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Values-Based Network and Business Model Innovation
Abstract
Innovation management falls short in solving urgent societal problems, if it neglects the power of networks and the values of their constituent actors. Even though network and business model innovation have been acknowledged as innovation categories in their own right, their problem-solving potential remains unexplored. In this article, we argue that purposeful innovation requires considering the shared values of those engaging in innovation processes, where values are understood as subjective notions of the desirable. Values-based innovation can motivate the development of new networks and business models that address complex societal problems, such as the unsustainability of current forms of energy supply. We present a theoretical framework and facilitation methods for values-based network and business model innovation. Both have been applied in an exemplary workshop on regional energy networks in Germany. Reflecting upon the lessons learned from theory and practice, we conclude that crucial starting points for systemic sustainability innovations can be found in values-based networks and business models.
... For a successful partnership, however, they have to find them first. In this context, empirical B2B literature stresses organizational closeness as the central variable (e.g., Breuer & Lüdeke-Freund, 2017;Cerulo, 1997;Hardy, Lawrence, & Grant, 2005;Parmigiani & Rivera-Santos, 2011;Roundy, Bradshaw, & Brockman, 2018;Spigel, 2017). B2B relationships however may not be restricted to enterprises that share the same organizational closeness. ...
... Following the proximity hypothesis (Knoben & Oerlemans, 2006) and similarity attraction theory (Byrne, 1997), the literature focuses on organizational compatibility and strategic fit leveraged by structural (e.g., organizational structure), technological (e.g., technological expertise), economic (e.g., size), or cultural closeness (e.g., language). The majority of literature on interorganizational relationships, networks, and entrepreneurial ecosystems (e.g., Bolino, Turnley, & Bloodgood, 2002;Breuer & Lüdeke-Freund, 2017;Oliveira & Lumineau, 2019;Roundy et al., 2018;Spigel, 2017) discusses how shared values provide the "glue" that positively influences B2B relationships. Organizational closeness and shared values and norms reduce uncertainty in partner selection, mitigate the risk of opportunistic behavior, and limit opportunism (e.g., Bierly & Gallagher, 2007;Holmberg & Cummings, 2009;Teng, 2007). ...
... The literature to date has not dealt with individual social identity processes in partner selection and the preference to engage in B2B relationships (Ungureanu et al., 2020). In light of this, we follow the suggestions from a number of authors (Breuer & Lüdeke-Freund, 2017;Postmes, Haslam, & Swaab, 2005;Siemieniako et al., 2021) to employ social identity theory as a theoretical perspective to better understand the individual decision maker's preference to engage in a B2B relationship. ...
... Yet, this does not happen automatically or accidentally. It is a deliberate choice of managers and entrepreneurs to steer their innovation projects towards more sustainable value creation (Breuer & Lüdeke-Freund, 2017;Lüdeke-Freund et al., 2020). ...
... Ask yourself, which overarching concerns, ideals, and goals should be guiding your business model innovation process? (with plural s) and how these relate to desired outcomes in terms of value creation (Breuer & Lüdeke-Freund, 2017). ...
... Yet another approach to supporting business model innovation for sustainability is represented by the Business Innovation Kit. This toolkit provides a six-step process to facilitate business model development from understanding the values of the involved stakeholders to refining the various elements and activities that make up a business model (Breuer, 2013;Breuer & Lüdeke-Freund, 2017). The Business Innovation Kit makes use of gamification by 'playing cards' and allows mixed stakeholder groups to run their own business model innovation processes. ...
This chapter introduces business model innovation for sustainability as a new way of achieving corporate sustainability. Why is thinking about business models and business model innovation useful in this regard? Because business models are essentially about how companies create value for themselves and for their stakeholders, such as customers, employees, or business partners. And value creation, in turn, relates in various ways to the natural environment and society. Hence, the business model perspective is very helpful in dealing with corporate sustainability challenges. In this chapter, we explain how business models support proactive approaches to corporate sustainability; how business model innovation can help integrate sustainability principles (such as efficiency, consistency, or sufficiency) into companies’ activities; and how it can help companies extend their value creation potential to be more inclusive towards non-financial stakeholders. Finally, some patterns and tools to develop business models for sustainability are introduced.
... Value, however, does not mean the same to everyone in every context; for example, value is different for the user, organizations, and society (Ouden 2012). Values are the subjective notion of desirable conditions, and thus each stakeholder has a different understanding of what constitutes value (Breuer and Lüdeke-Freund 2017), depending on individual needs (Freudenreich et al. 2020). These divergent perceptions can form barriers to business model innovation (Egfjord and Sund 2020), such as SSPSS. ...
... If values are codified and pursued by a corporate vision or value statement, they become prescribed normative guidance (Breuer and Lüdeke-Freund 2017), thus creating a public commitment and facilitating a new organizational meaning and identity (Maitlis and Sonenshein 2010). Organizational identity explains how employees make sense of what the organization claims to be (Corley and Gioia 2004;Gioia and Thomas 1996). ...
... Choosing the manufacturing sector operating in the B2B market is useful, as SSPSS are trending in this branch according to literature (Boldosova 2020;Chen et al. 2020;Häckel et al. 2021). The context of the two cases is highly relevant, as understanding what constitutes value is embedded in particular contexts (Breuer and Lüdeke-Freund 2017). We applied several criteria to select our two cases. ...
While academia attributes superior value potential to sustainable smart PSS (SSPSS), in practice, they are not widely implemented. To address this gap, we analyze how the notion of SSPSS value is constructed through sensemaking. Adopting a case study approach, we explore differences in organizational sensemaking. Moreover, we analyze how the three functional roles "digital innovation and technology", "sustainability", and "market" involved in innovating SSPSS make sense of the value proposition. We conclude that value is subjective and the value proposition of SSPSS is multi-faceted. Each facet is constructed through the interaction of organizational, functional roles', and individual sensemaking. At the organizational level, commitment, identity, and expectations influence the creation of shared meaning. At the functional role level, actors differ in their sensemaking based on the cognitive frames applied. At the individual level, subjective beliefs impact sensemaking. Hence, sensemaking is a multi-level process that raises the question of alignment.
... Innovation management researchers and practitioners are increasingly attending to the role that values and normative orientations play in innovation and its management (Boenink and Kudina, 2020;Globocnik et al., 2020;Pedersen et al., 2018)-a trend we refer to as the normative turn in innovation management (Breuer and Lüdeke-Freund, 2017b). In many cases, innovation cannot be well understood, designed or managed without recurring to the values of those involved (Breuer and Lüdeke-Freund, 2017b;also, Freeman and Auster, 2015). ...
... Innovation management researchers and practitioners are increasingly attending to the role that values and normative orientations play in innovation and its management (Boenink and Kudina, 2020;Globocnik et al., 2020;Pedersen et al., 2018)-a trend we refer to as the normative turn in innovation management (Breuer and Lüdeke-Freund, 2017b). In many cases, innovation cannot be well understood, designed or managed without recurring to the values of those involved (Breuer and Lüdeke-Freund, 2017b;also, Freeman and Auster, 2015). Newer streams of research such as responsible, social and sustainable innovation (e.g., Stilgoe et al., 2013;Owen et al., 2013;Rey et al., 2017;Adams et al., 2016) are predicated on an explicit consideration of values and normative orientations. ...
... It helps in reframing established innovation management methods to facilitate innovation based on 'what we care about'. Several case studies illustrate the applicability of the VBI management framework, including studies of renewable energy networks (Breuer and Lüdeke-Freund, 2017b), the Indian hospital network Aravind Eye Care Systems (Gerkens et al., 2017), the Indian Tata Nano car (Breuer and Upadrasta, 2017), and sustainable business model innovation tools developed for the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) (Breuer et al., 2018;Brand et al. 2020). The VBI approach has also been taken up by various practitioners and authors working in fields such as management science and humanitarian aid (Earney and Krishnan, 2019). ...
Although values in business have a long history, only recently has their pivotal role in innovation and its management become a topic attracting growing attention from both researchers and practitioners. Values-based innovation management is developing into a vibrant field of studies and practice with increasing relevance for innovation managers and entrepreneurs, providing a powerful toolbox of new methods and applications as well as having societal impact. We survey the state-of-the-art discussions in the field, including related concepts and methods and values-based approaches in areas such as innovation consulting and education, business modelling and entrepreneurship. As an introduction to the papers in IJIM’s Special Issue on Managing Values for Innovation, this editorial paper revisits and repositions some widespread assumptions about the nature, functions and potential of values in innovation contexts. We show to what extent values are an inevitable moment of innovation-related activities, requiring contributions from diverse stakeholders in normative, strategic and operational management dimensions. We illustrate their practicality to promote rather than handicap innovation and clarify their potential to change and assume different meanings rather than being static entities. The explanatory power of a values-based approach, its generative potential and its emancipatory impact motivate further research and development. Future avenues for research and development include impact management studies, attention to different levels of values and advancing the methodology and available tools to manage values for innovation in order to achieve more desirable outcomes.
... Organizational boundaries are challenged, as value can only be created and captured when crossing them (Brehmer et al., 2018). Alignment at the normative dimension forms a foundation for decision-making and alignment at the strategic dimension (Bleicher, 1994;Breuer and Lüdeke-Freund, 2017). ...
... At the strategic dimension, SBMI affects organizational boundaries as externalities formerly outside the business model, such as emissions or waste, are to be internalized Brehmer et al., 2018;Breuer and Lüdeke-Freund, 2017). This involves a discussion about which externalities can and should be internalized and how stakeholders can help in this; for instance by adjusting their own activities. ...
... These shifting transactions need to be embedded in novel value propositions to create and capture mutual value. Decisions made at the strategic dimension direct implementation and execution at the instrumental dimension (Al-Debei and Avison, 2010;Breuer and Lüdeke-Freund, 2017;Solaimani and Bouwman, 2012). ...
This PhD thesis investigates the role of businesses in addressing grand societal challenges such as climate change, environmental degradation and social inequality. Businesses can address such challenges through innovating new, sustainable business models, but in practice, their contribution has been extremely modest regarding the challenges at hand. To provide a sharper view on the potential of sustainable business models, this thesis explores the processes that businesses and their stakeholders go through in pursuit of sustainable business model innovation (SBMI). Through empirical and theoretical research, this thesis shows that SBMI requires the crossing, redesign and re-alignment of multiple types of organizational boundaries between the business and its multiple stakeholders that affect the desirability, feasibility and sustainability of the innovation. Such a process of stakeholder engagement and alignment can be better understood through boundary work, which involves a journey of exploring, negotiating, disrupting and realigning organizational boundaries based on multiple value creation, and requires brokering to re-align critical boundary dissonances in multi-stakeholder networks. This thesis develops a framework and actionable tool to illustrate how boundary work helps researchers to understand complex stakeholder interactions in SBMI, how businesses can engage in the first steps of collaborative SBMI, and how intermediaries can better support businesses in their boundary work for SBMI.
... This necessitates a collaborative, multi-stakeholder business modelling process to structurally align normative, strategic and instrumental dimensions of the various stakeholders. For example, alignment is required on organizations' understanding and prioritization of the envisioned value creation, and with regard to the activities, competences, resources between interdependent stakeholders (Breuer and Lüdeke-Freund, 2017;Velter et al., 2020). This multistakeholder process for SBMI poses significant challenges for the engaged business(es), as the process is full of tensions and clashes with existing business model configurations which should somehow be dealt with Gorissen, Vrancken, and Manshoven, 2016;Meijer, Schipper, and Huijben, 2019;Sarasini and Linder, 2017). ...
... Santos and Eisenhardt (2005) offer a comprehensive conception of organizational boundaries by distinguishing organizational boundaries of identity, power, competence and efficiency. These boundary conceptions address alignment on normative, strategic and instrumental levels as needed for SBMI (Breuer and Lüdeke-Freund, 2017;Stubbs and Cocklin, 2008;Velter et al., 2020). ...
