Sustainable business models

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 357-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nils M. Høgevold ◽  
Göran Svensson ◽  
Beverly Wagner ◽  
Daniel J. Petzer ◽  
H.B. Klopper ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Business Models ◽  
Economic Effects ◽  
Social Boundaries ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Business Practices ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Organizational Challenges ◽  
Environmental Actions ◽  
Sustainable Business Models

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe: corporate reasons for, and organizational challenges of sustainable business models; and the evolution of economic effects, social boundaries and environmental actions in sustainable business practices. Design/methodology/approach – This study is based on insights gained from eight Norwegian companies in different industries. Purposeful sampling was employed to ensure that the companies had sustainable business models beyond the level of mere compliance, of sustainable business practices in the marketplace and society. A deductive approach to data collection ensured that the companies had sufficient understanding to relate their sustainable business practices to interviewers. The interviews were subsequently transcribed and analyzed systematically by the research team. Findings – The empirical findings indicate evolutionary changes as companies move on a continuum from superficial to embedded sustainable business models and the application of sustainable business practices. The planning, implementation and evaluation of sustainable business models evolves over time within companies and their supply chains, as well as in the marketplace and society. Research limitations/implications – A limitation of this study is that it is exclusively undertaken in Norwegian companies, although the companies are from different industries with different characteristics. Future research is clearly necessary and will be conducted in other countries in similar industries, so as to explore the empirical findings from this study in other contexts. In addition, the interfaces between environmental actions, economic effects and social boundaries need to be investigated further. Originality/value – The study contributes to a growing body of knowledge on corporate reasons for and organizational challenges of sustainable business models, as well as environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainable business practices.

Responsible entrepreneurship: outlining the contingencies

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 538-553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Vallaster ◽  
Sascha Kraus ◽  
Norbert Kailer ◽  
Brooke Baldwin
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Value Creation ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Responsible Innovation ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Business Practices ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Society Business ◽  
Content Type

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to give an up-to-date assessment of key topics and methods discussed in the current literature on responsible entrepreneurship. In the past years, sustainable development itself has become a more popular and important topic in the academic literature and hence the field of sustainable entrepreneurship has become a greater topic of interest and opportunity for solution. Therefore, a systematic literature review is conducted to assess new contributions to the field and its potential for the future of sustainable development, with a focus on responsible innovation.Design/methodology/approachSystematic, evidence-informed literature review following Tranfieldet al.(2003).FindingsBased on a conceptual literature review, five streams of research that responsible entrepreneurs distinguish from purely for-profit entrepreneurs are identified and discussed: walking the line between profit creation and value creation for society; business models of responsible entrepreneurs; their role in transforming society; getting ready to innovate responsibly; and the role of market incentives to foster sustainable business practices.Originality/valueThe structured literature review allows to identify future research paths. In detail, ideas as regards the management of upcoming tensions when trying to combine profit creation and value creation for society, and finally, the way innovation processes need to be rethought when innovating responsibly are discussed and outlined.

scholarly journals Sustainability in start-up ventures: what founders say versus what they do

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 246-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Galpin ◽  
Julia Hebard
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Business Models ◽  
New Ventures ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Business Practices ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business Plans ◽  
Start Up ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – Although founders of start-up ventures seem to hold similar views about ethical, social, and environmental principles as those in large firms, entrepreneurs tend to be focussed on their immediate stakeholders, including customers, employees, suppliers, and investors. The purpose of this paper is to compare founders’ views – “what they say” – about sustainable business practices to their described business models – “what they do.” Design/methodology/approach – An opinion survey of prospective business start-up founders, along with a content analysis of their business plans, is used to compare founders’ views – “what they say” – about sustainable business practices to their described business models – “what they do.” Findings – Findings suggest that prospective business founders do value sustainable business practices. However, the content of their business models does not reflect their espoused importance of sustainability. Research limitations/implications – The main limitation of this study is that university students in a business-planning course were used as surrogates for actual start-up venture founders. That being the case, a small percentage (just under 5 percent) of the students indicated at the end of the course that they would like to continue pursuing the venture they helped develop a business plan for. To address this, future research should focus on actual founders of new ventures. Practical implications – The content analysis of the business plans revealed a marked disconnect between the high-value founders reported to place on sustainability and the actual limited inclusion of sustainability in their business models. Therefore, more work needs to be done to educate, encourage, and coach start-up founders to raise their awareness of and desire to include sustainability as key parts of their business models. Originality/value – To date, no studies have attempted to compare start-up venture founders’ views – “what they say” – about sustainable business practices to their described business models – “what they do.”

