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Sustainable Innovation, Business Models and Sustainability Transition
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Sustainable Innovation, Business Models and Sustainability Transition

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Economic and Business Aspects of Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 August 2023) | Viewed by 41418

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Laura Broccardo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Management, University of Turin, 10129 Torino, Italy
Interests: family firms; management accounting; business model innovation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Business models (BMs) are now considered a key aspect of corporate strategy and describe the way “an organization creates, delivers, and captures value’’ (Osterwalder and Pigneur 2010, p. 14).

BMs fluctuate as companies attempt to capture, generate and convey value (Pedersen et al., 2018, Preuss 2011; Wells 2008), generating innovation. A particular kind of innovation in BMs relates to the inclusion of sustainability, which is an increasing societal demand. Indeed, in the context of global economic growth it is possible to observe the rise of social inequalities and the depletion of natural resources. Consequently, there is more pressure on businesses to consider sustainability issues (Bocken et al., 2013). To keep up with these increasing pressures, many companies have been adapting their business models to include environmental, social and economic considerations. These sustainable business models (SBMs) are intended to integrate sustainability considerations into companies, not only addressing sustainability (Geissdoerfer et al., 2018, Rashid et al., 2013; Stubbs and Cocklin, 2008; Wells, 2013) but also becoming a source of competitive advantage (Nidumolu et al., 2009; Kramer and Porter, 2011).

Considered together, these innovations lead to the development of a sustainable business model (SBM), a particular kind of BM that explicitly integrates economic, environmental and social goals (Yang et al., 2017; Bocken et al. 2015), but how to design and implement a good SBM is not clear and the implementation of SBM is still in its infancy (Orji I.J., 2019). Indeed, there is a lack of common vision on SBM design, underlining the need to better know about their structure and dimensions, and the conditions under which it is possible to realize them (Pregnenella and Battistella, 2021). It is urgent that we determine the key elements that make it possible to change a BM into an innovative SBM through empirical studies, survey, business case analyses and literature reviews.

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

References

Attanasio, G.; Battistella, C.; Preghenella, N. The influences on the value of business model for sustainability. In Proceedings of the ISPIM Conference Proceedings, Valencia, Spain. 29 November–1 December 2021; pp. 1–8

Bocken, N.M.P.; Rana, P.; Short, S.W. Value mapping for sustainable business thinking. J. Ind. Prod. Eng. 2015, 32, 67–81.

Bocken, N.; Short, S.; Rana, P.; Evans, S. A value mapping tool for sustainable business modelling. Available online: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/CG-06-2013-0078/full/html (accessed on 2 June 2020)

Broccardo, L.; Zicari, A. Sustainability as a driver for value creation: A business model analysis of small and medium entreprises in the Italian wine sector. J. Clean. Prod. 2020, 259, 120852.

Geissdoerfer, M.; Vladimirova, D.; Evans, S. Sustainable business model innovation: A review. J. Clean. Prod. 2018, 198, 401–416.

Kramer, M.R.; Porter, M. Creating shared value. Available online: http://ressources.aunege.fr/nuxeo/site/esupversions/c9c186ba-f7d5-4ebe-bd74-d375387f45e8/res/res.pdf (accessed on 2 June 2020)

Nidumolu, R.; Prahalad, C.K.; Rangaswami, M.R. Why sustainability is now the key driver of innovation. Harv. Bus. Rev. 2009, 87, 56–64.

Orji, I.J. Examining barriers to organizational change for sustainability and drivers of sustainable performance in the metal manufacturing industry. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 2019, 140, 102–114.

Osterwalder, A.; Pigneur, Y. Business model generation: A handbook for visionaries, game changers, and challengers. John Wiley & Sons: Hoboken, NJ, USA. 2010

Pedersen, E.R.G.; Gwozdz, W.; Hvass, K.K. Exploring the relationship between business model innovation, corporate sustainability, and organisational values within the fashion industry. J. Bus. Ethics. 2018, 149, 267–284.

Preuss, L.; Walker, H. Psychological barriers in the road to sustainable development: evidence from public sector procurement. Public Adm. 2011, 89, 493–521.

Rashid, A.; Asif, F.M.; Krajnik, P.; Nicolescu, C. M. Resource conservative manufacturing: An essential change in business and technology paradigm for sustainable manufacturing. J. Clean. Prod. 2013, 57, 166–177.

Stubbs, W.; Cocklin, C. Conceptualizing a “sustainability business model”. Organ. Environ. 2008, 21, 103–127.

Wells, P. Economies of scale versus small is beautiful: A business model approach based on architecture, principles and components in the beer industry. Organ. Environ. 2016, 29, 36–52.

Wells, P. Degrowth and techno-business model innovation: The case of Riversimple. J. Clean. Prod. 2018, 197, 1704–1710.