... Boundary setting on identity deals with issues of coherence between the organizational identity, its business model strategy and the activities it conducts (Bojovic, Sabatier, and Coblence, 2019;Mdletye et al., 2014;Santos and Eisenhardt, 2005). The boundary of identity can develop ' grounded' through experimentation with novel activities and business models, but also through ' releasing', where the boundary of identity sets the scope for strategic and instrumental decisions (Berends, Smits, Reymen, and Podoynitsyna, 2016;Bojovic et al., 2019;Breuer and Lüdeke-Freund, 2017). In SBMI, the boundary of identity should be based on sustainable value creation and multi-stakeholder responsiveness (Breuer et al., 2018;Geissdoerfer et al., 2018). ...
How is it possible to systematically develop business model innovations for different domains? This paper provides a novel answer, using a methodological approach called Business Model Matrix (BMM), which merges the approaches of Business Model Canvas (BMC), Business Model Navigator (BMN), and Morphological Box.
... This necessitates a collaborative, multi-stakeholder business modelling process to structurally align normative, strategic and instrumental dimensions of the various stakeholders. For example, alignment is required on organizations' understanding and prioritization of the envisioned value creation, and with regard to the activities, competences, resources between interdependent stakeholders (Breuer and Lüdeke-Freund, 2017;Velter et al., 2020). This multistakeholder process for SBMI poses significant challenges for the engaged business(es), as the process is full of tensions and clashes with existing business model configurations which should somehow be dealt with Gorissen, Vrancken, and Manshoven, 2016;Meijer, Schipper, and Huijben, 2019;Sarasini and Linder, 2017). ...
... Santos and Eisenhardt (2005) offer a comprehensive conception of organizational boundaries by distinguishing organizational boundaries of identity, power, competence and efficiency. These boundary conceptions address alignment on normative, strategic and instrumental levels as needed for SBMI (Breuer and Lüdeke-Freund, 2017;Stubbs and Cocklin, 2008;Velter et al., 2020). ...
... Boundary setting on identity deals with issues of coherence between the organizational identity, its business model strategy and the activities it conducts (Bojovic, Sabatier, and Coblence, 2019;Mdletye et al., 2014;Santos and Eisenhardt, 2005). The boundary of identity can develop ' grounded' through experimentation with novel activities and business models, but also through ' releasing', where the boundary of identity sets the scope for strategic and instrumental decisions (Berends, Smits, Reymen, and Podoynitsyna, 2016;Bojovic et al., 2019;Breuer and Lüdeke-Freund, 2017). In SBMI, the boundary of identity should be based on sustainable value creation and multi-stakeholder responsiveness (Breuer et al., 2018;Geissdoerfer et al., 2018). ...
Purpose: How does a small business engage in boundary work to innovate its business model towards sustainability? We employ a boundary work lens to trace the endeavors of a small company to explore, negotiate and (re)align organizational boundaries in its multi-stakeholder network around new, sustainable value propositions. Design/Methodology/Approach: We engaged in longitudinal research of a company' s endeavors for multi-stakeholder alignment in sustainable business model innovation (SBMI). By means of thick description, this paper offers rich empirical insights on the processes of interaction between a small company and its stakeholders in the Dutch pork sector, with special attention to boundary spanners, boundary objects and the mutual organizational boundary changes. Findings: We find that the shaping and shifting of organizational boundaries highly influences the process and content of the business model innovation. During the phases of boundary exploration, brokering and boundary changes, there is a piv-otal role for boundary objects to deal with uncertainties, to facilitate strategic discussions and to find solutions to different valuation frames, power tensions and role divisions between stakeholders. Research implications: SBMI can benefit from boundary work, as it helps companies to find value opportunities in the organizational boundaries of their external stakeholders, addressing challenges that emerge from existing organizational boundaries, and establishing boundary arrangements to facilitate this process. Originality/Value: Boundary work interlinks concepts of identity, power, competences and efficiency in entrepreneurial processes of collaborative SBMI. The framework and methods of this study further our understanding of the co-evolutionary processes of SBMI.
... Via cette notion souvent associée à la littérature marketing ou plus largement la littérature des services avec la logique DS, la cocréation de valeur est considérée comme un levier clé dans la satisfaction client grâce à sa collaboration au mécanisme de création de valeur. C'est en ce sens qu'elle est préconisée dans la conception d'une offre à la base de la pyramide (Nahi, 2016 (Breuer & Lüdeke-Freund, 2017;Maucuer, 2013). Conformément à la croissance des problématiques liées au développement durable, la responsabilité sociale des entreprises, l'entrepreneuriat social ou les stratégies BoP, la considération de la création de valeur sociale au sein du BM prend essor dans la littérature (Dahan et al., 2010;Seelos & Mair, 2007 économique, mais aussi sociale, finalité des stratégies BoP. ...
... Figure 10 : Conceptualisation de BM pour la prestation de service de santé inclusifs à la BoP proposé par Angeli et Jaiswal (2016, p. 15) Sur la base des composantes mises en avant dans la littérature des BM (Osterwalder & Pigneur, 2010 . En référence au concept de values-based business model (Breuer & Lüdeke-Freund, 2017), il semble pertinent pour l'organisation de considérer les valeurs portées par ses différentes parties prenantes, patients BoP inclus, en plus de se focaliser sur l'acceptation socioculturelle par les patients BoP (Angeli & Jaiswal, 2016). Dans cette même perspective, les défis d'inclusivité et d'accessibilité des stratégies BoP et les barrières à l'accès des services de santé connus dans les PED pourraient être clairement exposées dans les dimensions « Découverte de valeur » ou « Proposition de valeur » afin que le BM puisse être construit en conséquence. ...
... Considérer les individus BoP pour leur multiple rôle (Ben Letaifa & Considérer les valeurs portées par ses différentes parties prenantes (Breuer & Lüdeke-Freund, (2017) Construire une offre adaptée : -Les 4As (Anderson & Billou, 2007) -Considérer la proximité géographique et sociale de l'entreprise avec les consommateurs (Mason & Chakrabarti, 2016), en l'occurrence les patients -Permettre une distribution au last mile (Barki & Parente, 2014) -Placer l'expérience du patient comme élément clé de l'offre de service de soin (Beirão et al., 2017, p. 231) -Surmonter les barrières personnelles, barrières financières et organisationnelles de l'utilisation d'un service de santé pour encourager une équité d'accès (Gulliford et al., 2002) -Développer l'inclusion des services (Fisk et al., 2018) ...
Ce travail doctoral met en lumière un défi mondial peu étudié dans la littérature en sciences de gestion : l'accessibilité des services de santé primaires aux populations à faible revenu Pourtant, la gestion difficile de l’accessibilité dans les stratégies Bottom of the Pyramid et les spécificités des services de santé complexifient la problématique pour les organisations.Cette recherche à visée prescriptive présente des stratégies que les organismes sans but lucratif et à but lucratif peuvent mettre en oeuvre pour créer des business models permettant de délivrer des services de santé primaires aux plus démunis tout en améliorant le bien-être de ces mêmes populations.Pour ce faire, nous avons mené une recherche qualitative basée sur une étude de cas multiples de quatre organisations basées au Brésil et en Afrique du Sud. Elles ont toutes le même objectif de délivrer des services de santé primaires aux plus démunis, mais développent des business model différents pour y parvenir. Cette divergence présente l’intérêt de créer un enrichissement mutuel des pratiques utile à la conception de notre produit de recherche : un business model Bottom of the Pyramid dédié à la prestation de services de santé primaires.La confrontation de notre étude empirique à notre étude conceptuelle souligne la nécessité pour les organisations de développer des interactions régulières avec les acteurs locaux par lesquelles elles pourront améliorer leur encastrement local. Encastrées, les organisations peuvent en effet s'appuyer sur leur écosystème local pour favoriser l'accessibilité des services de santé aux populations à faible revenu tout en créant de la valeur sociale et économique pour l'écosystème entier. Nous suggérons alors des éléments clés que les organisations peuvent intégrer dans leur business model afin de fournir des services de santé inclusifs aux populations à faible revenu.
... On the identity dimension, typical boundary reconfigurations are the integration of a social and environmental objective in the normative orientations of the organization (e.g. mission, vision, value statements), and which is shared between organizations to develop stakeholder networks [28,44]. The power boundary is typically reconfigured by a focus on network competitiveness and long-term contracts with a large element of trust instead of individual power accumulation and transactional relationships [45]. ...
... The boundary of competence typically shifts towards inclusion of repair and remanufacture skills, circular design, modular processing, but also more intangible aspects Table 1 Review of SBMI tools. Developed from [2,19,20,[28][29][30] Tool name [46,47] and experimentation capabilities [44,48,49]. On the efficiency boundary, SBMI promotes a shift in the division of roles and activities. ...
... • To provide insight into opportunities and threats and to link them to new action points The theoretical contribution of the tool lies in the integration of a multi-stakeholder boundary work perspective to existing SBMI approaches and its translation into entrepreneurial linguistics. The tool has the potential to integrate both values-based network and business model innovation approaches [28] as well as effectuation approaches [17,66], depending on the sequence of boundary mapping. Additionally, this study contributes to tool development for SBMI by taking an explicit (multi-)stakeholder focus and integrating its visible (e.g., materials, costs, machinery) and invisible (e.g. ...
Sustainable business model innovation cannot reach its full sustainability potential if it neglects the importance of multi-stakeholder alignment. Several studies emphasize the need for multi-stakeholder collaboration to enable sustainable business model innovation, but few studies offer guidance to companies for engaging in such a collaborative process. Based on the concept of boundary work, this study presents a tested process tool that helps companies engage with multiple stakeholders to innovate sustainable business models. The tool was developed in three iterative phases, including testing and evaluation with 74 participants in six sustainable business model innovation cases. The final process tool consists of five steps to facilitate multi-stakeholder alignment for sustainable business model innovation: (1) defining a collective ambition, (2) mapping and negotiating the changing organizational boundaries, (3) exploring opportunities and tensions for aligning stakeholders, (4) defining first interventions and (5) developing a collaboration pitch. We found that the tool enables discussions and negotiations on sensitive topics, such as power reconfigurations and mutual responsibilities to help stakeholders align. For companies, the boundary tool enriches sustainable business model innovation by offering guidance in the process of redesigning their multi-stakeholder system, assessing their own organizational boundaries, exploring, negotiating and prioritizing strategic actions based on organizational boundary changes and kick-starting new partnerships.
... Since the innovation of BMfS needs to provide environmental, social, and economic value, it is highly complex, of systemic nature, and builds on a multi-stakeholder approach (e.g., Freudenreich, Lüdeke-Freund, & Schaltegger, 2019;Geissdoerfer, Paulo, & Evans, 2017;Geissdoerfer, Vladimirova, & Evans, 2018;Juntunen, Halme, Korsunova, & Rajala, 2019;Lüdeke-Freund & Dembek, 2017;Sommer, 2012;Yang, Evans, Vladimirova, & Rana, 2017). These facts demand practitioners to broaden their perspectives by rethinking a firm as part of a value network (e.g., Bocken, Short, Rana, & Ev-ans, 2014;Breuer & Lüdeke-Freund, 2017;Evans et al., 2017;Frankenberger, Weiblen, Csik, & Gassmann, 2013;Zott, Amit, & Massa, 2011). In fact, business model innovation for sustainability (BMIfS) needs to deal with multiple institutional logics, levels of interactions, and different value dimensions (Schneider & Clauß, 2020). ...
