scholarly journals Performing quantitative analyses towards sustainable business models in building energy renovation projects: Analytic process and case study

2018 ◽  
Vol 199 ◽  
pp. 1092-1106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberta Moschetti ◽  
Helge Brattebø ◽  
Kristian Stenerud Skeie ◽  
Anne Gunnarshaug Lien
2020 ◽  
pp. 1219-1240
Author(s):  
Aleksander Janeš ◽  
Roberto Biloslavo ◽  
Armand Faganel

The aquaculture sector stands at a crossroad because of the important changes in the business environment. Demand and competition for food is growing worldwide, fishery sector reached its limits and in this regard farmed fish sector represents a viable solution for food supply. A sustainable development of small business is recommended in order to develop knowledge and skills to support the growth of world population. In this view knowledge management for innovation is crucial to promote sustainable business models (BM) that can achieve a solid economic performance and at the same time take care of the natural environment. The purpose of this chapter is to contribute to the literature about sustainable BMs by an in-depth case study of a small fish farming company which developed competitiveness based on own tacit knowledge. The exemplary case study of a sustainable BM in aquaculture has been analyzed by use of an enhanced BM canvas that links various market oriented elements of a BM with the needs of society.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 936 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao Li ◽  
Jiarou Cao ◽  
Zhenggang Liu ◽  
Xinggang Luo

Sustainability and digitalization have become the main direction of transformation of enterprises. Building a digital twin platform network can provide enterprises with a comprehensive view of products, manufacture, supply chain, customer experience, and profitability, which is conducive to the construction of a sustainable business model. The purpose of this paper is to study how enterprises use digital twin platform networks to generate economic, social and environmental benefits in various dimensions and their coupling relationships. Based on the literature review, this paper constructs a five-dimensional framework of a sustainable business model, and analyses the coupling relationship between dimensions. Using Haier as a way to verify the five-dimensional framework, it explores the dynamic mechanism of the Haier digital twin platform network, constructs an integrated framework based on coupling perspective and compares it with other two home appliance enterprises. The study shows that, through the digital twin platform network, enterprises can remove the disadvantage of focusing on a single product life cycle, and form a comprehensive network, so as to promote overall sustainable upgrades. This paper draws generic strategies and digital transformation suggestions for enterprises to innovate the sustainable business model. The conclusion enriches the research on sustainable business models both theoretically and practically and provides a feasible reference for the transformation of enterprises in digital economy environment.


2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (8) ◽  
pp. 1715-1736 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raffaele Fiorentino ◽  
Francesco Grimaldi ◽  
Rita Lamboglia ◽  
Alessandro Merendino

PurposeAlthough research on smart technologies explains their critical importance in sustainable business models (SBMs) (Mikalef et al., 2017), it remains unclear how organisations can embrace smart technologies to create and/or improve their sustainable business models. The purpose of this paper is to unravel and address the challenges of smart technologies to build and maintain a sustainable business model for organisations.Design/methodology/approachThe research develops an empirical analysis through a case study approach. We have investigated the case of ENAV – an Italian air navigation service provider – and how this firm uses smart technologies in the creation of its successful SBM. After constructing a basic theory, the authors moved to evidence collection. The data analysis has adopted a qualitative approach based on a thematic analysis of the transcripts and related documents.FindingsThe findings from the case study support the idea that the business value and the strategic relevance of smart technologies still remain largely underestimated in SBM adoption (Mikalef et al., 2017). Case study findings suggest that until today smart technologies have played a minimal role in SBM adoption. However, the smart technologies show the potential to inform the SBM adoption process by contributing to corporate communication for external stakeholders and to the main dimensions of SBMs such as safety and security or the respect for social and environmental criteria in the supply chain.Practical implicationsThis study seeks to support organisations and their directors to build and improve sustainable business models through smart technologies to maintain their competitive advantages. Specifically, our findings suggest that smart technologies can help organisations bridge the design–implementation gap of sustainable business models.Originality/valueThis research advances our understanding of the role of smart technologies by explaining how they can enhance sustainable business model adoption. Indeed, we offer a comprehensive view of the integration of insights from three different but related literature streams such as sustainability strategies, smart technologies and change management studies.


Author(s):  
Armand Faganel ◽  
Roberto Biloslavo ◽  
Aleksander Janeš

The authors have studied in depth small, family-owned, fish farming company because the demand and competition for farmed fish is increasing worldwide, and so is the awareness of its importance for further development of sustainable small business in EU and wider. This chapter contributes to the literature on sustainable business models with a descriptive case study of the complementarity of a fish farming company and ecotourism activities. In this view, innovation is crucial to promote sustainable business models that can achieve a solid economic performance, social responsibility, and at the same time take care of the natural environment. The case study of a sustainable business model (BM) in aquaculture has been analyzed with the use of a business model canvas that links various organizational-oriented elements of a business model with different stakeholder needs, especially customer needs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (8) ◽  
pp. 1601-1619
Author(s):  
Francesca Dal Mas ◽  
Grazia Dicuonzo ◽  
Maurizio Massaro ◽  
Vittorio Dell'Atti

