Sustainable Development and Business Models of Entrepreneurs in the Organic Food Industry

The business case for a sustainable firm, in particular the business case for new entrepreneurial initiatives responding to environmental demands, is increasingly receiving attention from practitioners and scholars. This article contributes to existing literature on business models, sustainable development and entrepreneurship, by applying components of business models to the practices of entrepreneurs that have a goal of environmental sustainability and a focus on the mass market (i.e. ecopreneurs). We define the ecopreneurial business model and specify four varieties of this business model, which consist of different combinations of environmental scope and a focus on the mass market and profitability. The distinguishing factor of the ecopreneurial business model is that it transforms disvalue into value, thereby creating greater customer value for environmentally concerned consumers. The results are based on a substantial set of interviews among ecopreneurs in the organic food and beverage industry in the Netherlands. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

短视频平台型企业商业化转型的商业模式创新——以快手为例

近年来短视频市场规模增速趋缓,短视频平台型企业的战略重点开始从用户增长转为盈利增长。因此,平台企业亟需进行商业模式创新,助力短视频平台企业商业化加速。本文基于价值共创理论,关注用户及合作伙伴的价值创造能力,将商业模式创新链解构为价值主张、价值共创、价值传递、价值获取四大模块,进而分解为9个指标。并以快手为研究案例,通过实证资料编码分析其创新举措。研究揭示了短视频平台型企业商业模式创新的内外驱动因素,绘制出创新路径图,指出要素关系网络和革新方向,为短视频平台型企业的商业化转型提供以下的参考:企业应坚持核心价值主张,构建用户、合作伙伴、企业三者协同的价值共创体系,以加强用户互动和连接为推手,实现多样化的盈利获取。     

Sustainable entrepreneurship,innovation, and business models: Integrative framework and propositions for future research

This article introduces the business models for sustainability innovation (BMfSI) framework to study how business models mediate between sustainability innovations and business cases for sustainability. The BMfSI framework integrates two major perspectives (implicitly) found in the sustainable business model literature. The first is the agency perspective. It takes into consideration that some form of agency is needed, that is, “someone” who takes decisions and acts. Sustainable entrepreneurs are discussed as those agents who align their new or existing business models with sustainability innovations in order to be successful in business and to create value with and for stakeholders. The second perspective is the systems perspective, which acknowledges that business models are always embedded within sociotechnical contexts through which, for example, public policies, private financing, or stakeholder interests influence whether and how business models can be developed. The agency and systems perspectives are integrated in the so‐called business model mediation space. This theoretical notion embraces the decisions and activities pursued by sustainable entrepreneurs as they align their business models with sustainability innovations on the one hand and the influence of environmental contingencies, barriers, and stakeholders from the sociotechnical context on the other hand. The paper concludes with propositions for future research derived from the BMfSI framework.     

顾客价值创造视角的商业模式演进研究

商业模式演进是公司的价值创造的必经过程。该文从顾客价值创造角度分析了商业模式演进的过程,指出商业模式的焦点是为客户创造价值,关注"用新模式代替旧模式"是商业模式演进的目标;基于此,笔者通过分析影响商业模式演进的因素得到三点结论:顾客的消费观念是前提,把握顾客价值的细分、创新、重定位及价值体验是动力,最适合顾客的模式是目标。本文的研究结论将对中小企业的商业模式实践提供有价值的参考和依据。     

A Business Sustainability Model for Government Corporations. A Belgian Case Study

A government's decision to tackle societal non‐sustainability problems by setting up a government corporation also necessitates the choice of a business model. This article seeks to contribute to this debate through an analysis of the (linkages between the key elements of the) business model of the Kringloopfonds (TKF), a Belgian government corporation set up in order to provide finance to sustainable companies. Based on documentary information and semi‐structured interviews with stakeholders TKF's business model is reconstructed which next is evaluated by means of program theory. It was found that TKF's portfolio allocation rule did not foresee in sufficient flexibility in order to cope with the shortage in financeable companies TKF was confronted with. This case thereby advocates for more business model flexibility in terms of portfolio allocation rules, time and asset requirements as well as for thorough sensitivity analyses testing business model's resistance to an initial and temporary shortage of sustainable companies. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

构筑原创价值网:我国动漫产业商业模式创新战略思考

原创动力严重不足,是我国动漫产业面临的瓶颈命题,严重制约我国动漫产业健康成长。对既有商业模式进行战略性创新、构筑原创价值网,是我国动漫产业走原创路线、寻求跨越式发展的必由之路。     

Business model based on strong sustainability: Insights from an empirical study

The extant literature on traditional and sustainable business models lacks insights into how strong sustainability—that is, constraining economic and social activities within the limitations of natural resources—can shape business models. Thus, the purpose of this article is to propose a business model framework based on the principles of strong sustainability (SSBM). The proposed framework is developed combining available literature and empirical insights from a qualitative abductive study of 12 permaculture business ventures in Sweden. The results identify nature as the primary stakeholder and recommend strong local anchorage, the creation of diversified income sources, deliberate limitations on economic growth, the infusion of the business model with a systemic and ecosystem perspective, and the design of value flows beyond financial aspects. The discussion reflects on the most important results, provides practical implications and managerial guidelines, and suggests future research in the SSBM.     