... Since BMIfS includes the organisation and its value network, BMfS needs to be codeveloped in the exchange between and with contributions from various stakeholders (e.g., Breuer & Lüdeke-Freund, 2014;Evans et al., 2017;Freudenreich et al., 2019;Matos & Silvestre, 2013) supporting the achievement of the companies' objectives and vice versa (Freeman, 1984). BMIfS rethinks a firm as part of a value network (Bocken et al., 2014;Breuer & Lüdeke-Freund, 2017;Evans et al., 2017). Actors in this network can be enterprises, individuals, collectives, and communities who work together towards the common goal to create value (Provan & Kenis, 2008), including tangible and intangible value (Allee, 2008), for all participating actors in the network (Den Ouden, 2012). ...
Business model innovation for sustainability (BMIfS) has recently seen a surge in academia and practice. This article introduces an ordonomic BMIfS meta-framework to further stimulate the growing research interest on how available approaches to tensions in BMIfS can be purposefully reconciled to improve the management of BMIfS. The ordonomic BMIfS meta-framework proposes an opportunity to mediate between the normative desiderata of integrative approaches and 'practical' instrumental ones to tensions, which feature prominently in the contemporary literature. Within this meta-framework, both approaches play equally important but categorially different roles. This article contributes by proposing to actively shape the 'boundary conditions' in BMIfS processes to prevent tensions manifesting in irreconcilable tradeoffs.
... One way to guide trajectories of practices is through developing the imaginary associated with a given practice through narrative-based approaches. Many scholars have employed workshop methods that include storytelling to enable social learning and to develop transdisciplinary policy planning processes that explicitly engage in imaginative work (Breuer & Lüdeke-Freund, 2017;Davies, Doyle, & Pape, 2012;Kazadi, Lievens, & Mahr, 2016;Mangnus et al., 2019;Reuveni & Vashdi, 2015). Research points to the need to develop futures literacy and ways to increase capacity building for anticipatory governance (Mangnus, Oomen, Vervoort, & Hajer, 2022;Vervoort & Gupta, 2018), but the way in which future practices are co-constructed and how policies might guide trajectories of practices in the future are areas that require further work. ...
... The workshops provided a space for collaborative engagement among diverse food policy stakeholders. Our study is aligned with the view that diverse team members provide a wider variety of knowledge resources and perspectives (Breuer & Lüdeke-Freund, 2017;Kazadi et al., 2016;Reuveni & Vashdi, 2015). Feedback surveys indicated that the participants were stimulated to think more critically about the issues for discussion by listening to other group members who have different backgrounds (Appendix 4). ...
Conventional policy approaches emphasize technical solutions and individual behavioral change, but practice-based policy approaches offer an alternative. This paper examines the operationalization of a practice-oriented futures policy development process. The process builds on practice theory to generate alternative sustainable future pathways and policy intervention ideas, and in doing so, extends the vocabulary for policy-focused futures work. We focus on three practices with implications for urban sustainability - food purchasing, eating out, and home cooking in Bangkok, Thailand. A multi-phase process of interlinked workshops including visioning, scenario evaluation, and transition pathways was enacted with food system actors and policy makers. Role-play and narrative elements were incorporated to elicit transformative and systems knowledge on how practices are or might be embedded in everyday life and generated policy ideas to enable such practices to emerge in the future. Different practices showed varying degrees of amenability to the process, based on participants' sense of agency and individual and community-based practice memories. This paper contributes to our understanding of how future practices are co-constructed and how policies might guide practice trajectories in the future. Practice-oriented futures policy development opens pathways for integrated policy ideas, mirroring the growing recognition for integrated governance structures.
... Value capture (Teece, 2018) Benefits to customers and partners flowing back as revenue (Osterwalder and Pigneur, 2010) Monetization as part of value capture (Baden-Fuller and Haefliger, 2013) Digital business model may reduce the cost burden (Prem, 2015) Digitalisation provides new or added revenue (Veit et al., 2014) Digital technologies offer the opportunity to consider new sources of capital and sources of revenue (Breuer and L€ udeke-Freund, 2017 The Galicia Jewish Museum in Krakow (Poland) well illustrates such concepts. It hosts multi-service and multi-actor contexts. ...
... As the previous subsection shows, the concept of the business model in the digital revolution decade is increasingly connected to the concepts of collaboration and network and is based on new forms of value conceptualization. In this context, the strategy of value sharing captures the need to address new forms of capital (financial, human, intellectual, relational, and social) and potential new revenue sources (sharing, peer-to-peer interactions, transparency, trust, and sustainability) (Breuer and L€ udeke-Freund, 2017) to cover the costs and externalities associated with other business model elements and to generate a surplus or value. This strategy looks beyond the traditional focus on firms and finance, encouraging value creation and distribution across the business and social contexts. ...
Purpose
The paper offers a comprehensive understanding of how digital transformation affects business models and how firms operate and compete effectively and successfully in a digital economy.
Design/methodology/approach
The research adopted an abductive approach (Dubois and Gadde, 2002) through constant movement between theory and empirical evidence. A systematic literature review led the first conceptual development and examples of practices from cultural heritage sectors were used in the theorizing process.
Findings
This paper depicts a digital model framework through a set of assumptions about how an organization creates and delivers value in an interconnected way by orchestrating new interactive processes, and providing experience propositions to customers, and about how value is framed in terms of economic, social and cultural outcomes.
Originality/value
The study contributes to the scientific debate by discussing the role of digital business models as enhancements more rather than replacements of traditional business models; it frames a digital business model as consisting of three main pillars: value orchestration, experience propositions and value sharing.
... Waste collectors, R&D institutes, universities, designers, manufacturers, distributors, marketers, and industry representatives orientation serves as a guidepost for the stakeholders involved in the BM. Taking into consideration the multiplicity of potential values that can be created, partners should define common ground by aligning expectations of value outcomes (Dahan et al., 2010;Oskam et al., 2020;Rohrbeck et al., 2013) and sustainability orientation allows partners to align these expectations (Breuer and Lüdeke-Freund, 2017). Therefore, we associate sustainability orientation with the principle Partners have aligned expectations of value outcomes (C3). ...
... The motivation for this guideline is to align the expectations of the value outcomes (Dahan et al., 2010;Oskam et al., 2020;Rohrbeck et al., 2013). Values are desired beliefs and attitudes (Breuer and Lüdeke-Freund, 2017), and individuals' values influence their normative behavior (Roccas and Sagiv, 2010). In other words, values influence an individual's expectations. ...
Our current take-make-dispose economic model faces a vital challenge as it extracts resources from the natural environment at faster rates than that the natural environment can replenish. A circular economy where businesses lower their negative impact on the natural environment by transitioning towards recycling business models (RBMs), one of the four principles of circularity, is suggested as a promising solution. For a RBM to become viable, collaboration among several stakeholders and across several industries is required. In addition, the RBM should be scalable to make a positive impact. Hence, developing RBMs is complex as organizations need to consider multiple principles imposed by the recycling, collaborative, and scalability dimensions of these business models (BMs). In addition, these principles often remain general and not actionable to the practitioners. Therefore, in this study, we researched the practical guidelines for viable RBMs that are also collaborative and scalable. The empirical setting is the reuse of textile fibers to develop biocomposite products. We studied three cases using a research-through-design approach. We contribute to the literature on RBMs by showing the six minimum practical guidelines for recyclability, collaboration, and scalability. We draw implications for within sector collaborations and advance the thought that lease constructs challenge the scalability of RBM.
... Psychologically enhanced innovation theories and empirical investigations of 'values-based business model innovation' (e.g. Breuer and Lüdeke-Freund, 2017) or the development of new reference frames for 'sustainability-oriented business models' (e.g. Dentchev et al., 2018) serve as examples. ...
... While Etzion (2020) and Glinik et al. (2021), in simple terms, study how sustainability becomes a part of business models, Urmetzer (2021) attempts to understand how business models can help diffuse sustainability values throughout the wider innovation systems in which business models are embedded. Both perspectives are highly complementary and indicate a new field of study, namely values-based business models (Breuer and Lüdeke-Freund, 2017). With a view to the future, Urmetzer (2021) concludes that more in-depth insights about diffusion mechanisms and patterns of values are needed, and how these reconfigure leading paradigms at the regime and systems levels. ...
Purpose: We illustrate how cross-disciplinarity in business model research (multi-, inter-and transdisciplinarity) can help scholars overcome silo-building and span disciplinary boundaries. The seven articles contained in the special issue 'Fostering Cross-Disciplinarity in Business Model Research' are summarised, and the authors' perspectives on the phenomena studied as well as the theories and methods adopted are portrayed.
Methodology: We provide literature-based definitions of cross-disciplinary research modes and discuss their potential for business model research informed by insights from the seven special issue articles.
Findings: There is much variety regarding the theories applied in business model research. These include design, imprinting , information asymmetry, paradox theories and many more. This variety illustrates that traditional domains, such as organisation, management and entrepreneurship studies, can be extended in creative ways, and hence can be equipped to deal with emerging and complex issues such as sustainability, circular economy, data management and base-of-the-pyramid entrepreneurship. Interdisciplinarity seems to be well developed regarding the use of theories, but more must follow in terms of research methods and collaboration formats.
Research Implications and Limitations: The common understanding of the potential and importance of cross-disci-plinarity can be considered the major implication of this special issue. Beyond this, further critical reflection is required. Important questions remain open, primarily regarding research methods and collaboration formats. This editorial article reflects the perspectives of both the guest editors and the authors in this special issue. The presented understandings of cross-disciplinary business model research and implications for its future are of a preliminary nature.
Originality and Value: Business model research is growing rapidly and scholars from various fields contribute to expanding our knowledge. An explicit focus on the potential of multi-, inter-and transdisciplinary research approaches is missing so far.
... At first sight, a unifying thread may be difficult to discern-yet we note as distinctive an increased recognition that value is a perception (e.g., value is positive if "the perceived effort is less than the perceived result"; M. Jablonski, 2018, p. 3122) or value is "the perception by a human (or non-human) actor of a 'fundamental need' (Max-Neef et al., 1991, p. 8)" (Upward & Jones, 2016, p. 105). Furthermore, perception is also an underlying key theme when expressed indirectly, by reference to judgments that are based on perception (Bocken et al., 2015;Laasch, 2018), to beliefs as motivational forces shaping perception (Breuer & Lüdeke-Freund, 2017) or to satisfaction from benefits, which is also an intentional form of perception (Morioka et al., 2017). We infer from these examples that value in SBMs is a perception of something desirable in relation to addressing different needs, interests or wants. ...
Although the concept of value is central to sustainable business models (SBMs), the field has struggled to clarify what value is. SBM research accounts for multiple forms of value directed at multiple stakeholders. We argue that this diversity challenge should be addressed not by seeking a field-unifying definition of value but by developing methodological guidelines for a field-specific approach to defining value in SBM contexts. Based on Aristotelian logic and philosophical phenomenology of value, we develop an analytical framework that can be used for generating good definitions of value. We use this framework to explore approaches to value in extant SBM literature, highlight problematic patterns in applications of this concept, and suggest ways to avoid these patterns. The result is a guide to assist SBM researchers in exploring and defining value, and in applying their definitions consistently in theory building efforts.
... First, collaboration requires that commitment is established and interests are aligned, and that actions are adjusted across the collaborating parties in order to sustain alignment and promote mutual learning on how operations can be harmonised (Gulati et al., 2012;Heikkilä and Heikkilä, 2013). Second, collaboration must be driven by intrinsic motivation and caring trust between the collaborators (Miles et al., 2005), to an important extent based on shared values (Breuer and Lüdeke-Freund, 2017) that support alignment and mitigate the detrimental effects of wicked problems (Rittel and Webber, 1973). Third, collaboration must be subjected to governance structures that strike a balance of what is needed in terms of integration and formalisation in order to maintain consensus on decision making, while at the same time allowing the potential inclusion of relevant stakeholders that might contribute to the dynamics and development of collaboration (Todeva and Knoke, 2005;Vangen et al., 2015). ...