Yang, B.; Fu, X.; Sidiropoulos, N.D.; Hong, M. Towards k-means-friendly spaces: Simultaneous deep learning and clustering. In Proceedings of the international conference on machine learning. Sydney, Australia. 6–11 August 2017; pp. 3861–3870

Prof. Dr. Laura Broccardo
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sustainability
  • innovation
  • business model
  • transition
  • performance

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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20 pages, 2904 KiB  
Article
Holistic Business Model Conceptualisation—Capturing Sustainability Contributions Illustrated by Nature-Based Solutions
by Simon Stork, Rolf Morgenstern, Bernd Pölling and Jan-Henning Feil
Sustainability 2023, 15(19), 14091; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151914091 - 22 Sep 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1019
Abstract
Businesses are under pressure to increasingly consider sustainability as an integral part of the enterprise and business model. Nature-based solutions (NBS) definitions reflect that sustainability can be improved by implementing NBS. These NBS require tailored business models. Therefore, this study aims to conceptualize [...] Read more.
Businesses are under pressure to increasingly consider sustainability as an integral part of the enterprise and business model. Nature-based solutions (NBS) definitions reflect that sustainability can be improved by implementing NBS. These NBS require tailored business models. Therefore, this study aims to conceptualize a holistic business model canvas capturing the sustainability contributions ofNBS. Methodically, the new Canvas is proposed based on an extensive literature review, and the application and testing are carried out on NBSs implemented in the proGIreg project’s three European Living Labs. As a result, by building on the Business Model Canvas (BMC) by Osterwalder and Pigneur as well as various modifications to capture the core concepts of sustainability and NBS, a new BMC for NBS is proposed—the nature-based sustainability Business Model Canvas (NB S BMC). It consists of 14 building blocks and offers a holistic overview of NBS business models considering the multi-faceted character of NBS. The case studies show that the NB S BMC can be applied to different contexts independently of their location and content orientation. Although this study development puts an emphasis on NBS, it can also be applied to capturing sustainable business models beyond the NBS domain. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Innovation, Business Models and Sustainability Transition)
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17 pages, 1724 KiB  
Article
Business Model for Scaling Social Impact towards Sustainability by Social Entrepreneurs
by Kishore Kumar François and Hoe Chin Goi
Sustainability 2023, 15(18), 14027; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151814027 - 21 Sep 2023
Viewed by 1632
Abstract
This paper examines a Business Model (BM) from a socio-economic system perspective to discern key factors and understand its interactions resulting in the Scaling of Social Impact (SSI) in Social Entrepreneurship (SE). Previously, studies have explained the importance of the BM in relation [...] Read more.
This paper examines a Business Model (BM) from a socio-economic system perspective to discern key factors and understand its interactions resulting in the Scaling of Social Impact (SSI) in Social Entrepreneurship (SE). Previously, studies have explained the importance of the BM in relation to SE. However, there is a lack of empirical studies on how a BM’s transitions through participation of various actors result in the SSI, causing a gap in this field’s research. This research applies a qualitative analysis on a single case study of a Japanese social startup, “mymizu”, the first water refill application platform in Japan. The findings show that collaboration amongst different stakeholders on the initial phase of the BM could increase awareness of responsible consumption, convert into actual users for sustainability, and change their behavior. Secondly, members of society could take on dual roles, both as users and collaborators in the BM, which results in an exponential scaling effect of the Social Impact (SI). This paper contributes towards adding a Participatory Stakeholder (PS) to the ecosystem of the SSI and building a Regenerative BM (RBM) that is relevant in SE towards sustainability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Innovation, Business Models and Sustainability Transition)
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19 pages, 2154 KiB  
Article
Placeful Business: Reimagining a Small Business Concept That Embraces and Enriches Places
by Viriya Taecharungroj and Dissatat Prasertsakul
Sustainability 2023, 15(12), 9370; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15129370 - 09 Jun 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1374
Abstract
Globalisation, commercialisation, commodification, and mass communication have led to a loss of uniqueness and a cultural uniformity in places, known as “placelessness”. This study proposes a novel business concept called “placeful business” that addresses this issue. A placeful business incorporates local heritage, showcases [...] Read more.
Globalisation, commercialisation, commodification, and mass communication have led to a loss of uniqueness and a cultural uniformity in places, known as “placelessness”. This study proposes a novel business concept called “placeful business” that addresses this issue. A placeful business incorporates local heritage, showcases unique architecture and aesthetics, engages with the community, and promotes place sustainability and identity. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 20 stakeholders, and a salience-valence analysis was performed on 874 online reviews from Google Maps, TripAdvisor, Booking.com, Agoda, and Hostelworld. This analysis aimed to reveal the key factors contributing to positive experiences and gain insights into the representation and manifestation of placeful characteristics. Through a mixed-method case study of Once Again Hostel in Bangkok, this research identified several salient attributes of the hostel that reinforce the characteristics of a placeful business and have a positive impact on the community. The authors also observed the interconnected and mutually reinforcing nature of placeful and successful factors. However, it was noted that guests’ perception and understanding of placeful characteristics remained limited. While the placeful business model has not yet gained widespread recognition in the business and academic domains, it offers practical implications for small businesses seeking to differentiate themselves in the global market by infusing their operations with a distinct sense of place. Furthermore, place managers can play a crucial role in promoting and fostering placeful business practices as a means to counteract the growing homogenization of places. The adoption of the placeful business model enables the continuous reinforcement of place identity, which, in turn, contributes to the long-term enhancement of place sustainability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Innovation, Business Models and Sustainability Transition)
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23 pages, 1135 KiB  
Article
Pharmaceutical Companies in the Light of the Idea of Sustainable Development—An Analysis of Selected Aspects of Sustainable Management
by Ewa Chomać-Pierzecka
Sustainability 2023, 15(11), 8889; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15118889 - 31 May 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1925
Abstract
The strategy of creating value and increasing the competitiveness of economic entities under the idea of sustainable development entails the need to provide access to up-to-date knowledge, which is to strengthen the decision-making basis and increase the level of properties of economic decisions. [...] Read more.
The strategy of creating value and increasing the competitiveness of economic entities under the idea of sustainable development entails the need to provide access to up-to-date knowledge, which is to strengthen the decision-making basis and increase the level of properties of economic decisions. This argument strengthens the legitimacy of undertaking a research problem, oriented towards an overview of contemporary business challenges in the light of sustainable development, to assess the direction of activities undertaken by enterprises in the economic and socio-environmental sphere in connection with their activities. The need to undertake sustainable activities—with an emphasis on the environmental aspect—is particularly relevant to the pharmaceutical industry, which, in implementing activities oriented towards the protection of human health and life in connection with drug production, treats the issue of concern for the health of the planet as an extremely important challenge. The literature on the subject generally and insufficiently discusses sustainability issues for companies operating in this industry. Recognising the pharmaceutical sector as an area of economy of key importance in the socio-economic dimension at the level of national economies and at the international level, it became reasonable to scientifically identify the indicated issues in relation to pharmaceutical industry enterprises, with particular emphasis on entities operating in Poland. Hence, the main aim of the study, in response to the diagnosed gap, was to assess the directions of improvement of business models of Polish pharmaceutical enterprises, with consideration given to determinants of sustainable development. This study draws attention to the significance of practical choices of pharmaceutical entities—determined by their activity strategy, on sustainable development, as well as the impact of performance on the practice of sustainable development in the light of the assessment of the companies’ managerial effectiveness, demonstrating their significant importance. The realisation of the objective was based on a thorough review of the literature on the topic explored, as well as on the results of a diagnostic survey conducted among Polish pharmaceutical companies. An in-depth analysis of the findings in the area explored was conducted using statistical testing, including statistical ordering of variables, variable correlation matrix, logistic regression, odds ratio, and PQstat software. The main conclusion of the study is the finding that the business models of Polish pharmaceutical enterprises are continuously improving towards increasing the level of sustainable development, and the main determinant for the realisation of the above is the development of innovation, strongly correlated with the category of particularly good results on operations, constituting their managerial effectiveness. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Innovation, Business Models and Sustainability Transition)
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Review

