternational Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning1492-38312021-04-0122310.19173/irrodl.v22i3.5459Knowledge Marketplaces: An Analysis of the Influence of Business Models on Instructors’ Motivations and StrategiesMatthieu Tenzing Cisel0David Pontalier1Institut Des Humanités Numériques, CY Cergy Paris UniversitéCentre de Recherches Interdisciplinaires, Université de ParisUnlike MOOC platforms such as Coursera or edX, which typically partner with institutions of higher education, online knowledge marketplaces allow anyone to broadcast courses and charge for them. In this article, we investigate, through a mixed-method approach, the motivations and strategies of the instructors of Udemy and Skillshare. Semi-structured interviews and a quantitative analysis of the characteristics of Skillshare’s courses, obtained using a Web scraper, suggest that while a significant proportion of the marketplace’s instructors are outreach driven, the majority are income driven. They develop strategies to maximize their revenues, notably by adapting the characteristics of their courses, such as the number of videos, to the business model of the platform. Courses are shorter on Skillshare than on Udemy, where instructors’ incomes are proportional to the number of registrations. We hypothesize that the latter platform’s business model incentivizes instructors to create longer courses in order to attract wider audiences.http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/5459marketplaceMOOCinstructorcontent analysis |
| spellingShingle | Matthieu Tenzing Cisel David Pontalier Knowledge Marketplaces: An Analysis of the Influence of Business Models on Instructors’ Motivations and Strategies International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning marketplace MOOC instructor content analysis |
| title | Knowledge Marketplaces: An Analysis of the Influence of Business Models on Instructors’ Motivations and Strategies |
| title_full | Knowledge Marketplaces: An Analysis of the Influence of Business Models on Instructors’ Motivations and Strategies |
| title_fullStr | Knowledge Marketplaces: An Analysis of the Influence of Business Models on Instructors’ Motivations and Strategies |
| title_full_unstemmed | Knowledge Marketplaces: An Analysis of the Influence of Business Models on Instructors’ Motivations and Strategies |
| title_short | Knowledge Marketplaces: An Analysis of the Influence of Business Models on Instructors’ Motivations and Strategies |
| title_sort | knowledge marketplaces an analysis of the influence of business models on instructors motivations and strategies |
| topic | marketplace MOOC instructor content analysis |
| url | http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/5459 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT matthieutenzingcisel knowledgemarketplacesananalysisoftheinfluenceofbusinessmodelsoninstructorsmotivationsandstrategies AT davidpontalier knowledgemarketplacesananalysisoftheinfluenceofbusinessmodelsoninstructorsmotivationsandstrategies |