PurposeThe objective of this study is to deepen how blockchain technology through smart contracts can support the development of sustainable business models (SBMs). Particularly, the authors aim to determine the key elements enabling SBMs by applying smart contracts.Design/methodology/approachThe research context focusses on the case study of SmartInsurance, which is a fictitious name for a start-up in the insurance sector and the real name of which is not to be revealed. The start-up was able to collect 18m euros in 80 s in a crowdfunding operation, using smart contracts and a revolutionary business model. Internal as well as external documents of different sources are analysed and coded to gather information about the company, its values and its business and what it pursues with employing blockchain technology.FindingsThe results show how smart contracts can reduce the costs of transactions, increase social trust and foster social proof behaviours that sustain the development of new SBMs.Originality/valueThis study contributes to both the transaction cost theory and social proof theory, showing how new technologies such as the blockchain can provide a fresh perspective to support the development of SBMs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 4245
Author(s):  
Jakob Pohlisch

Crowdsourcing provides companies with access to widespread knowledge pools and constitutes a well-established inbound open innovation practice. More recently, some companies have introduced the approach of open innovation within their company boundaries. Using internal crowdsourcing (IC), companies can apply open innovation principles to overcome information silos. Multinational corporations often have thousands of employees around the globe, embedded in divisions and virtually separated from each other. Although a large proportion of companies nowadays use social IT to mitigate problems of distance, only a few companies can access their employees’ wisdom effectively—let alone efficiently. With almost 100,000 employees worldwide, SAP possesses significant resources, which IC can help to unlock and develop. In this business case study, we report the findings of our investigation of five IC implementations at SAP. Based on interviews and secondary data, we analyze the process and related governance tasks of the different IC approaches. The applications for IC range from the search for new and sustainable business models to an approach that uses crowdsourcing for the competence development of SAP’s employees. Our paper contributes to our understanding of open innovation and crowdsourcing by conceptualizing IC as a form of internal open innovation. Further, from our observations, we derive six lessons learned to support managers in implementing and executing IC initiatives successfully. Our findings will subsequently help managers to increase the innovation capabilities of their companies, create more sustainable business models, further the entrepreneurial mindset of their employees and thus provide a competitive advantage.


Author(s):  
Aleksander Janeš ◽  
Roberto Biloslavo ◽  
Armand Faganel

The aquaculture sector stands at a crossroad because of the important changes in the business environment. Demand and competition for food is growing worldwide, fishery sector reached its limits and in this regard farmed fish sector represents a viable solution for food supply. A sustainable development of small business is recommended in order to develop knowledge and skills to support the growth of world population. In this view knowledge management for innovation is crucial to promote sustainable business models (BM) that can achieve a solid economic performance and at the same time take care of the natural environment. The purpose of this chapter is to contribute to the literature about sustainable BMs by an in-depth case study of a small fish farming company which developed competitiveness based on own tacit knowledge. The exemplary case study of a sustainable BM in aquaculture has been analyzed by use of an enhanced BM canvas that links various market oriented elements of a BM with the needs of society.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 1190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Cantele ◽  
Sara Moggi ◽  
Bettina Campedelli

Sustainability innovation is often not achievable by a single organisation; even if changes in business operations can lead to great advances towards a more sustainable business model (SBM), the effectiveness of these implementations largely depends on the combined actions of the organisation’s network of partners. The aim of this research is to analyse the way that SBMs and partnerships co-evolve to enhance the sustainability of the involved organisations and spread sustainability culture beyond the network. In doing so, this article presents a case study of the company Alisea as a business operating within a circular business model, along with its network of partnerships. The co-evolution of the business model and partnerships is led by enabling factors that characterise the underlying relationships. The role of cross-sector collaborations is demonstrated in terms of boosting the social and environmental dimensions of the circular business model, enhancing social and economic benefits within and outside the partnerships, and spreading sustainability culture in different sectors.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 270-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Khripko ◽  
S.N. Morioka ◽  
S. Evans ◽  
J. Hesselbach ◽  
M.M. de Carvalho

2021 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 131-146
Author(s):  
ELEONORA ANNUNZIATA ◽  
FRANCESCO RIZZI ◽  
MARCO FREY

Purpose of the paper: This paper aims to analyze how small-medium enterprises (SMEs) contribute to the development of a sustainable innovations in the energy sector such as geothermal heat pumps (GHPs) by implementing effective sustainable business models. Methodology: The study carried out an exploratory multiple case study with 8 SMEs operating in the Italian GHP market on the role of sustainable business models in supporting the development of sustainable innovations. Results: The analysis shows that sustainable business models exert a supporting function between sustainable innovation and sustainable value creation thanks to their ability to overcome the existing barriers to adopt sustainable innovations (i.e. GHP systems). This supporting role thus results from the firms’ capabilities and knowledge to assess and promote the peculiarities of selected sustainable innovation. Moreover, the analyzed business models foresee an ongoing support of customers before and after the adoption of sustainable innovation by communicating potential environmental benefits and providing additional services. Research limits: The main limitation is that the findings derive from a national case study with specific market conditions for GHPs which might influence the development of sustainable business models. Practical implications: The study supports firms aiming to develop and implement business models for boosting sustainable innovations through an effective assessment of selected sustainable innovation and dialogue with policy makers. Originality of the paper: The study opens the black box of unexplored relationships between sustainability innovations and business models by analyzing their main components (value proposition, supply chain and public institutions, customer interface and financial model).


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