... Seen from the ordonomic perspective, the government failure is both a governance challenge-and a governance opportunity to promote sustainability via creating incentive schemes that work around deficient conditions in the institutional framework of markets. Adding to and expanding on the remarkable work by e. g., Breuer and Lüdeke-Freund (2017) and Velter et al. (2020) who highlight the internalization of negative externalities through SBMI, we argue for a change in perspective by perceiving the SBMI less as an internalization instrument but more as the 'creation machine' of positive externalities that calls for an even stronger pro-active, entrepreneurial approach to innovation as a source for value creation and even value capture. (b) In a seminal contribution to the applied literature on business ethics, Boatright (1999) proposed to substitute the prevalent "moral manager model" by a "moral market model". ...
This paper develops an ordonomic approach to the governance of sustainable business model innovation (SBMI). We clarify the distinctive roles of optimization and governance for the management of sustainable value networks and develop a sustainability cube as a new management tool for the governance of SBMI. Our cube helps management to identify and overcome social dilemmas within value networks, i.e. to form and reform relevant business relationships, thus creating and tapping second-order win-win-win potentials. Furthermore, our cube encourages management to interpret negative externality problems as "missing markets", i.e. as an entrepre-neurial challenge and as a business opportunity to serve as yet unmet needs. Finally, our cube offers an avenue to develop and strengthen the specific management competencies that foster a successful governance of SBMI.
... Their relationships with a focal business are seen as deeper than a transaction-oriented one since they aim for joint value creation (Freeman, 2010), especially when the company and its stakeholders have underlying shared values (Breuer & Lüdeke-Freund, 2017). ...
This chapter contributes to the circular entrepreneurship literature regarding the empirical analysis of the stakeholder engagement mechanisms between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their key stakeholders. The context of analysis is circular entrepreneurship, consisting in the processes of formation and exploitation of opportunities to address key environmental challenges and requiring firms to establish close relationships with a series of stakeholders to narrow, slow, and close the resource loops. Through a multiple case study methodology involving four Finnish circular SMEs and their key stakeholders, this chapter investigates how firms engage their stakeholders, and which are the underlying key stakeholder engagement mechanisms leading to value creation. We summarize our findings in a conceptual framework of stakeholder engagement mechanisms in circular entrepreneurship, reflect upon the limits and challenges that stakeholder engagement may have in fostering value creation and circular practices, and suggest avenues for further research.
... First, collaboration requires that commitment is established and interests are aligned, and that actions are adjusted across the collaborating parties in order to sustain alignment and promote mutual learning on how operations can be harmonised (Gulati et al., 2012;Heikkilä and Heikkilä, 2013). Second, collaboration must be driven by intrinsic motivation and caring trust between the collaborators (Miles et al., 2005), to an important extent based on shared values (Breuer and Lüdeke-Freund, 2017) that support alignment and mitigate the detrimental effects of wicked problems (Rittel and Webber, 1973). Third, collaboration must be subjected to governance structures that strike a balance of what is needed in terms of integration and formalisation in order to maintain consensus on decision making, while at the same time allowing the potential inclusion of relevant stakeholders that might contribute to the dynamics and development of collaboration (Todeva and Knoke, 2005;Vangen et al., 2015). ...
... Ces logiques permettent alors de réfléchir à leurs contributions et les bénéfices qu'elles retirent de la participation. Premièrement, les parties prenantes s'engagent, coopèrent et créent des relations avec l'organisation sur la base d'objectifs communs qui motivent la création de valeur (Freeman et al. 2010 ;Breuer et Lüdeke-Freund 2017). Deuxièmement, les parties prenantes tissent des relations qui vont au-delà de simples transactions (Freeman 2010). ...
A business model analysis through the work integration in not for profit enterprises. The “Délos Apei 78” case study
This case study proposes an analysis of Work Integration in not for profit Enterprises (ESAT in French) business model in order to broaden students’ understanding of Social and Solidarity Economy. Following a presentation of the Social and Solidarity Economy framework, the characteristics of hybrid organizations which pursue a goal of social utility while carrying out commercial and competitive activities is exemplified through a practical case : ESAT Délos Apei 78.The analysis of the context in which such organizations operate and the understanding of the hybrid nature of ESAT then allow to induce a review of the Business Model Canvas research literature, enabling students to better understand its relevance and application. A pedagogical aide offering staged animation scenarios completes the case study.
... Further, a cross-pollination with the market-shaping literature (e.g., Nenonen et al., 2019;Baker et al., 2019), and especially the work on market-shaping for social change (Kullak et al., 2022) and the shaping of sustainable markets (Ottosson et al., 2020) could inform strategic thought on addressing wicked problems. More generally, connecting our framework with principles of the circular economy (Geissdoerfer et al., 2017;Kirchherr et al., 2017), sustainable business model research (Breuer and Lüdeke-Freund, 2017;Ritala et al., 2018;Bocken et al., 2013), and social entrepreneurship (Sullivan Mort et al., 2003;Peredo and McLean, 2006) has great potential to redefine economic models and shape managerial mindsets toward a new way of thinking. The circular economy and sustainable business models offer advanced concepts of value cocreation beyond economic growth, promoting a balanced triple-bottom-line of environmental stewardship, social progress, and economic viability. ...
Purpose
Wicked problems require holistic and systemic thinking that accommodates interdisciplinary solutions and cross-sectoral collaborations between private and public sectors. This paper explores how public relations (PR) – as a boundary-spanning function at the nexus of corporate and political discourse – can support societies to tackle wicked problems.
Design/methodology/approach
This conceptual paper synthesizes literature on PR with a service ecosystem perspective. The authors use the service ecosystem design framework to structure the PR literature and develop a model of service ecosystem shaping for social change, which highlights the important role that PR can play in shaping processes.
Findings
The authors explicate how PR can (1) facilitate value cocreation processes between broad sets of stakeholders that drive positive social change, (2) shape institutional arrangements in general and public discourse in particular, (3) provide a platform for recursive feedback loops of reflexivity and (re)formation that enables discourse to ripple through nested service ecosystems and (4) guide collective shaping efforts by bringing stakeholder concerns and beliefs into the open, which provides a foundation for collective sense-making of wicked problems and their solutions.
Originality/value
This paper explains the complexity of shaping service ecosystems for positive social change. Specifically, it highlights how solving wicked problems and driving social change requires reconfiguration of the institutional arrangements that guide various nested service ecosystems. The authors discuss in detail how PR can contribute to the shaping of service ecosystems for social change and present a future research agenda for both service and PR scholars to consider.
... Estudios previos, señalan que las empresas con una sólida red de contactos están en mejor posición para acceder a nuevas ideas e identificar mejores oportunidades de crecimiento (Anwar y Ali Shah, 2018;Kijkuit y Van den Ende, 2007). Por ejemplo, la relación de los gerentes de empresas de nueva creación con gerentes de empresas ya establecidas y maduras, puede ayudar a los primeros a tener mejor acceso a recursos, adquirir nueva información, nuevos conocimientos y lo acercan a nuevas redes Fliaster y Spiess, 2008) lo que influye en la innovación de la empresa (Breuer y Lüdeke-Freund, 2017). Es así que, incluso a través de actividades de redes externas con socios de la industria, las personas llegan a conocer de nuevas tecnologías que pueden ser relevantes para sus propias organizaciones (Covin et al. 2016). ...
Influencia del contexto en el proceso emprendedor y el desempeño innovador de las empresas creadas y dirigidas por mujeres en Ecuador
... Breuer and Lüdeke-Freund (2017) [48] went as far as to suggest that the stakeholders' values should drive the design and decisions of BMs. ...
In the last decade, individual awareness of the impacts generated by the activities of businesses has increased more than ever. Consumers, employees and investors have begun to criticize business behaviors that negatively affect either society or the environment. Given this context, and relying on the literature relating to hybrid organizations and sustainable business models, our research aims to investigate how dual logic affects the business model of benefit corporations in the Italian film production industry. To capture the complexity of this type of firm, we adopted a qualitative research method, the case study approach. The case selected was ARE FILMS srl, a creative film production company. It has been a benefit corporation since it was founded. The study suggests that the capacity of hybrid businesses to achieve a hybrid mission is intrinsically embedded in their business model. A young film production benefit corporation is more likely to adopt a semi-integrated business model that does not create an external perception of dual corporate identity and does not affect economic sustainability. Moreover, the sustainable value proposition emerges even without the formal application of accepted protocols. Furthermore, we realized that the size of the firm affects business modelling. Finally, this research underlines the fact that benefit corporations do not require external pressure to implement sustainable practices.
... Firms engaging in sustainability-oriented exploration additionally need to shield the universalism-based sustainability values (often driven by intrinsically motivated individuals) from the more conventional security values and related business rationale. This is crucial-and needs to be assured over relatively longer periods of timebecause additional complexity, uncertainties, and related risks come into play in radical sustainability innovation (Kennedy et al., 2017); for instance, the difficulty in finding partners with similar values (Breuer and Lüdeke-Freund, 2017a), the directional risk linked to the ultimate sustainability impact of the developed technology (Hansen et al., 2009), and the problem that sustainable technologies are usually in disadvantage over their conventional counterparts (Rennings, 2000). ...
Sustainability is a key societal challenge and has become an opportunity for innovation. While start-ups are prone to enter such new territories, established companies are more hesitant to leave current trajectories and embrace uncertainty linked to sustainability-oriented exploration. We present a case of a conventional high-tech firm of an owner-manager whose strong values of universalism led him to initialize a sustainability-oriented diversification by exploring renewable energy technologies. Our longitudinal study uncovers how changes in ambidextrous organizational design and represented managerial values ultimately resulted in failed exploration. Our contribution is threefold: First, we link individual-level managerial values of universalism with organizational-level phenomena of sustainability-oriented exploration and diversification. Second, we contribute to bridging hitherto mostly separate bodies of literature on sustainability-oriented innovation and ambidexterity to better understand how conventional firms can deploy their technological capabilities for sustainability. Third, we conceptualize the "separation drift" as fading organizational separation resulting in exploration failure.
... Suggested by stakeholder theory, the operating strategy of firm may be influenced by individuals or groups, which is regarded as a significant relationship for achieving sustainable development (Freeman, 2010;Freudenreich et al., 2020). These stakeholders from different sources share common values with firm and provide assistance, which helps the firm achieve environmental goals and improve efficiency (Breuer & Lüdeke-Freund, 2017). From the perspective of this theory, stakeholders can be divided into external and internal stakeholders. ...
Despite the increasing awareness in perceived institutional force, whether and how it affects firm performance has not been confirmed. According to stakeholder theory, this article explores how perceived institutional force influences different types of firm performance via employee green involvement, as well as the moderating role of flexibility‐oriented culture. We collect two round data from 317 Chinese manufacturers to examine the hypotheses. The findings manifest that both perceived business and social force promote employee green involvement. Employee green involvement partially mediates the effect of perceived business force on financial performance, while fully mediates the effect of perceived business force on environmental performance. Additionally, employee green involvement partially mediates the effects of perceived social force on financial and environmental performance. Our research also indicates that flexibility‐oriented culture positively moderates the impacts of perceived business and social force on employee green involvement. This research enriches the institutional force literature by verifying how and under what conditions it impacts firm performance.
... Much attention has been paid to sustainable business models from a firm-centric viewpoint (Neumeyer & Santos, 2018). Several business model scholars have pointed out the need to take on a systems perspective and develop business models from a perspective beyond the single organization (Breuer & Lüdeke-Freund, 2017;Rohrbeck, Konnertz, & Knab, 2013;Starik, Stubbs, & Benn, 2016;Stubbs & Cocklin, 2008;Upward & Jones, 2016). However, the overall systemic change, which is needed for a sustainability transition, is not yet integrated (Diepenmaat, Kemp, & Velter, 2020). ...
