Business models for sustainable innovation: state-of-the-art and steps towards a research agenda

Purpose This paper aims to conduct a review on disruptive business models. Considering that competition among companies will not only happen through new products, services or technologies but also through innovative business models, the disruptive business models arise to replace the existing business models, adapting the organizational structures to the products and services offered and emphasizing the proposition of unique value. Design/methodology/approach The literature on this topic was revised, allowing the obtaining of the state of the art and the construction of a research agenda. The analyzed literature was obtained from systematic searches by the term disruptive business model in some databases. For the analysis of the data, the content analysis strategy was used through categorizations in the material exploration phase, and, later, for the processing of the results, the authors made use of inference and interpretation regarding the content analyzed. Findings The collected literature made it possible to obtain a set of data formed by different views of authors on disruptive business models, which was analyzed and categorized to make new inferences and interpretations. Originality/value Considering that the literature on the disruptive process of business models is emerging and addressing an important phenomenon in the market that lacks the theoretical basis to sustain it, this paper contributes by presenting a consolidated examination on this subject, thus deepening the theoretical analyzes on this topic and reducing this lack in the literature. This study also presents a research agenda, which clarifies the disruptive business model gap and reveals some opportunities for future empirical researches.

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Costs and Benefits of Autonomous Shipping—A Literature Review

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app11104553 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (10) ◽

pp. 4553

Author(s):

Ewelina Ziajka-Poznańska ◽

Jakub Montewka

Keyword(s):

Literature Review ◽

Business Models ◽

Financial Models ◽

State Of The Art ◽

Costs And Benefits ◽

Capital Costs ◽

Research Activities ◽

Benefit Estimation ◽

Autonomous Ship ◽

The Cost

The development of autonomous ship technology is currently in focus worldwide and the literature on this topic is growing. However, an in-depth cost and benefit estimation of such endeavours is in its infancy. With this systematic literature review, we present the state-of-the-art system regarding costs and benefits of the operation of prospective autonomous merchant ships with an objective for identifying contemporary research activities concerning an estimation of operating, voyage, and capital costs in prospective, autonomous shipping and vessel platooning. Additionally, the paper outlines research gaps and the need for more detailed business models for operating autonomous ships. Results reveal that valid financial models of autonomous shipping are lacking and there is significant uncertainty affecting the cost estimates, rendering only a reliable evaluation of specific case studies. The findings of this paper may be found relevant not only by academia, but also organisations considering to undertake a challenge of implementing Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships in their operations.

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Regional Electricity Models for Community Energy in Germany: The Role of Governance Structures

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13042241 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 2241

Author(s):

Moritz Ehrtmann ◽

Lars Holstenkamp ◽

Timon Becker

Keyword(s):

Renewable Energy ◽

Business Models ◽

Energy Transition ◽

Governance Structures ◽

Business Networks ◽

Sustainable Innovation ◽

Value Propositions ◽

Energy Companies ◽

Desk Research

Community energy actors play an important role in the energy transition, fostering the diffusion of sustainable innovation in the renewable energy market. Because market conditions for business models in the renewable energy sector are changing and feed-in-tariff (FiT) schemes expiring, community energy companies are in the process of innovating their business models. In recent years, several community energy companies in Germany have entered the electricity retail market selling locally generated electricity from their renewable energy installations to customers in their region. We explore the evolving regional electricity business models for community energy companies in Germany, related governance structures, and the role they play for a sustainable energy transition. In order to implement these complex business models, community energy companies cooperate with professional marketing partners (intermediaries), which are capable of taking over the tasks and obligations of electricity suppliers. Through a series of expert interviews and desk research, we identify three distinctive regional electricity business models and examine opportunities and challenges to their implementation. Results show that there are different forms of cooperation, leading to specific governance structures and creating a set of new value propositions. Through these forms of cooperation, business networks emerge, which can function as incubators for sustainable innovation and learning for the post-FiT era.