scholarly journals Prevailing theoretical approaches predicting sustainable business models: a systematic review

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
João J. Ferreira ◽  
Cristina I. Fernandes ◽  
Pedro M. Veiga ◽  
Mathew Hughes
Keyword(s):  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Hierarchical Cluster ◽  
Intellectual Structure ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Scientific Publications ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Sustainable Business Models

PurposeThis study aims to map scientific publications, intellectual structure and research trends in the sustainable business model (SBM) field. Specifically, it attempts to (1) identify the fundamental contributions of research in this area of knowledge; and (2) determine the research lines that constitute the most prominent intellectual structure. We leverage these insights to formulate and propose a future research agenda for SBM.Design/methodology/approachThe authors made recourse to the bibliometric, co-citation and cluster analysis techniques. To evaluate potential patterns among articles, we analysed how articles are jointly cited. We further applied hierarchical cluster analysis to the articles and used co-citation analysis to group the interrelated articles into distinct sets.FindingsThe results enable the identification and classification of the prevailing theoretical foci in the domain of SBM: (1) SBM implementation; (2) SBM challenges; (3) institutional SBM; (4) circular SBM; and (5) emerging SBM.Originality/valueThis study identifies, explores, analyses and summarises the main theoretical approaches and themes surrounding SBM research to date, contributing to deepening the literature by identifying the priority areas concerning sustainable business models and encouraging future research of an internationally excellent standard.

Corporate sustainability: the new organizational reality

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Upasana Dhanda ◽  
Vijay Kumar Shrotryia
Keyword(s):  
Business Models ◽  
Corporate Sustainability ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Organizational Sustainability ◽  
Research Gaps ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Extant Literature ◽  
Sustainable Business Models ◽  
The Way

PurposeToday, corporate sustainability is at a tipping point. With average lifespan of organizations shrinking, striving for corporate longevity and sustainability has become indispensable in this fast-paced world. Despite the growing interest in this domain, companies are struggling to define sustainability in a way that is relevant to their business. This article attempts to synthesize the extant literature and provide a conceptual perspective on corporate sustainability and sustainable business models.Design/methodology/approachThematic literature review was done to gain an understanding of the extant literature and the ongoing debates on organizational sustainability. As the literature in context of corporate sustainability was found to be in a fluid state, a thematic review was found suitable to systematize and disclose valuable insights that open avenues for addressing sustainability concerns.FindingsThe paper attempts to throw light on the journey of organizations towards sustainability and how the context of sustainability has changed for the organizations over time. The paper discusses how companies embarked on their sustainability revolution by shifting their focus from mere compliance and philanthropy to attaining a sustainability edge and also explicates the transformation from traditional business models to sustainable business models. Finally, the research gaps are identified to pave the way for future research in the domain of corporate sustainability.Originality/valueThe extant literature on corporate sustainability is in a shambolic state. This creates a need to investigate what has been done and how the context of corporate sustainability is being shaped. This paper contributes to the emerging literature on sustainability by providing a conceptual perspective and highlighting the research gaps which pave the way for future research on sustainability paradigm.

Intertwining CSR with strategy – the way ahead

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shital Jhunjhunwala
Keyword(s):  
Business Strategy ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Corporate Strategy ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Socially Responsible ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sustainable Business Models ◽  
Corporate Social

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to emphasize the importance and means of making corporate social responsibility (CSR) an integral part of corporate strategy with the help of case studies. Design/methodology/approach – The article explores the transformation of business from being egocentric to socially responsible. With the use of examples it demonstrates how integrating CSR into strategy can create sustainable business models. Findings – Firms need to develop a framework for integrating CSR into their business strategy for long term successful survival. Social implications – Corporates and society are intertwined and mutually dependent. Business cannot survive without society's acquiescence nor succeed without its active support. Originality/value – The article explains the benefits of CSR and how to make it an integral part of business strategy to gain a competitive advantage.

Proposal for sustainability action archetypes for higher education institutions

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Elíseo Fernandes Sanches ◽  
Matheus Leite Campos ◽  
Luiz Eduardo Gaio ◽  
Marcio Marcelo Belli
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sustainable Business Models ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose Higher education institutions (HEIs) should assume their role as leaders in the search for a sustainable future. Consequently, such institutions need to incorporate sustainability into their activities. However, this needs to be done holistically and not with isolated and independent actions. Therefore, this study aims to develop a structure of sustainability action archetypes to help HEIs holistically incorporate sustainability in their strategies. Design/methodology/approach A systematic review of the literature was conducted focusing on the subject of sustainability in HEIs. Findings A structure of sustainability action archetypes for HEIs was proposed. Further, based on scientific literature, examples of actions were presented within each archetype. Practical implications This study provides HEI administrators and other organizations with a practical structure to enable the systemic incorporation of sustainability objectives and actions into institutional activities. Originality/value This study adapts the tool “sustainable business model archetypes” for a new purpose. This tool was initially developed to classify innovations of sustainable business models.