Circular Business Model Innovation: Inherent Uncertainties

Circular business models based on remanufacturing and reuse promise significant cost savings as well as radical reductions in environmental impact. Variants of such business models have been suggested for decades, and there are notable success stories such as the Xerox product–service offering based on photocopiers that are remanufactured. Still, we are not seeing widespread adoption in industry. This paper examines causes for reluctance. Drawing on a hypothesis‐testing framework of business model innovation, we show that circular business models imply significant challenges to proactive uncertainty reduction for the entrepreneur. Moreover, we show that many product–service system variants that facilitate return flow control in circular business models further aggravate the potential negative effects of failed uncertainty reduction because of increased capital commitments. Through a longitudinal action research study we also provide a counterexample to many of the challenges identified in previous studies, which could be overcome in the studied case. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

Business Strategies of Incumbents in the Market for Electric Vehicles: Opportunities and Incentives for Sustainable Innovation

This paper focuses on the relation between large car manufacturers’ incentive and opportunity to innovate and their electric vehicle (EV) business strategies. We analyze how environmental regulation and the firm's incentive (measured by net income) and opportunity to innovate (measured by EV asset position, determined from a combination of patent, partnership and prototype data) affected EV sales over the period 1990–2011. During the EV's R&D period in the 1990s, large car manufacturers that were regulated by the full zero emission vehicle mandate developed a significantly stronger EV asset position, but did not sell significantly more EVs than their rivals. During the EV's commercialization period (2007–2011), large car manufacturers with both a strong incentive and a strong opportunity to innovate sold significantly more EVs. Based on these results, the paper offers a typology of business strategies, several managerial implications, and recommendations for policy makers to stimulate sustainable development. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

Revising the Corporate Social Performance Model – Towards Knowledge Creation for Sustainable Development

The objective of this paper is to offer a revision of the corporate social performance (CSP) model. CSP exemplifies how corporate social responsibility translates into an organization's practice by focusing on three key features of performance: principles, processes and outcomes. However, the development of the model has not kept pace with the literature on social and environmental responsibility. This study builds on an argument that if corporate social responsibility in general – in which CSP plays an important role – is to respond to the challenges of sustainable development, the CSP of businesses could be more profoundly planned in order to design knowledge outcomes that contribute to meeting those challenges. The paper thus answers the recent call for the development of a CSP model by revising some of the key elements in the existing model and also by adding a knowledge creation dimension. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

Sustainable product innovation and changing consumer behavior: Sustainability affordances as triggers of adoption and usage

This conceptual paper argues that for sustainable product innovation to make a contribution to addressing sustainability issues, we need to understand not only why consumers adopt sustainable products but also what makes them use these in sustainable way. To explain how specific product features can change the ways in which consumers engage with sustainable products in the adoption and usage phase, we draw on affordance theory. Affordances refer to the potential for agentic action of users in relation to a technological object. We develop a conceptual framework that explains how sustainable product innovation can lead to the design of sustainability affordances that stimulate adoption and sustainable usage. The framework shows how three forms of agency—material, firm, and user agency—interact and together influence a product's sustainability affordances that drive adoption and a change in consumer behavior. The framework explains how trade-offs between a product's environmental features and consumer expectations regarding desired functionalities and user experience can be overcome.     

Organizational transition management of circular business model innovations

Scholars and practitioners across fields increasingly recognize that business models for the circular economy may be an effective lever for solving ecological persistent problems such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and growing natural resource scarcity. Despite a growing interest in the potential of circular business models, interconnections between the organizational dimensions of firms and their business model innovation processes remain underexplored. Based on problem‐centered expert interviews with business consultants experienced in circular business development, this study creates a conceptual model that offers structured knowledge about why firms steadily reproduce linear BMs and how incumbents manifest themselves as a constant linear‐oriented value creation system. The model also demonstrates organizational conditions and management strategies that frustrate the reproduction of linear BMs and, thus, enable initial moves towards CBM innovation. Building on this, the article provides a set of propositions on how an organizational transition management may be configured and what incumbents require to successfully navigate circular business model innovation. The findings provide a foundation for a contemporary understanding of circular business model transition management, which simultaneously serve as impulses for future research investigations.     