To realise sustainability transitions, firms need to collaborate in networks and carry out system-changing activities. In this way, they pro-actively build a more sustainable system and change the environment in which they operate. This in turn will help them to market their own sustainable product or service. Partners in a network can co-develop a ‘networked business model’, which takes on a systemic perspective and helps them to align their sustainability efforts. This latter model comprises transition goals, system-building activities, system resources, benefits created for stakeholders and costs to the network. The networked business model feeds into each network member’s individual firm-centric business model and vice versa. The business models at the firm level and the system level are interconnected and mutually influence one another.
... At first sight, a unifying thread may be difficult to discern-yet we note as distinctive an increased recognition that value is a perception (e.g., value is positive if "the perceived effort is less than the perceived result"; M. Jablonski, 2018, p. 3122) or value is "the perception by a human (or non-human) actor of a 'fundamental need' (Max-Neef et al., 1991, p. 8)" (Upward & Jones, 2016, p. 105). Furthermore, perception is also an underlying key theme when expressed indirectly, by reference to judgments that are based on perception (Bocken et al., 2015;Laasch, 2018), to beliefs as motivational forces shaping perception (Breuer & Lüdeke-Freund, 2017) or to satisfaction from benefits, which is also an intentional form of perception (Morioka et al., 2017). We infer from these examples that value in SBMs is a perception of something desirable in relation to addressing different needs, interests or wants. ...
... SMEs require external stakeholders to act as substitutes for key internal agents when there is a lack of knowledge regarding sustainability issues or where there is the need to develop innovative product, processes, organizational features, and business models (Breuer & Lüdeke-Freund, 2017;Journeault et al., 2021). In their work, Journeault et al. (2021) clarify that in an SME sustainabilityoriented network, the presence of different stakeholders "performing different transversal and complementary roles can represent an effective framework for providing more tailored solutions to the specific needs of different SMEs" (p. ...
The global economy's transition toward more sustainable development models is undoubtedly grounded on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). However, SMEs, individual entrepreneurs, and microenterprises have always encountered barriers to implementing social responsibility and sustainability concepts. The paper investigates the enabling role of formalized corporate networks to drive SMEs toward sustainable behaviors. A quantitative nonlinear regression approach is applied to a content analysis of a sample of network contracts coded. The content analysis is applied to analyze the declared objectives, the purpose of the contract, and sustainability areas. An ordered logistic regression is applied on variables related to the behavior of SMEs before entering in the contract and post-adhesion phases. Data demonstrates how networks of SMEs can be used as enabling factors to boost sustainability among them. Specifically, the study is based on a sample of 96 formalized network contracts (FNCs), including 1486 Italian SMEs in that sustainability-oriented networks. It offers an evidence-based perspective on how networks of companies can play a fundamental role in the development of policies aimed at bringing small companies closer to the concept of sustainability (such as eco-innovations, eco-efficiency, environmental performance, and social innovations, among others) and its practical implementation. This paper has two significant strengths. The first is that it uses as a sample a set of 1486 companies, including individual entrepreneurs and microenterprises, whose data are usually difficult to collect. The second is that it demonstrates the efficacy of a contractual form that could be scalable to different countries.
... That a focus on values can be a mechanism for the discovery and implementation of new opportunities is a critical insight for both scholars and practitioners interested in some of the world's grand challenges. Values-based innovation has been named as a way to address urgent social problems such as climate change and global health (e.g., George et al. 2016, Breuer andLüdeke-Freund 2017), leading scholars to consider how organizations might improve the broader social world (see Howard-Grenville et al. 2019). This effort requires a recognition of the potential benefits and limitations inherent in extant ways of organizing. ...
We examine how entrepreneurs might build a viable, values-driven niche. Extant templates for niche creation typically employed in moral markets depend on instrumentally rational logics that privilege economic ends such as profitability and efficiency. Entrepreneurs seeking to construct a nascent niche whose purpose and objectives include the amelioration of social ills, however, may find such templates inadequate. Using the emergence of the U.S. bean-to-bar chocolate niche, through which entrepreneurs attempt to address the social and environmental shortcomings of conventional chocolate production, we demonstrate that constructing an alternative model for niche creation is feasible. Most bean-to-bar entrepreneurs deliberately opted out of extant private regulation initiatives, developing instead alternative encompassing, values-driven sourcing and cooperative relationships, which we term collaborative governance. This is enacted throughout the niche by promoting shared values, best practices, and transparency and is supported by strategic meaning-making work to cultivate customers. Together, these three values-driven strategies form a novel template of niche creation based not on cognitive repositioning or exploiting exogenous change within existing structures and institutions, but on a reconceptualization of how markets might work to support the implementation of nonmarket goals. Based on our mixed-methods analysis, we find that, instead of hoping to accomplish nonmarket goals through established market structures, entrepreneurs built a niche centered on the achievement of specific social goals. Our findings suggest that to understand the strategies supporting emergent socially oriented markets, researchers must explore the intersections of values, entrepreneurial motivations, and operational complexities.
... Through entrepreneur's skills, start-up firms gain information, financial resources, knowledge and increasing support/partnership from start-up support organizations. Access to new information, resources and knowledge will affect enterprise innovation (see Breuer and Ldeke-Freund [8]). To implement BMI, start-up firms certainly require financial capital (see Anwar and Ali Shah [2]). ...
Keywords Abstract. Access to start-up resources Business model innovation Entrepreneurial skills Managerial skills Based on human capital theory, this study aims to explain start-up resources formation and business model innovation. The study examined the effect of entrepreneur's human capital (including managerial skills and entrepreneurial skills) on business model innovation via access to start-up resources as a mediator. The Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was conducted with the size sample of 220 founders/ co-founders of start-up firms in Vietnam. The research results supported the positive links from managerial skills and entrepreneurial skills to business model innovation through the mediating mechanism of access to start-up resources. The study explored the meditation role of access to start-up resources between entrepreneur's human capital and business model innovation. In addition, the results provide practical value to entrepreneurs in improving managerial skills and entrepreneurial skills in order to facilitate the access to outside support resources and promote business model innovation. Finally, the study suggests some managerial implications for entrepreneurs, research limitations and further research directions.
... Besides the previous research propositions, the authors recommend that the stakeholder model be used as a guideline for understanding the process by which stakeholders cooperate in tourism destinations [33,34]. From this, a number of future studies could be conducted by which stakeholders in tourism destinations are surveyed with a goal of understanding how each of the stakeholders view the other stakeholders. ...
This paper combines game theory with Land Ethics to demonstrate a path forward for sustainable development. Our findings indicate that two likely equilibria can be reached. One equilibrium focuses on high short-term profits, but with ecological damage leading to less cumulative profits. The second equilibrium requires ecological maintenance costs (thus less short-term profits) yet yields greater cumulative profits. The comparison of the two equilibria and using the historical perspective of the Wisconsin Dells demonstrates how communities that embrace a Land Ethic can reach the equilibrium that produces greater long-term benefits.
Purpose
This study aims to empirically examine the relationships among perceived environmental uncertainty (EV), the level of knowledge distance (KD) and the impact of value network on firm performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The quantitative analysis is based on data from 243 Chinese companies with engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) business in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Findings
The two dimensions of value network [network centrality (NC) and network openness (NO)] have a different impact on firm performance [financial performance (FP) and market performance (MP)]. NC has a positive impact on FP, but not on MP. NO has a positive effect on MP, but not on FP. A reduced KD mediates the relationship between value network and firm performance. Moreover, it fully mediates the relationship between NC and MP, NO and FP. Finally, during the COVID-19 pandemic, only EV has a moderating effect on KD and MP.
Research limitations/implications
This study is limited in terms of data set because it relies on a limited amount of cross-sectional data from one specific country. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the proposed propositions further.
Practical implications
The present findings suggest that EPC professionals should pay more attention to the EV, which may be impacted by policy, technology and the economy. This research has actionable implications for the reform of EPC in the construction industry, and practical recommendations for EPC firms to improve their corporate performance.
Originality/value
The results measure the complementary effects of both dimensions of value network (NC and NO) on two distinct aspects of firm performance (MP and FP) and assess the moderating effect of EV and KD in the context of the COVID-19 pandemics.
The profound socioeconomic transformations implied by degrowth concern the way organisations create value. However, there are conceptual gaps regarding the forms and meanings of organisational value creation that are aligned with degrowth. Against this background, an integrative and systematic literature review of case studies of degrowth-oriented, respectively post-growth-oriented, organisations has been conducted. The identified literature has been analysed using the new concept of 'organisational value creation patterns'. Based on this concept, value is created for (and with) stakeholders when problems are solved through organisational activities. The result is a compilation of thirty-nine degrowth-oriented patterns of organisational value creation, structured into seven thematic groups. From these, seven theoretical propositions on what it means to engage in degrowth-oriented organisational value creation were derived. Finally, it is discussed how these findings can inspire organisational transformation and future theory development.
Many studies in traditional business model (BM) literature acknowledge that it is hard for incumbent firms to change their business models, a finding echoed in the business model innovation for sustainability (BMIfS) literature. Large incumbent firms often lack or have weak capabilities needed for sustainability-driven business model innovation. This paper addresses how capabilities for such innovation evolve in large incumbent firms. The research builds on a longitudinal case study in the energy utility industry, and on two theoretical frameworks advanced in previous literature: values-based business model innovation, and capability lifecycles. We conceptually propose a stage-based maturity model of BMIfS. Our model highlights three types of research contributions. First, we propose that the capability development underpinning BMIfS is a nonlinear process of distinct maturity stages. Second, the maturity stages have intermediate transformation junctures that the firm must go through. These junctures either change or initiate the conditions for capability development to be able to advance to the next BMIfS maturity level. Third, the shift in societal, regulatory, competitor, and customer expectations and interests triggers strategic decisions and early development of capabilities that start and push the firm into the transformation junctures.
Values-based management and evidence-based innovation management both improve a company’s innovation performance. However, there are no systematic studies of how combining values-based and evidence-based innovation management influences the innovation culture in mid-sized B2B companies. In this exploratory case study, we describe how a longitudinal analysis of innovation culture and a values-based initiative were combined in a 7-step approach, which was applied in a global mid-sized B2B manufacturer of drug-delivery systems and pharmaceutical components over a three-year period. The results of the longitudinal innovation culture survey and the analysis of front-end innovation key performance indicators provided insight into the positive impact of new normative company values on the organisation’s innovation culture as well as on the effectiveness of the idea generation process. The exploratory case study demonstrates how a customised combination of values-based and evidence-based innovation management elements can systematically strengthen an organisation’s innovation culture and the effectiveness of its idea generation process.
Increasing pressures resulting from global environmental and societal changes urge cities to adapt their infrastructures. Strategic planning in local governments and utilities has to anticipate these challenges and translate them into innovation and investment strategies. In this setting, a multitude of actors, their interests, and value orientations have to be considered in decision-making. Else, innovation projects are likely to meet resistance and fail. We outline how business model thinking can help navigate the roles and interests of a variety of stakeholders in nature-based infrastructure implementation. This leads to proposing the tool of 'Infrastructure Transition Canvas' (ITC), which draws on insights from business model innovation, and its recent uptake by transition scholars. Potential benefits of applying the ITC are illustrated by the case of urban stormwater management in Germany. We discuss how the ITC may support complex investment decisions, and pave the way to sustainable urban infrastructure transitions.
