Sustainability of Business Ecosystems

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, the concept of business sustainability has become a popular research topic in both management and organization fields. Business sustainability is an executive approach that takes environmental and social problems as corporate objectives along with traditional profit objectives. It is meeting of the needs of a firm’s direct and indirect stakeholders (e.g., shareholders, employees, clients, pressure groups, communities etc.), without compromising its ability to meet the needs of future stakeholders as well. In practice, a good number of firms voluntarily evaluate their own corporate sustainability and disclose the impacts they have on the environment, society, and the economy. However, there is still a lack of consensus as to which kinds of business practice are best able to achieve sustainability, particularly when the profit-making objective cannot be aligned with concerns surrounding organizational sustainability.

The business ecosystem perspective may serve as a creative space and a practical tool to understand and formulate strategies, policies, and practices underpinning corporate sustainability. The term business ecosystem, is defined by management scholars as a loose network of independent actors, also termed as stakeholders—including suppliers, distributors, customers, competitors, and government agencies involved in the delivery of a specific product or service through both competitive and cooperative means. For businesses operating within such a business ecosystem, it is imperative that the relevant stakeholders’ concerns and/or pressures are taken into account when formulating strategies that, among other considerations, seek to achieve a balance between profitability and sustainability. 

In a global economic environment, where globalization and laissez-faire free-market policy face increasing opposition from advocates of a neo-protectionist agenda, organizations face an array of new challenges within the business ecosystem. As such, discussion surrounding the theoretical models of management and their relationship with sustainability has become particularly pertinent.

This Special Issue aims to discuss the key theoretical, empirical, and contextual mechanisms concerning the design and operationalization of sustainable business strategies, models, and practices, from a business ecosystem perspective. We are interested in understanding how businesses frame their understanding of business sustainability and the implications of this for the ecosystem. The Special Issue also seeks to explore how businesses define the boundaries of their ecosystem and the implications of this for stakeholder management and engagement. Also of interest is how firms develop sustainability policies and strategies in different socioeconomic contexts. In sum, we are interested in the form, practice, and development of business sustainability in business ecosystems.

We invite you to contribute to this issue by submitting comprehensive reviews, case studies or research articles. Submissions for the Special Issue should be made via the normal submission process.

Prof. Dr. Emmanuel Adegbite
Dr. Jacob Wood
Dr. Pengji Wang
Guest Editors

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