自主经营体商业模式创新案例研究

自互联网诞生以来,关于商业模式的研究在理论界及企业界已成为一个热点及前沿问题,但是目前关于商业模式的研究更多集中于商业模式的定义、要素、分类等理论研究上,从商业模式实践的角度进行系统的案例研究显得相对缺乏。海尔自主经营体商业模式体现了商业模式由理论到实践的转变。首先,本文在回顾商业模式相关文献的基础上,从自主经营体商业机制的构建、设计和组织结构的调整等方面考察了自主经营体商业模式的实践。最后,基于案例分析提炼出自主经营体商业模式的创新之处,力求通过案例研究为我国企业商业模式的创新理论与实践提供有价值的参考。     

Harnessing Innovation for Change: Sustainability and Poverty in Developing Countries

To date, a well‐developed business perspective on how to promote sustainability for those in poverty is sorely lacking. For sustainability enhancing innovations in developing countries, poverty presents unique challenges. In this paper, we argue that if sustainability enhancing innovations introduced in developing countries are to stick, they need to be designed with local customers, networks, and business ecosystems in mind. We illustrate this view using case examples from mobile telephony, fuel efficient stoves, clean drinking water, and household electrification. Our paper underscores the need for today's managers to understand poverty as an integral part of the sustainability nexus and the new international business equation.     

Sustainable Entrepreneurship Research: Taking Stock and looking ahead

The recognition of entrepreneurship as a solution to, rather than a cause of, environmental degradation and social inequality moved the field to identify a new type of entrepreneurial activity, namely sustainable entrepreneurship. Scholarly interest has spiked in recent years; however, aside from its aspirational appeal, there remains a lack of understanding of the nature of the phenomenon and the future of sustainable entrepreneurship in theory and practice. This review seeks to provide a conceptual basis for stimulating scholarly thought and improving our collective understanding of sustainable entrepreneurship as a distinct subdomain within entrepreneurship research. Based on boundary definition and delineation of main features, this review critically discusses the main challenges ahead and elaborates on the research implications and future research directions beyond current, dominant approaches to entrepreneurial action. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

Sustainability Strategy and Eco‐Innovation: A Moderation Model

This study develops a moderation model to examine the role of a proactive environmental strategy on eco‐innovation. Drawing upon the perspectives of contingency theory, this study argues that the impacts of sustainability strategy on eco‐innovation depend on market demand, innovation intensity and government subsidy. The sample used to test the hypotheses is obtained from the Community Innovation Survey in Taiwan. A total of 2955 manufacturing firms are included in the final sample. A logit moderating regression is adopted to analyze the models. The results reveal that market demand and government subsidy positively moderate the relationship between environmental strategy and eco‐innovation. Specifically, firms are more likely to adopt a proactive environmental strategy to improve eco‐innovation under high levels of market demand and government subsidy. Furthermore, the results indicate that innovation intensity affects the effect of environmental strategy on eco‐innovation, but the direction of the influence varies with different categories of eco‐innovation. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

移动商务的价值链与商务模式研究

随着网络技术的不断进步，移动商务也渐渐成为一种新型的沟通方式，代表着网络时代商务模式发展的方向。本文从价值链和商务模式的角度探讨了移动商务的各种运作模式和利润实现模式，以期对中国移动商务的发展起到实际指导作用。     

互联网背景下消费扶贫的商业模式创新机理

消费扶贫通过消费需求拉动贫困户的劳动供给,实现扶志、扶智和扶贫的多重效果,具有可持续的长期效应。如何构建多方共赢的商业模式是消费扶贫成功的关键。本文基于全国比较典型的13个消费扶贫项目的一手和二手数据资料,从消费者和贫困户两类主体解析“消费扶贫”商业模式,运用NVivo软件进行三阶段质性编码构建模型,根据商业模式创新路径模型解释了道德型消费力对该类商业模式的内生性驱动作用,以及模式所产生的多态价值效应,并在此基础上对模式的激活驱动机理、创新过程以及创新价值输出进行了探究。     

新环境下钢贸企业经营模式创新探讨

钢铁产业是国民经济的基础和支柱产业。钢铁贸易企业在连接生产和消费之间起着不可或缺的重要作用。随着市场竞争的不断加剧,钢贸企业原有的经营模式已经不能完全适应钢材贸易的新环境,钢贸企业面临着很大的风险和压力。本文在分析钢贸企业经营模式现状的基础上,总结当前经营模式中存在的问题,并提出新形势下进一步创新钢贸企业经营模式的对策建议。     

The Organizational Impact of Business Model Innovation: Assessing the Person-Organization Fit

Studies on business model innovation (BMI) have largely focused on firm performance, neglecting outcomes of BMI beyond financial performance indicators. Research lacks empirical findings from the internal organizational dynamics following the inherent transformation process induced by BMI. Rooting our analysis in configuration theory, the purpose of this paper is to shed light on the organizational impact of BMI. We employ the person-organization fit concept and assess (unintentional) changes in the fit relationship subsequent to BMI. Our findings suggest that incremental BMI enhances fit whereas radical BMI decreases it. We further discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our study.