NESTA Crime Online - University of Brighton Repository

expertise they need to perpetrate one type of attack, ensuring – through a mixture of
rewards and threats – that the technical expert will conduct the assignment effectively.
2.3.2 Hybrid business models
A hybrid business model results from the combination of physical (off-line) and web
channels (online). Many authors have differentiated hybrid models from Internet-only
businesses models, using terms like ‘bricks and clicks’, – also known as ‘clicks and
mortar’, ‘surf and turf, ‘cyber-enhanced retailing’, ‘hybrid e-commerce’ 216 – and
swarming business models.
The bricks and clicks business model and its variations generally describe the
partnership between Internet businesses and traditional distribution companies – for
instance the successful business model adopted by Amazon, where orders placed online
are physically distributed by the postal system. In the cybercrime business, the
integration of e-commerce with physical channels takes place mostly at the lower end of
the value chain, that is, during the final transformation of stolen information into cash,
without which the entire process would have no meaning or value. The business model
of drop services provides an example of a combination of web channels of
communication with the purchaser of illicit goods online, and off-line provision of a
physical address to mail the stolen goods.
The Swarming business model involves the temporary collaboration of individuals to
meet a particular challenge or goal. In the legitimate world, members of the ‘swarm’
work towards a collective interest, which is broadly defined by any of the stakeholders
and is driven by innovation. 217 Many legitimate businesses have used collaborative
216 Timmer, P., (1998), “Business Models for Electronic Markets”, Electronic Markets, 8 (2), 3-8,; Otto, J. and
Q. Chung (2000), “A Framework for Cyber-Enhanced Retailing: Integrating e-commerce Retailing with Brick
and Mortar Retailing”, Electronic Markets, 10 (4), 185-191; Afuah, A. and C. Tucci (2001), “Internet Business
Models and Strategies: Text and Cases”, New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin.; Steinfield, C., T. Adelaar, and Y.-j.
Lai (2002), “Integrating Brick and Mortar Locations with E-Commerce: Understanding Synergy Opportunities”,
Hawaii International Conference on Systems Sciences, Big Island, Hawaii, January 7-10.
217 Gloor, P. A. (2006). Swarm Creativity: Competitive Advantage through Collaborative Innovation Networks.
Oxford; Gloor, P. A. and Cooper, S. (2007). The New Principles of a Swarm Business. In: MIT Sloan
Management Review, Nr.: 3, S. 81-84.
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