scholarly journals Advancing the open science movement through sustainable business model development

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 226-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mona Roman ◽  
Jingwei Liu ◽  
Timo Nyberg

The open science literature has focused on ways to increase the openness of research data at universities, while links with industry in the context of open innovation have received less attention. The aim of this article is to increase understanding of how open science can lead to open innovation. The key research questions are the following: How can researchers be motivated to make open their research data and how can industry take advantage of the data? The authors explore this topic through a case study of a Finnish foundation and its closed database. In 14 semi-structured interviews with the database owners, potential users and open science experts, they identified opportunities, barriers and possible solutions to opening the database. The authors propose a generic process framework for developing sustainable business models to facilitate research data transfer from university to industry. The study contributes to the open science literature by shedding light on how the gap between open science and open innovation can be bridged through the development of sustainable business models.

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (19) ◽  
pp. 10908
Author(s):  
Anika Süß ◽  
Kristina Höse ◽  
Uwe Götze

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.


2020 ◽  
pp. 000765032090714 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inge Oskam ◽  
Bart Bossink ◽  
Ard-Pieter de Man

This article aims to uncover the processes of developing sustainable business models in innovation ecosystems. Innovation ecosystems with sustainability goals often consist of cross-sector partners and need to manage three tensions: the tension of value creation versus value capture, the tension of mutual value versus individual value, and the tension of gaining value versus losing value. The fact that these tensions affect all actors differently makes the process of developing a sustainable business model challenging. Based on a study of four sustainably innovative cross-sector collaborations, we propose that innovation ecosystems that develop a sustainable business model engage in a process of valuing value in which they search for a result that satisfies all actors. We find two different patterns of valuing value: collective orchestration and continuous search. We describe these patterns and the conditions that give rise to them. The identification of the two patterns opens up a research agenda that can shed further light on the conditions that need to be in place in order for an innovation ecosystem to develop effective sustainable business models. For practice, our findings show how cross-sector actors in innovation ecosystems may collaborate when developing a business model around emerging sustainability-oriented innovations.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (16) ◽  
pp. 4868
Author(s):  
Hyeog-In Kwon ◽  
Bo-Hyun Baek ◽  
Yong-Su Jeon

Human centric lighting (HLC) is a promising market for innovations in the lighting market, but there is a lack of research on sustainable business models. Therefore, this study proposes a service, ecosystem, business model, and platform to innovate the HLC industry using eco-science methodologies suitable for manufacturing servitization. The study’s findings show that the introduction of a platform-based B2B smart space service can have an impact on the spread of HCL. Accordingly, this study derives a business model and billing strategy that industry stakeholders involved in the smart space can cooperate with. Further, the study proposes a platform design to realize the proposed business model and verifies a service prototype to analyze the completeness of the research results and their economic ripple effects. As for the implications, this study presents an integrated perspective business model to revitalize the HCL market based on a systematic methodology from the convergence studies perspective. Additionally, there are academic implications that, instead of just proposing the research results, objectively evaluate and verify the completeness of the results. The results of this study suggest a future-oriented direction for the field of HCL.


Author(s):  
D. Meyer ◽  
J. Fauser ◽  
D. Hertweck

Abstract. The energy sector in Germany, as in many other countries, is undergoing a major transformation. To achieve the climate targets, numerous measures to implement smart energy and resource efficiency are necessary. Therefore, energy companies are experiencing increasing pressure from politics and society to transform their business areas in a sustainable manner and implement smart and sustainable business models. Consequently, numerous resources are expected to flow into the development and implementation of new business models. But often these efforts remain unsuccessful in practice. There is a large amount of literature on barriers and drivers of smart and sustainable business models in the energy sector. But what are the factors that companies struggle with most when developing and implementing new business models in practice? To answer this question, the results of a systematic literature review were evaluated by conducting semi-structured interviews with experts of the German energy sector. Six categories of transformation barriers were identified: Organizational, Financial, Legal, Partner-Network, Societal and Technological barriers. To overcome these barriers, recommendations for action and key success factors are outlined by the experts interviewed. The interview study validates key barriers and drivers in terms of their significance in practice in the German energy sector and makes recommendations to advance the smart and sustainable transformation of the energy sector.


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.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 1010
Author(s):  
Antonio Marín-García ◽  
Irene Gil-Saura ◽  
María Eugenia Ruiz-Molina ◽  
Gloria Berenguer-Contrí

Currently, sustainability emerges as a key element on which the development of competitive advantages for businesses is based. In the dynamic and turbulent environment in which retail companies operate, sustainable practices are posited as an opportunity for their progress and survival. Through this article, it is intended to advance the nature and dimensions of this construct and examine its influence on store equity and consumer satisfaction. Furthermore, this work analyses the moderating effect of gender on these variables and the mediating nature of brand equity in the development of consumer satisfaction. All this is developed through a quantitative study carried out on a sample of 510 consumers of different food retail commercial formats (hypermarkets, supermarkets, and discount stores) in Spain. The technique used for data analysis is partial least squares (PLS) regression. The results show the importance of sustainability and brand equity in the development of consumer satisfaction in the retail sector, with the intensity of its effects being a gender issue. On the other hand, brand equity is positioned as a key element thanks to its mediating effect between sustainability and satisfaction. All of this points to the need to move towards more sustainable business models.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 149
Author(s):  
Magdalena Pichlak ◽  
Adam R. Szromek

The paper aims to analyze the environmental aspects of innovation activity undertaken by companies and, in particular, to assess sustainable business leaders’ propensity to generate eco-innovation. The research described in the paper was descriptive and, to some extent, diagnostic. It was based on a non-random sample and was conducted—using the Computer Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI) method—in 2019 among 54 of the most eco-innovative Polish companies. The results of the research indicate that they are more likely to generate radical rather than incremental changes. Moreover, the most eco-innovative companies are those developing technologies for biodiversity protection. The results further indicate that companies with more than 50 employees have a higher propensity to develop incremental and radical eco-innovation than smaller firms with relatively fewer resources. Finally, this study shows that adopting an open innovation strategy strengthens the propensity to generate eco-innovation, especially radical ones. Moreover, developing such changes is dominated by the adoption of strategic and operational forward supply chain collaboration, involving the absorption of knowledge and information streaming directly from the market. The results can provide a frame for developing new business models incorporating collaboration in eco-innovation activities, especially in the situation of a post-pandemic recovery of the economy.


2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shital Jhunjhunwala

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.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 3437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cinzia Battistella ◽  
Maria Cagnina ◽  
Lucia Cicero ◽  
Nadia Preghenella

Despite the high number of active small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in all sectors, current studies have barely developed investigations on the sustainability of their business models so far. The aim of this study was thus to bridge the gap between sustainable business models of SMEs in the service industry, to uncover the challenges that SMEs face when seeking business model reconfiguration toward sustainability. More specifically, the empirical investigation adopted a case study research design in the context of yacht tourism, as one business form among many within the tourism industry and thus within the broader category of the service industry. Interviews were conducted with seven European SMEs, whose business models were analyzed through the lens of the triple bottom line and sustainability challenges in their business models. The results display a varied typology of case studies, where business model components reveal diverse expressions of facing sustainability challenges. The work discusses reported findings with a cross-case comparison among detected business models and outlines a list of propositions for sustainable business models of SMEs. The paper contributes in continuing the discourse on sustainable business models, adopting the perspective of the challenges for SMEs and offers food for thought for managers of SMEs in comparing their own business with the identified business model types.


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