To foster sustainable development, transition to circular economy should happen globally. Lately, however, the implementation of circular solutions has been particularly slow in the developing countries where these solutions could bring about particularly positive changes. A successful circular solution couples technical functionality with business model relevance. In developing countries, the implementation of circular solutions reveals sustainability tensions that originate in resource scarcity, institutional voids, and market affordability. We have studied implementation of circular solutions that small companies operating in these conditions have developed. The systematic analysis of 79 cases shows how sustainability tensions influence on companies' everyday business conduct and their long‐term strategic orientation toward circular economy. We have also identified commonly applied business model features that allow companies to cope with the sustainability tensions. These features include: (1) locally tailored value proposition, (2) collective action approach in value creation, and (3) creativity in value capture. Ultimately, locally functional, embedded, and widely accepted circular solutions have potential to facilitate wider socio‐technical transitions toward more sustainable business practices.
Introdução/Problematização: o desenvolvimento global impulsionou o mundo para uma nova era de comércio internacional. Empresas multinacionais tornam-se cada vez mais robustas e presentes na economia internacional, fazendo com que os países enfrentem desafios para desenvolver a sua economia e desenvolver as indústrias nacionais. A inovação aparece, assim, como uma possível resposta a estes desafios, proporcionando vias alternativas para o desenvolvimento e recuperação de indústrias e empresas.
Objetivo/proposta: a presente investigação procura analisar um compilado de casos de estudo, in loco, pertinentes, que demonstram como países e empresas utilizaram métodos e ferramentas de inovação para tornarem-se mais competitivos frente aos desafios da economia global. Foram também apresentadas as estruturas e métodos de inovação disponíveis no mundo moderno, as suas aplicações e como ajudaram os países e empresas apresentados a alcançar a competitividade global.
Procedimentos Metodológicos: foi utilizada a metodologia de revisão de literatura. Para tal, foram selecionados oito casos de estudo in loco pertinentes, nos quais países e empresas aplicaram estruturas e metodologias de inovação frente a desafios criados pela globalização e competitividade global.
Principais Resultados: Foram identificadas diversas estruturas de inovação, nomeadamente a inovação em rede, em estrutura, aberta, de processo e modelo de lucro. Além disso, foram apresentadas também uma série de ferramentas e frameworks, incluindo o ágil, design thinking, lean start-up, entre outras. Nos casos apresentados, países e empresas adotaram estas estruturas e ferramentas de diversas formas, obtendo resultados positivos quanto a sua competitividade global e desenvolvimento interno.
Considerações Finais/Conclusão: através dos casos apresentados foi possível perceber que a inovação é uma resposta robusta aos desafios da globalização. Em todos os casos, as estruturas e metodologias adotadas levaram ao desenvolvimento de indústrias locais e externas ou aumento da competitividade e criação de vias alternativas através das quais países e empresas puderam manter ou desenvolver vantagens competitivas frente à presença de multinacionais.
Contribuições do Trabalho: os efeitos da globalização são amplamente discutidos em diversos viéses, como político, económico e social. Esta investigação procurou analisar uma possível resposta para a questão "o que se fazer para manter a competitividade num mundo globalizado?". Apesar de limitado pelo seu escopo, o estudo apresenta uma robusta compilação de estruturas, métodos e as suas aplicações, com exemplos práticos através da análise de casos de estudo. Palavras-chave: inovação, globalização, competitividade global Página 470
This paper explores how competences are developed for values-based innovation. We conduct action research to develop a values-based network–an ecosystemic project; we propose a Values-Based Innovation Competence Model (VBIC). Based on values-based innovation, innovation pedagogy and activity theory, the model presents the process of developing competences based on a system of activities with prerequisites, triggering factors and an expansive learning cycle. We discovered three additional competences that lead to the development of a values network: sensemaking, forecasting, and the meta-competence of orchestration. We also found that competences develop over time, with a hierarchical relationship between them. This model aims to help universities educate their students and organisations to facilitate values-based innovation.
This paper contributes to a growing body of literature on values-based approaches to innovation. In particular, we explore the role that core values should have in radical innovation processes and in guiding the ability of organisations in learning and unlearning, i.e., identifying and developing abilities and competences coherent with the values of the organisation. First, the paper provides a conceptual explanation: it clarifies and highlights the characteristics and implications that core values should have when considered within a radical innovation approach, in particular their ability to be embodied in design objects (meaningful to internal individuals and external customers), and their ability to be open to contingency, deriving their strength from their ability to evolve and be reinterpreted. Secondly, based on this, we put forward a design-driven and interpretation-based facilitation method to support organisations in making sense of their past and future core values and illustrate this method by positioning it when compared with other existing methods. An overview of the outputs of the method and their knowledge value for the organisation together with an illustration conclude the paper.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of a bibliometric analysis of the evolution and structure of business model research in industrial marketing scholarship during the period between 2011 and 2020 and to discuss potential directions for future empirical research.
Design/methodology/approach
Bibliometric methodologies are deployed to objectively evaluate the business model research that has made the most impact within industrial marketing scholarship as well as the prominent scholars and key topics driving the discipline at points in time.
Findings
The findings demonstrate the formative but increasing engagement that industrial marketing scholarship has had with business model literature and the limited but increasing degree that business models have influenced industrial marketing literature. Potential directions for the empirical development of business model literature are argued to lie in the areas of collaboration and coopetition by examining the notion of value within the relationships, interactions and/or networks evidenced in European seaports business models.
Research limitations/implications
Bibliometric analysis is retrospective in nature so developments in the literature appear only after some time has elapsed. Different keyword selection when formulating search strings for sampling may have brought some deviations in the analysis.
Originality/value
Research that investigates the link between business models and industrial marketing is still scarce. This paper is among the few that analyze objectively the evolution and structure of business model literature in industrial marketing scholarship from a longitudinal perspective with a particular emphasis on the period between 2011 and 2020.
Although digital technology offers many sustainable business model opportunities, they are not always exploited. We argue that the framing of technology is still rarely considered a cognitive antecedent of business models for sustainability, despite that it offers insightful explanations, connecting technology's sustainability potential to its business model implementations. We conduct a qualitative multicase study of virtual power plants, adopted by seven incumbent companies in the German energy sector, and explore how they frame innovative digital technology, as well as how it affects their value propositions and the energy transition. Our research reveals several value proposition differences between two company groups. The first generates a single‐focused technological frame, concentrating on economic value. The second constructs a twofold digital and sustainable technological frame, resulting in additional socioenvironmental value components. Overall, companies that create a twofold frame operate as renewable energy enablers or system supporters and contribute to the energy transition.
When modeling real-world activities involving social, economic, and technical aspects, conceptual modeling is a necessary prerequisite to set the stage and define the system boundaries. This can become a very difficult task, however, especially when all the relevant actors, shareholders, and stakeholders together with their intrinsic and extrinsic motivations are not known. One of the methodological challenges in this is to provide a unified framework for collecting as many relevant perspectives and pieces of information as possible for creating a fully comprehensive representation that is both insightful and readily understood. Another challenge is to transform these findings into standardized and re-usable information which can serve as input for other modeling tools downstream in the tool chain. In this chapter, we will present both a methodology based on value networks and a modeling tool (EcoViz), which is intended to address these issues and can also be used directly before the typical conceptual modeling starts in the course of a “pre-conceptual phase.” We will also show how the identified interactions can be used for an insightful qualitative analysis and exploration of socio-technical ecosystems. To demonstrate how and where EcoViz can be applied, we will show four real-world cases from different domains.KeywordsModelingConceptual modelingPre-conceptual modelingSocio-technical systemBusiness ecosystemEcosystem analysis and designModeling tool
The textile industry is faced with many problems today. In addition to having to meet cus-tomers' changing preferences and expectations, who wish to stay abreast of fashion trends and stand out from the crowd, it also needs to make efforts to change its image of one the biggest polluters in the world it has earned due to production processes consuming large amounts of resources that end up as piles of household waste. The circular economy (CE) model to reduce the environmental footprint seems to be the right solution for textile companies implementing sustainable development strategies. This paper discusses the principles of the CE model and makes an attempt at explaining how textile companies transition to it. It is based on the analysis of 34 textile companies sampled from among the members of the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform, which was conducted using a special analytical checklist compiled from the ReSOLVE and BECE frameworks. Because of the proportions and degree of integration between strategic and operational practices they used to achieve circularity, they were divided into integrated, hybrid, and selective organisations.
How can new digital product development teams prototype new digital products without writing a line of code or spending a dime on software development to learn what customers love? We present Preto Vids, a digital and practical, research-based method for structured, evidence-based prototyping. This new prototyping technique is genuinely relevant for showcasing digital media's role in design-as-performance in concept development. Preliminary research has indicated that traditional prototyping methods do not provide an agile heuristic for digital product development teams. Furthermore, a critical examination of the prototyping approaches reveals uncharted territory regarding prototyping as an agile product development methodology. In the context of new product development, Preto Vids reduces many risks of building full digital projects, saves time, and affords easier value proposition communication and sharing and learning. In 5-7 steps, design teams can perform an iterative process to develop new product concepts without spending a penny on software development or writing a single code line.
Una de las tenciones en la construcción de una sociedad justa, solidaria e inclusiva se deriva del compromiso de no comprometer el futuro de las próximas generaciones. La razón para que esto sea así, es que existen un conjunto de contradicciones entre la formulación y ejecución de las políticas públicas territoriales y la sustentabilidad dando lugar a transformaciones sociales. Bajo este argumento el objetivo del estudio es explorar las implicaciones de la innovación social en las políticas públicas territoriales con enfoque sustentable a partir de la experiencia de dos organizaciones empresariales que operan en Salina Cruz, Oaxaca. Para tal efecto, se diseñó el método de investigación con un enfoque cualitativo se desplegó tanto en la revisión de la literatura y como en la recopilación de los datos. Se concluye que la innovación social al articular proyectos sociales para un desarrollo territorial sostenible con un involucramiento débil del sector público, lo cual no es exclusivo de México, sino de diferentes países de Latinoamérica y el Caribe; por lo que esta investigación brinda herramientas a los tomadores de decisiones y vislumbra nuevos escenarios para investigaciones futuras.
Human values of different stakeholders have been recognized to drive and positively affect innovation efforts. However, too little is known how values-based innovation can be facilitated, which barriers emerge and which challenges persist to turn stakeholder values into action. We need to understand how to establish resilient innovation cultures that reliably create economic, social and environmental benefits. The paper introduces the terminology, theoretical foundations and research design of the European IMPACT project to address these research gaps, and discusses implications for teaching and coaching. It introduces a values-based innovation maturity model and present results from an integrative literature analysis. Results include a comprehensive overview of the values, barriers, and good practices and methods to create values-based innovation cultures. Initial insights show how to facilitate the creation of values-based innovation cultures with a positive impact on societal challenges.
This paper presents a theory of potentially universal aspects in the content of human values. Ten types of values are distinguished by their motivational goals. The theory also postulates a structure of relations among the value types, based on the conflicts and compatibilities experienced when pursuing them. This structure permits one to relate systems of value priorities, as an integrated whole, to other variables. A new values instrument, based on the theory and suitable for cross-cultural research, is described. Evidence relevant for assessing the theory, from 97 samples in 44 countries, is summarized. Relations of this approach to Rokeach's work on values and to other theories and research on value dimensions are discussed. Application of the approach to social issues is exemplified in the domains of politics and intergroup relations.
New business models can make an important contribution to the transition to green growth. While some new business models involve large firms, others are small start-up firms that seek to exploit technological or commercial opportunities that have been neglected or not yet explored by more established firms. New firms tend to engage in more radical innovation than existing firms, and scaling up new business models can therefore help reduce environmental pollution, optimise the use of natural resources, increase productivity and energy efficiency, and provide a new source of economic growth. Although the market for green goods and services is growing, the development of new business models is affected by a range of barriers, many of which can be addressed by well-designed policies. Key areas for policy action include:
Strengthening market demand for green products and services by providing long-term and stable
incentives for firms to internalise the environment and natural resources in their decision making,
including through a well-designed regulatory framework and supportive demand-side policies.
Enhancing access to financing, including risk capital, by supporting market development for risk
financing and the development of entrepreneurial skills.