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18 pages, 692 KiB  
Review
The Impact of Work-from-Home on Employee Performance and Productivity: A Systematic Review
by Godfred Anakpo, Zanele Nqwayibana and Syden Mishi
Sustainability 2023, 15(5), 4529; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15054529 - 03 Mar 2023
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 34205
Abstract
During the COVID-19 pandemic, working from home has unquestionably become one of the most extensively employed techniques to minimize unemployment, keep society operating, and shield the public from the virus. However, the impacts of work-from-home (WFH) on employee productivity and performance is not [...] Read more.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, working from home has unquestionably become one of the most extensively employed techniques to minimize unemployment, keep society operating, and shield the public from the virus. However, the impacts of work-from-home (WFH) on employee productivity and performance is not fully known; studies on the subject are fragmented and in different contexts. The purpose of this study is therefore to provide systematic review on the impact of WFH on employee productivity and performance. A sample of 26 studies out of 112 potential studies (from various databases, including Scopus, Google Scholar, and the Web of Science database from 2020 to 2022) were used after a comprehensive literature search and thorough assessment based on PRISMA-P guidelines. Findings reveal that the impact of the WFH model on employee productivity and performance depend on a host of factors, such as the nature of the work, employer and industry characteristics, and home settings, with a majority reporting a positive impact and few documenting no difference or a negative impact. This study recommends that an improvement in technology and information technology (IT) training and capacity-building would yield more significant results to those who are willing to adopt the WFH model even after the pandemic. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Innovation, Business Models and Sustainability Transition)
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