scholarly journals Backcasting for desirable futures in Finnish forest-based firms

foresight ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Annukka Näyhä
Keyword(s):  
Business Models ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Strong Basis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Theoretical Contribution ◽  
New Business ◽  
Participative Approach ◽  
Sustainable Business Models ◽  
New Business Models

Purpose In Finland, new forest-based sector (FBS) businesses are seen as important for the transition to the circular bioeconomy. The purpose of this study is to explore the transition of Finnish FBS companies to new business models. The aim is to understand how FBS companies define their ideal future states and related business models for the year 2030. Design/methodology/approach This study uses thematic interviews with managers from various FBS firms and companies from interfacing sectors. In the interviews, the key idea of backcasting was pursued when respondents discussed the desirable future states of their business. Findings The effort to achieve growth of the business and the appearance of new products characterize the company-specific desirable future states. In these desirable futures, expanded businesses will be based on strong knowledge. Resource efficiency and collaboration create a strong basis for the desirable future state of the whole FBS to create a sustainable and innovative “Wood Valley.” Research limitations/implications The key limitations are that the backcasting process has been conducted only through interviews and a participative approach with stakeholder dialogue is lacking in the process. This means that the desirable futures are created by the FBS companies only. Originality/value As a practical contribution, the study shows the future-oriented thinking and goals of FBS firms. As a theoretical contribution, it extends research on sustainable business models and discussions on the novel field of corporate foresight.

Biomimetic economy: human ecological-economic systems emulating natural ecological systems

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 772-785
Author(s):  
Unai Tamayo ◽  
Gustavo Vargas
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Basque Country ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Economic Systems ◽  
Business Practices ◽  
Levels Of Abstraction ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Sustainable Development

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of biomimicry to inspire sustainable development in economic systems. The research purpose is to explore the link between ecological systems and economic systems to highlight applied environmental solutions. The goal is to propose some driver to develop sustainable business practices inspired on the principles of biomimicry. Design/methodology/approach This paper provides a theoretical approach that builds the basis for a better understanding of the relationship between nature and sustainable economic decisions. The premise is that in the field of sustainable development, strategies based on “learning from nature” are useful. Furthermore, the concept of biomimicry provides principles and tools specifically aimed at design practice. Findings The complexity of economic systems has shown that high levels of abstraction are required when conceptualising problems and explanations related with nature-inspired solutions. Stakeholder engagement and transdisciplinary collaboration are required to face long-term environmental challenges. Moreover, the exploratory analysis applied in this paper appeared suitable to compile existing literature. Practical implications The study provides some general guidelines and empirical approach through case studies that could help decision makers convert nature-inspired alternatives into valuable strategic business opportunities. Although presented practical cases are framed in the local sphere (i.e. the Basque Country), they can serve as references in other international contexts. Social implications New business models should recognize the positive synchronization between well-managed social, environmental and economic systems. Originality/value The proposed ideas deepen the understanding on the sustainable development and the link between ecological and economic systems. In fact, the concept of biomimetic economy has not been dealt with or developed in depth in previous academic works, nor has it been published thoroughly in the field of research.

scholarly journals Sustainability-Oriented Business Model Evaluation—A Literature Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (19) ◽  
pp. 10908
Author(s):  
Anika Süß ◽  
Kristina Höse ◽  
Uwe Götze
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Business Model ◽  
Model Evaluation ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Model Development ◽  
Indicator System ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Simulation Based ◽  
Sustainable Business Models

Since the need of sustainable development is indisputable, companies are forced to strive for resources, processes, and products that are sustainable. Thus, their business models as the main representation of their activities should be designed in an ecologically, economically, and socially beneficial way. However, designing and developing sustainable business models is closely linked to their evaluation. Sustainable business model evaluation as a vital part of business model development has been addressed in literature in the past with increasing frequency. As a consequence, the plethora of different approaches of sustainability-oriented business model evaluation calls for a systematic literature review. Thus, in this study, we reviewed existing articles on sustainability-oriented business model evaluation and identified four main categories of evaluation methods: single indicators (I), indicator system/framework (II), simulation-based evaluation (III), and multi criteria decision-making (IV). By analyzing and structuring the proposed approaches, their benefits and limitations are revealed, pointing out gaps and future research needs for successfully designing and evaluating business models today and in the future.

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