Removing perverse subsidies support for existing business models and incumbent firms, such as
energy subsidies; reducing the barriers to entry, exit and growth of new firms and business
models; and improving the regulatory environment for start-up firms and new business models.
Reducing the costs of intellectual property rights, in particular for small and start-up firms.
Supporting skills development, including for existing workers.
Supporting R&D and innovation, including testing, demonstration and verification.
Improving governance, to ensure that national and regional policies for green growth are well
aligned.
Every human and every company holds values, but these values remain widely untapped as sources of and drivers for innovation. This book takes a valuesbased view on innovation and its management. It demonstrates the potential of values to integrate diverse stakeholders into innovation processes, to direct collaborative efforts, and to generate innovations that matter – innovations that cater to what we really care about. Historical and current case studies demonstrate how innovation in processes, products, services, business models, and even in whole organisations and networks may be driven and guided by notions of the desirable. Sustainability-orientation and social responsibility, but also values of privacy, safety, equity, or tolerance, qualify as relevant drivers and guidance for innovation within and across organisations. By reframing future scenarios, ethnographic research, and business modelling techniques, powerful methods are described to realise ideals by the means of business.
This paper presents a comprehensive survey on the new and interesting concept of virtual power plant (VPP). The survey covers the virtual power plant definitions, components, and framework and highlights the different techniques that can be used for VPP operation optimization. Finally, a general framework for the operation and the optimization of the virtual power plant is proposed and discussed.
We begin with a critique of the ontological underpinnings of the mainstream business model literature with its origins in design-science and offer instead insights from sociology and organisational institutionalism to argue for a more accurate representation of actual processes of organisational transformation, especially necessary where scholarship is concerned to address societal mission-oriented normative cares beyond the objectives of efficiency and profit maximisation. We propose the foundations of a new theoretical construct: the Normative Business Model (NBM) distinguishing deep institutionalisation as the embedding of values (normative orientations) into the design, practices and identity of organisations. The NBM comprises four cornerstones: (a) normativity, (b) (de)institutionalisation and deep institutionalisation processes, (c) institutional entrepreneurialism and (d) economic and financial governance. A case overview of Arizona State University is used to highlight that the NBM refers to the full range and variety of organisation types, not exclusively businesses.
Business is increasingly employing sustainability practices, aiming to improve environmental and social responsibility while maintaining and improving profitability. For many organizations, profit-oriented business models are a major constraint impeding progress in sustainability. A formally defined ontology, a model definition, for profit-oriented business models has been employed globally for several years. However, no equivalent ontology is available in research or practice that enables the description of strongly sustainable business models, as validated by ecological economics and derived from natural, social, and system sciences. We present a framework of strongly sustainable business model propositions and principles as findings from a transdisciplinary review of the literature. A comparative analysis was performed between the framework and the Osterwalder profit-oriented ontology for business models. We introduce an ontology that enables the description of successful strongly sustainable business models that resolves weaknesses and includes functionally necessary relationships.
Business model innovations are recognised as a key to the creation of sustainable business, but their adoption by firms has been slow. Organisations can only be sustainable when the whole societal system is sustainable. Both structural and cultural changes are required to facilitate firm- and system-level sustainability. The central idea of this paper is to examine how societal transition towards sustainable business models (SBMs) can be achieved. Through a qualitative Delphi study, we assess and categorise the key structural and cultural barriers to sustainable business model innovation (SBMI). By applying the innovation system approach, we explain how to overcome existing barriers by strengthening the functions of the innovation system. We analyse how these barriers can be overcome through the activities of governments, firms, and consumers, and discuss the wider implications of our research for practitioners, policy-makers, and researchers.
The values-based view on innovation focuses on the role of values and normative orientations in triggering and directing innovation within and beyond organisations. This paper presents a theoretical framework in which values, understood as subjective notions of the desirable and criteria for decisions and evaluations, provide heuristic and integrative functions for normative, strategic, and operational innovation management. A central feature of this framework is a new and values-based interpretation of open innovation relationships, for example with external stakeholders. Theoretical notions such as specific values types and their integrative functions within and beyond organisations are developed and discussed with the aid of the illustrative cases of Aravind Eye Care System and the retail company Otto Group. Defining values as a source, lever, and orientation mark for innovation activities brings notions of the desirable from the periphery to the core of organisational value creation and renewal.
While business model innovation has been widely accepted as an innovation category on its own, its problem-solving potential is still unexplored. We argue that business model innovation can be applied beyond single firms, i.e. on the value network level, to find systemic solutions to " wicked " problems. A framework and method for sustainable business model innovation for value networks are proposed: the former building on the concept of normative management, the latter on a " mainstream " business modelling tool. This method was applied and evaluated in a workshop series on regional energy networks in Germany. We review the literature on sustainable business models, provide the theoretical background of normative innovation management, describe the workshops, and reflect on the lessons learned from theory and practice. We conclude that the best starting point for systemic sustainability innovations lies beyond single firms within networks built on shared goals and normative values.
This article presents an overview of the Schwartz theory of basic human values. It discusses the nature of values and spells out the features that are common to all values and what distinguishes one value from another. The theory identifies ten basic personal values that are recognized across cultures and explains where they come from. At the heart of the theory is the idea that values form a circular structure that reflects the motivations each value expresses. This circular structure, that captures the conflicts and compatibility among the ten values is apparently culturally universal. The article elucidates the psychological principles that give rise to it. Next, it presents the two major methods developed to measure the basic values, the Schwartz Value Survey and the Portrait Values Questionnaire. Findings from 82 countries, based on these and other methods, provide evidence for the validity of the theory across cultures. The findings reveal substantial differences in the value priorities of individuals. Surprisingly, however, the average value priorities of most societal groups exhibit a similar hierarchical order whose existence the article explains. The last section of the article clarifies how values differ from other concepts used to explain behavior—attitudes, beliefs, norms, and traits.
Purpose: The main objective of this study is to introduce the concept of managerial innovation and to propose a quantitative methodology to measure the degree of managerial innovation capability by analyzing the evolution of the techniques used for management functions.Design/methodology/approach: The methodology mainly focuses on the different techniques used for each management functions namely; Planning, Organizing, Leading, Controlling and Coordinating. These functions are studied and the different techniques used for them are listed. Since the techniques used for these management functions evolve in time due to technological and social changes, a methodology is required to measure the degree of managerial innovation capability. This competency is measured through an analysis performed to point out which techniques used for each of these functions.Findings: To check the validity and applicability of this methodology, it is implemented to a manufacturing company. Depending on the results of the implementation, enhancements are suggested to the company for each function to survive in the changing managerial conditionsResearch limitations/implications: The primary limitation of this study is the implementation area. Although the study is implemented in just a single manufacturing company, it is welcomed to apply the same methodology to measure the managerial innovation capabilities of other manufacturing companies. Moreover, the model is ready to be adapted to different sectors although it is mainly prepared for manufacturing sector.Originality/value: Although innovation management is widely studied, managerial innovation is a new concept and introduced to measure the capability to challenge the changes occur in managerial functions. As a brief this methodology aims to be a pioneer in the field of managerial innovation regarding the evolution of management functions. Therefore it is expected to lead more studies to inspect the progress of change throughout the history and the future trends.
Purpose – Although business models that deliver sustainability are increasingly popular in the literature, few tools that assist in sustainable business modelling have been identified. This paper investigates how businesses might create balanced social, environmental and economic value through integrating sustainability more fully into the core of their business. A value mapping tool is developed to help firms create value propositions better suited for sustainability. Design/methodology/approach – In addition to a literature review, six sustainable companies were interviewed to understand their approaches to business modelling, using a case study approach. Building on the literature and practice, a tool was developed which was pilot tested through use in a workshop. The resulting improved tool and process was subsequently refined through use in 13 workshops.
The Smart Grid, regarded as the next generation power grid, uses two-way flows of electricity and information to create a widely distributed automated energy delivery network. In this article, we survey the literature till 2011 on the enabling technologies for the Smart Grid. We explore three major systems, namely the smart infrastructure system, the smart management system, and the smart protection system. We also propose possible future directions in each system. colorred{Specifically, for the smart infrastructure system, we explore the smart energy subsystem, the smart information subsystem, and the smart communication subsystem.} For the smart management system, we explore various management objectives, such as improving energy efficiency, profiling demand, maximizing utility, reducing cost, and controlling emission. We also explore various management methods to achieve these objectives. For the smart protection system, we explore various failure protection mechanisms which improve the reliability of the Smart Grid, and explore the security and privacy issues in the Smart Grid.
Motivated by the high ubiquity of the term "business models" and its increasing proliferation in terms of the transition from a measure to commercialise innovations to the subject of innovations, this paper provides a systematic review of extant academic literature on business model innovation. The particular characteristics of business model innovation are discussed and three distinct research streams addressing prerequisites, process and elements, and effects of business model innovation are identified. A tentative theoretical framework emphasising the need to distinguish between developing and innovating business models as well as to apply an entrepreneurial perspective for further research on business model innovation is proposed. An integrated research agenda emphasising the need to further enhance our understanding of the process and elements of business model innovation as well as its enablers and effects in anticipation and response to increasing environmental volatility is suggested.
Business models are fundamentally linked with technological innovation, yet the business model construct is essentially separable from technology. We define the business model as a system that solves the problem of identifying who is (or are) the customer(s), engaging with their needs, delivering satisfaction, and monetizing the value. The framework depicts the business model system as a model containing cause and effect relationships, and it provides a basis for classification. We formulate the business model relationship with technology in a two-way manner. First, business models mediate the link between technology and firm performance. Secondly, developing the right technology is a matter of a business model decision regarding openness and user engagement. We suggest research questions both for technology management and innovation, as well as strategy.
Facing growing complexity and uncertainty of social and environmental contexts, e.g. global-isation, climate change, dynamics of markets of energy and resources, geopolitical security risks and conflicts as well as technological change, it is more important than ever to reflect today’s decisions prospectively and to adjust them in a future-oriented and sustainable way. Therefore the work with scenarios provides a central tool.
This study gives a structured overview over the broad range of scenario-methods, including important combinations with other methods of futures-analysis. Three ideal types of scenario techniques (scenarios based on trend-extrapolation, systematic-formalised scenario-techniques and creative-narrative scenario-techniques) are discussed regarding their origins and premises, their similarities and differences as well as their strengths and weaknesses. Combinations with other methods and techniques of scenario transfer are presented, too. Fur-thermore, a practical check-list has been developed, which allows specifying the methodo-logical design of concrete foresight projects. This check-list focuses on key decisions to clarify if and how scenario-methods can be applied successfully and in a targeted manner.
The current literature on business models lies mainly in the literature on strategy and competitive advantage and focuses on their role as descriptors of actual phenomenon, often by reference to taxonomic categories. In this essay we explore how business models can be seen as a set of cognitive configurations that can be manipulable in the minds of managers (and academics). By proposing a typology of business models, that emphasises the connecting of traditional value chain descriptors with how customers are identified and satisfied, and how the firm monetizes its value, we explore how business model configurations can extend current work on cognitive categorization and open up new possibilities for organisation research.
The ability to deal with and learn in the face of uncertainty is a key capability of organizations in dynamic environments. Scenarios based on normativity, performativity and transparency foster organisational learning, allow preparing for alternative developments and working out preferred options. This paper builds on previous research on the analysis respectively modeling of future scenarios in the telecommunication industry. We introduce and exemplify a qualitative method of collaborative modeling. It combines the development of a normative vision with a grounded innovation approach to generate, aggregate and qualify insights in order to develop exploratory scenarios based on key uncertainty factors. At least as important as the resulting scenarios is the learning experience of the participants. We elaborate upon the process oriented implications and tools of scenario modeling as a learning activity.
