Premium
Business Model Innovation for Sustainability: Towards a Unified Perspective for Creation of Sustainable Business Models
Author(s) -
Evans Steve,
Vladimirova Doroteya,
Holgado Maria,
Van Fossen Kirsten,
Yang Miying,
Silva Elisabete A.,
Barlow Claire Y.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
business strategy and the environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.123
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1099-0836
pISSN - 0964-4733
DOI - 10.1002/bse.1939
Subject(s) - product service system , business model , sustainability , new business development , business , business analysis , knowledge management , sustainable business , stakeholder , perspective (graphical) , value (mathematics) , corporate sustainability , value proposition , process management , management science , marketing , management , engineering , computer science , economics , ecology , artificial intelligence , biology , machine learning
Abstract Business model innovation has seen a recent surge in academic research and business practice. Changes to business models are recognized as a fundamental approach to realize innovations for sustainability. However, little is known about the successful adoption of sustainable business models (SBMs). The purpose of this paper is to develop a unified theoretical perspective for understanding business model innovations that lead to better organizational economic, environmental and social performance. The paper examines bodies of literature on business model innovation, sustainability innovation, networks theory, stakeholder theory and product–service systems. We develop five propositions that support the creation of SBMs in a unified perspective, which lays a foundation to support organizations in investigating and experimenting with alternative new business models. This article contributes to the emerging field of SBMs, which embed economic, environmental and social flows of value that are created, delivered and captured in a value network. It highlights gaps for addressing the challenges of business model innovation for sustainability and suggests avenues for future research. © 2017 The Authors. Business Strategy and the Environment published by ERP Environment and John Wiley & Sons Ltd