TY - JOUR
T1 - Sustainable business model experimentation by understanding ecologies of business models
AU - Bocken, Nancy
AU - Boons, Frank
AU - Baldassarre, Brian
N1 - Accepted author manuscript
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - Sustainable business model innovation is about creating superior customer and firm value by addressing societal and environmental needs through the way business is done. Business models require intentional design if they are to deliver aspired sustainability impacts. Scant research has been done on ‘ecologies’ of different business models in order to understand and improve these and create positive impact on the environment, society, economy and other key stakeholders. Hence, in this paper a novel framework is presented to enable a systemic form of sustainable business model experimentation. The framework is based on the recognition of three key issues which have not yet been sufficiently incorporated in the literature on sustainable business models: construct clarity, boundary setting and uncertainty about outcomes. These concepts are discussed first. Building on earlier work, the resulting framework incorporates potential side-effects and boundary setting based on the concept of an ‘ecology of business models’. Second, an approach is proposed that could stimulate more profound forms of sustainable business model innovation: The Ecology of Business Models Experimentation map. Third, the approach is illustrated through two cases. The approach could help minimise symbiotic dependency on less sustainable business models; help destroy unsustainable business models by outcompeting them; and maximise contributions to favourable institutional infrastructures for more sustainable business models. This paper contributes to research on sustainable business model innovation, design and experimentation by providing a potential approach for ‘business model ecology redesign’.
AB - Sustainable business model innovation is about creating superior customer and firm value by addressing societal and environmental needs through the way business is done. Business models require intentional design if they are to deliver aspired sustainability impacts. Scant research has been done on ‘ecologies’ of different business models in order to understand and improve these and create positive impact on the environment, society, economy and other key stakeholders. Hence, in this paper a novel framework is presented to enable a systemic form of sustainable business model experimentation. The framework is based on the recognition of three key issues which have not yet been sufficiently incorporated in the literature on sustainable business models: construct clarity, boundary setting and uncertainty about outcomes. These concepts are discussed first. Building on earlier work, the resulting framework incorporates potential side-effects and boundary setting based on the concept of an ‘ecology of business models’. Second, an approach is proposed that could stimulate more profound forms of sustainable business model innovation: The Ecology of Business Models Experimentation map. Third, the approach is illustrated through two cases. The approach could help minimise symbiotic dependency on less sustainable business models; help destroy unsustainable business models by outcompeting them; and maximise contributions to favourable institutional infrastructures for more sustainable business models. This paper contributes to research on sustainable business model innovation, design and experimentation by providing a potential approach for ‘business model ecology redesign’.
KW - Business model design
KW - Business model for sustainability
KW - Collaboration
KW - Experimentation
KW - Sharing economy
KW - Sustainable business models
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85056171677&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.10.159
DO - 10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.10.159
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85056171677
VL - 208
SP - 1498
EP - 1512
JO - Journal of Cleaner Production
JF - Journal of Cleaner Production
SN - 0959-6526
ER -