Proceedings of the 3rd European Conference on Intellectual Capital

Eleni Magdalini Vasileiadou et al.
enriched <strong>the</strong>ir initial web presence (website and web-based sales) with <strong>the</strong> establishment <strong>of</strong> a forum
for an online community. Elbenwald try to satisfy <strong>the</strong>ir customers’ wishes and communicate <strong>the</strong>m to
<strong>the</strong>ir suppliers, thus <strong>of</strong>fering <strong>the</strong> latter decision support concerning product development. Elbenwald
foster trust through reputational endorsements <strong>of</strong> products such as feedback, ratings and comments
and <strong>the</strong>y lay great importance on <strong>the</strong>ir reputation, which <strong>the</strong>y also demonstrate online by an <strong>of</strong>ficial
“trusted shop” certificate. To create up-to-date dynamic web content, Elbenwald use microblogging
(Twitter), podcasting (YouTube) and RSS feeds.
Figure 7: Chronological development <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> e-commerce venture Elbenwald
To add more fantasy context and content to <strong>the</strong>ir scalable online presence, Elbenwald integrated <strong>the</strong>
Harry Potter’s Hogwarts’ magic dimension in <strong>the</strong>ir flexible portfolio. The integration and online
distribution <strong>of</strong> fur<strong>the</strong>r articles related to o<strong>the</strong>r successful fantasy films, TV series and games led to a
six-fold turnover growth (2001–2004). Elbenwald’s success demonstrates <strong>the</strong> geniality <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> business
idea to bring more fantasy and magic into <strong>the</strong> real world. The financial success implicated by a
sustainable revenue growth is verified by <strong>the</strong> positive development <strong>of</strong> operative cash flow and return
on investment. The venture started <strong>of</strong>f with as little debt capital as possible. Elbenwald’s growth was
based on a growing demand in a market that <strong>the</strong>y enlarged through a broader portfolio <strong>of</strong> products. In
2005, <strong>the</strong> Elbenwald management team organised an “Elbenwald Medieval Convention” in order to
enable <strong>the</strong> virtual community to meet in <strong>the</strong> real world and <strong>the</strong>reby intensify <strong>the</strong> ra<strong>the</strong>r weak virtual
ties through face-to-face interaction and shared “live” experiences. In 2009, Elbenwald started to co-
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