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Flow theory in the information systems life cycle: The state of the art and future research agenda

International Journal of Consumer Studies ◽

10.1111/ijcs.12641 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Mehmet Cem Bölen ◽

Hilal Calisir ◽

Üstün Özen

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Information Systems ◽

Research Agenda ◽

State Of The Art ◽

Flow Theory ◽

The State ◽

Future Research ◽

Future Research Agenda

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Language learning in a study-abroad context: Research agenda

Language Teaching ◽

10.1017/s0261444818000265 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 51 (4) ◽

pp. 553-566 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Naoko Taguchi ◽

Joseph Collentine

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Study Abroad ◽

Language Learning ◽

Learning Outcomes ◽

Research Agenda ◽

State Of The Art ◽

The State ◽

Empirical Methods ◽

Theoretical Frameworks ◽

Half Century

Isabelli-García, Bown, Plew & Dewey (forthcoming) presented the ‘state of the art’ in research on language learning abroad. Beginning with Carroll's (1967) claim that ‘time spent abroad is one of the most potent variables’ predicting second language (L2) abilities (p. 137), the scope of study-abroad research has grown multifold in guiding theoretical frameworks, empirical methods, and objects of examination. A half-century of work surveyed in Isabelli-García et al.’s review reveals diverse goals of investigation, ranging from studies focusing on documenting learning outcomes, to studies aiming to unveil the process and nature of learning in a study-abroad context.

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Why Municipal Cooperation Matters

Theoretical Foundations and Discussions on the Reformation Process in Local Governments - Advances in Public Policy and Administration ◽

10.4018/978-1-5225-0317-0.ch006 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 140-152 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Filipe Teles ◽

Pekka Kettunen

Keyword(s):

Side Effects ◽

Research Agenda ◽

State Of The Art ◽

Common Phenomenon ◽

Costs And Benefits ◽

Negative Side ◽

Provision Of Services ◽

Negative Side Effects ◽

The Impact ◽

Perceived Costs

It is a common phenomenon that municipalities cooperate with each other. Cooperation eventually brings about the gains of efficiency or makes it possible to deliver services. We can however assume that cooperation may also fail, cause unwarranted negative side-effects and diminish the democratic capacity of the participating municipalities. The aim of this paper is to present the literature and available scholarship on the topic, and discuss the research agenda on inter-municipal cooperation, especially through the analysis of its scope, motivations, and perceived costs and benefits. The approach to the problem will be based in multidisciplinary contributions of existing research, which involves theoretical arguments related to the advantages of cooperation, the impact on democracy and accountability, as well as the discussion of public vs private provision of services. The conclusions should enable a serious reflection about Inter-Municipal Cooperation state of the art.

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Economic Sanctions in Flux: Enduring Challenges, New Policies, and Defining the Future Research Agenda

International Studies Perspectives ◽

10.1093/isp/ekaa002 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 21 (4) ◽

pp. 438-477

Author(s):

Bryan R Early ◽

Menevis Cilizoglu

Keyword(s):

Research Agenda ◽

State Of The Art ◽

Economic Sanctions ◽

Future Research ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

The Past ◽

Future Research Agenda ◽

Policy Tool ◽

Wide Range ◽

New Policies

Abstract Policymakers employ economic sanctions to deal with a wide range of international challenges, making them an indispensable foreign policy tool. While scholarship on sanctions has tended to focus on the factors affecting their success, newer research programs have emerged that explore the reasons for why sanctions are threatened and initiated, the ways they are designed and enforced, and their consequences. This scholarship has yielded a wealth of new insights into how economic sanctions work, but most of those insights are based on sanctions observations from the 20th Century. The ways that policymakers employ sanctions have fundamentally changed over the past two decades, though, raising concerns about whether historically derived insights are still relevant to contemporary sanctions policies. In this forum, the contributors discuss the scholarly and policy-relevant insights of existing research on sanctions and then explore what gaps remain in our knowledge and new trends in sanctions policymaking. This forum will inform readers on the state of the art in sanctions research and propose avenues for future research.

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