The aim of this paper is to advance research on sustainable innovation by adopting a business model perspective. Through a confrontation of the literature on both topics we find that research on sustainable innovation has tended to neglect the way in which firms need to combine a value proposition, the organization of the upstream and downstream value chain, and a financial model, in order to bring sustainability innovations to the market. Therefore, we review the current literature on business models in the contexts of technological, organizational, and social sustainability innovations. As the current literature does not offer a general conceptual definition of sustainable business models, we propose examples of normative 'boundary conditions' that business models should meet in order to support sustainable innovations. Finally, we sketch the outline of a research agenda by formulating a number of guiding questions.
A considerable body of literature deals with the creation of economic value while increasing corporate environmental and social performance. Some publications even focus on the business case for sustainability which aims at increasing corporate economic value through environmental or social measures. The existence of a business case for sustainability is, however, mostly seen as an ad hoc measure, a supplement to the core business, or simply a coincidence. As a contrast, this paper argues that business model innovations may be required to support a systematic, ongoing creation of business cases for sustainability. A framework for business model innovation is proposed as a means to strategically create business cases on a regular basis as an inherent, deeply integrated element of business activities.
According to one perspective, organizations will only be sustainable if the dominant neoclassical model of the firm is transformed, rather than supplemented, by social and environmental priorities. This article seeks to develop a "sustainability business model" (SBM)-a model where sustainability concepts shape the driving force of the firm and its decision making. The SBM is drawn from two case studies of organizations considered to be leaders in operationalizing sustainability and is informed by the ecological modernization perspective of sustainability. The analysis reveals that organizations adopting a SBM must develop internal structural and cultural capabilities to achieve firm-level sustainability and collaborate with key stakeholders to achieve sustainability for the system that an organization is part of.
Researchers in all management specialties have discussed and investigated the important role values play in personal and organizational phenomena. However, because research on values has been performed in a wide range of social science disciplines and at different levels of analysis, much of thiswork has been uninformed by other work and is neither well integrated nor systematized, resulting in a great deal of confusion concerning the topic. This article attempts to add order and clarity to this area of research by proposing a framework of values research based on level of analysis and by cataloguing and reviewing the vast theoretical and empirical research in light of this framework. It concludes with a critique of the extant literature and recommendations for further research.
Increasing numbers of reports reveal that planet Earth is at significant risk. There are mounting calls to address the damage caused by the unprecedented demand for land, energy and water and environmental destruction, which is attributed to escalating population growth and unparalleled, rising rates of economic growth. Society and its organisations now are expending the Earth’s resources much faster than they can be replenished. Consequently, over the past two decades, sustainability has become an important business issue; growing attention is being paid to organisations’ ecological and environmental performance; and to their impact on the climate and on local and global communities. A number of researchers broadly claim that organisations need to move from Traditional Business Models and adopt Sustainable Business Models, and to deliver a sustainable value proposition aligned with stakeholders’ economic, environmental and social expectations. To achieve this, organisations should expand their perceived stakeholders from customers and shareholders to include all other stakeholders who may be directly or indirectly affected by the organisation’s activities, such as the broader society and the environment. Organisations’ cultures have considerable influence on their attitudes to environmental and social sustainability; their commitment to sustainability; and their environmental and social performance. In order to develop and implement Sustainable Business Models, organisations need to understand their underlying cultural values and develop sustainability-related cultural characteristics. This chapter explains the role of organisational culture and its desired characteristics and discusses actions organisations can take to change their culture. It also discusses steps for embedding sustainability principles across the organisation.
Disruptive innovation continues to transform markets, industries and expectations worldwide. That clever new Chinese social media feature can inspire startups and threaten incumbents in Boston, Berlin and/or Bangalore. New value can come from anywhere and everywhere. Customers and clients, not just rivals and competitors, now drive and determine disruption. My clients and classes live in this disruptive reality.
Business models—the underlying structures of how companies create, deliver and capture value—form the engine of our economy. They determine the speed at which economies grow, and the intensity at which our resources are consumed. They determine the number and type of jobs in our cities, the provenance of the products we buy, and the price of the food we eat. They contribute to the quality of our communities and our lives.
This cumulative dissertation deals with the relationships between business models, sustainability innovations, and the business case for sustainability. Its main purpose is to define theoretical and conceptual interrelations between these concepts. According theoretical foundations are developed and combined with empirical studies on the solar photovoltaic industry. This industry is particularly suitable for this kind of research because of its increasing maturity paired with public policy and market dynamics that lead to a variety of business model challenges. The overarching research question is: How can business models support the commercialisation of sustainability innovations and thus contribute to business cases for sustainability?
Theoretical and conceptual foundations are developed from a systematic literature review on the role of business models for technological, organisational, and social sustainability innovations. Further, business model innovation is linked to sustainability strategies and the business case for sustainability. These foundations are applied in an in-depth case study on BP Solar. Moreover, because supportive public policies and the availability of financial capital are important preconditions for commercial success with solar innovations, the dissertation contains a comparative public policy study as well as a conjoint experiment to explore debt capital investors’ preferences for different photovoltaic business models.
The main contribution of this work is the “Business Models for Sustainability Innovation” (BMfSI) framework. It is based on the idea that business models are artificial and social constructs that fulfil different functions based on social interaction and their deliberate construction. The framework emphasises the mediating function, i.e. the iterative alignment of business model elements with company-internal and external factors as well as with the characteristics of environmentally and socially beneficial innovations.
The Triple Layered Business Model Canvas is a tool for exploring sustainability-oriented business model innovation. It extends the original business model canvas by adding two layers: an environmental layer based on a lifecycle perspective and a social layer based on a stakeholder perspective. When taken together, the three layers of the business model make more explicit how an organizations generates multiple types of value - economic, environmental and social. Visually representing a business model through this canvas tool supports developing and communicating a more holistic and integrated view of a business model; which also supports creatively innovating towards more sustainable business models. This paper presents the triple layer business model canvas tool and describes its key features through a re-analysis of the Nestlé Nespresso business model. This new tool contributes to sustainable business model research by providing a design tool which structures sustainability issues in business model innovation. Also, it creates two new dynamics for analysis: horizontal coherence and vertical coherence.
Der Weg in die quartäre Wirtschaft der dienstleistungsgeprägten Wissensgesellschaft ist weit offen. Treibende Kraft dieser Entwicklung ist die rasante Entwicklung der Informationstechnologie, die nahezu alle räumlichen Beschränkungen, denen die Kommunikation bisher unterlag, aufhebt. Das “globale Dorf” scheint aus dieser Perspektive heraus Wirklichkeit zu werden. Dennoch wird diese Entwicklung das menschliche Urstreben nach sozialer Einbindung und Nähe nicht vermindern, sondern eher verstärken: Der “
homo sociologi-cus” (Dahrendorf) oder das von den Griechen als “zoon politicon” apostrophierte Bild des Menschen wird in einer multikulturellen Gesellschaft eher neue Restriktionen in der Kommunikation und Kooperation aufbauen: Eine neue Entwicklungsschere zeichnet sich ab. Sie birgt Risiken in sich, schafft aber auch für diejenigen Unternehmungen, die sich innovativ als Pioniere neuer Organisationsmodelle bedienen, nicht unerhebliche neue Chancen.
While a consensus appears to have evolved among many sustainability researchers and practitioners that sustainable development at the societal level is not very likely without the sustainable development of organizations, the business model as a key initiating component of corporate sustainability has only recently moved into the focus of sustainability management research. Apparently, the usual approaches to sustainable development of philanthropy, corporate social responsibility, and technological process and product innovation are insufficient to create the necessary radical transformation of organizations, industries, and societies toward genuine, substantive sustainable development. More in-depth research is needed on whether both modified and completely new business models can help develop integrative and competitive solutions by either radically reducing negative and/or creating positive external effects for the natural environment and society.
Firms increasingly organise their innovation activities in networked environments, including specific models such as supplier-network innovation, coopetition, or open innovation with a large set of stakeholders. These types of business and network models for innovation are often discussed from one of two main approaches - the strategic or the structural. The strategic approach examines the focus and logic of innovation in networks, and the structural approach analyses the network position and the related value creation and capture possibilities of a focal actor related to the position. In this study, these two approaches are combined in the attempt to provide an overview of this increasingly important topic in innovation management.
Building on Thompson's (1967) typology of long-linked, intensive, and mediating technologies, this paper explores the idea that the value chain, the value shop, and the value network are three distinct generic value configuration models required to understand and analyze firm-level value creation logic across a broad range of industries and firms. While the long-linked technology delivers value by transforming inputs into products, the intensive technology delivers value by resolving unique customer problems, and the mediating technology delivers value by enabling direct and indirect exchanges between customers. With the identification of alternative value creation technologies, value chain analysis is both sharpened and generalized into what we propose as a value configuration analysis approach to the diagnosis of competitive advantage. With the long-linked technology and the corresponding value chain configuration model as benchmark, the paper reviews the distinctive logic and develops models of the value shop and the value network in terms of primary activity categories, drivers of cost and value, and strategic positioning options.
Although the term 'business model' is widely used in the business world, the academic research on this issue is sparse. This paper tries to close that gap by developing a typology of different business models along three dimensions: value chain constellation, market power of innovators versus owners of complementary assets and total revenue potential. This typology consists of four different types of business model (Integrated, Layer Player, Market Maker and Orchestrator) and is built on the resource based view as a conceptual foundation. Moreover, this paper discusses how business models may change over time, due to a varying competitive landscape.
Responsible leadership is a concept that can help link corporate social responsibility and performance to actions on the part of policy makers and leaders. It may also help to provide a better understanding of the deteriorating reputations of firms and their leaders as perceived by society as a whole and of what might be required from leaders to strengthen the bonds with society. However, the precise manner in which leaders interpret and actually display responsibility is not altogether clear. This lack of clarity coincides with the varying perspectives of responsible leadership that occur in the literature, and it may contribute to the lack of systematic research on how such leadership may ultimately affect firm- and societal-level outcomes. Based on a qualitative analysis of 25 business leaders and entrepreneurs, we identify four orientations that leaders may use to demonstrate responsibility and implement corporate social responsibility. We show how these orientations vary according to the breadth of constituent group focus and the degree of accountability toward others. Further, we discuss both research and training implications associated with the different responsible leadership orientations.
Keeping track of the revenue stream is important, but it's equally important to track the flow of knowledge and intangibles.
Recent years have seen the successful development and deployment of a range of small scale renewable energy systems. Driven in part by improving technical capability and by ambitious carbon emissions reduction targets, there has been the beginning of a shift towards a more distributed energy generation model, capable of delivering a range of potential benefits, but also presenting a number of social and technical challenges.One area of society where the benefits can be seen as being both highly applicable and highly relevant is at the community level and at this scale in particular, increased levels of energy autonomy can deliver a host of social, financial and environmental benefits. Therefore, the concept of energy autonomy is widely regarded as an effective tool in the push towards sustainable development, with ‘sustainable communities' often highlighted as particularly relevant for applying its principles.Given its significance and its broad interdisciplinary relevance, the issue, and the challenges it poses, has been the subject of a significant level of research interest in recent years. This study therefore presents a state of the art review of current research relating to energy autonomy in sustainable communities and identifies a number of central issues which are regarded as being of critical importance. Demand Side Management is identified as one particular area in need of further research and development, along with the need for receptive social, political and regulatory environments.
Innovation has been widely regarded as a powerful tool for stimulating economic growth and changing the quality of human life since the beginning of time. Innovation will continue to remain a key driving force for sustainability and growth in the current economic global slowdown. At present there are hardly any studies that show why innovation is successful at some organizations, and yet fails to achieve the desired results at others. The authors investigate the role of “core values and beliefs” of leading innovative companies in India and abroad on how they go about building a unique innovation culture which ensures their continuous growth even in troubled times.