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Sustainability
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Innovative and Sustainable Business Models and Practices
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Innovative and Sustainable Business Models and Practices

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Economic and Business Aspects of Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2022) | Viewed by 49407

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Carlos Martin-Rios

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne, HES-SO University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland, 1000 Lausanne 25, Switzerland
Interests: sustainable innovation; eco-innovation; innovation management; service innovation; sustainable hospitality and tourism

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainability is a key driver of innovation. Increasingly, sustainable management is being regarded as an opportunity for innovation, and not as a threat to a company. Sustainable business models and sustainable innovation practices define much of the current organizational sustainability agenda. Sustainable business models address a triple bottom line approach and redefine the value proposition, value chain and financial model to bring sustainable innovations to the market. Sustainable innovation is defined as innovation which purposely integrates economic, social and environmental value-creation all along the design of new products, processes and practices as well as new business models and value chains.

Research on sustainable business models and innovative practices attract considerable attention of multidisciplinary scholars. Yet, extant literature is still far from comprehensively integrating theoretical and methodological aspects to examine how sustainability-inspired innovations can be motivated by social, economic, organizational and environmental considerations, while at the same time contributing to financial returns. There is an urgent need for more research on sustainable practices through the lenses of different sectoral innovation systems, new business model perspectives, technological, organizational and social practices.

This special issue aims to stimulate scientifically grounded, interdisciplinary, practice-based research on the most salient aspects of innovative and sustainable business models and practices. It thus emphasizes the actual interdisciplinary sustainability research approaches, the solutions it provides and their dissemination and application.

Themes:

  • Sustainable business models;
  • Sustainable innovation as a source of competitive advantage;
  • Innovation and change management for sustainability;
  • Sectoral strategies for sustainability;
  • Sustainability-oriented service innovations;
  • Strategic corporate sustainability;
  • Sustainable resource management and innovative resource practices;
  • Innovation linked to corporate sustainability assessment and reporting, environmental sustainability governance (ESG), sustainability ratings and sustainability investors;
  • Collaborative, open innovation and user-driven innovation for sustainability.

Dr. Carlos Martin-Rios
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sustainable business model
  • business model for sustainability
  • sustainable innovation
  • sustainability-oriented innovations sustainability strategy
  • sustainable production
  • sustainability in the tertiary sector
  • value creation
  • organizational performance

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 540 KiB  
Article
Towards a Global Solvency Model in the Insurance Market: A Qualitative Analysis
by Asier Garayeta, J. Iñaki De la Peña and Eduardo Trigo
Sustainability 2022, 14(11), 6465; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14116465 - 25 May 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4391
Abstract
In recent years, there has been a change in the main regulations governing the solvency of the world’s main insurance markets. Sustainability is an issue that is becoming increasingly important among to the various stakeholders in the insurance industry. It is a complex [...] Read more.
In recent years, there has been a change in the main regulations governing the solvency of the world’s main insurance markets. Sustainability is an issue that is becoming increasingly important among to the various stakeholders in the insurance industry. It is a complex concept that has many different dimensions that can be included in these regulations, allowing for a more sustainable solvency. The paper uses a qualitative model previously designed and tested in the literature to analyse the solvency regulations of the European Union, United States of America, China, Australia, Brazil and South Africa and determine their level of convergence. It also links the criteria set out in these models to the dimensions of sustainability in order to determine the degree of sustainability of solvency systems and the questions that regulators will need to consider in the near future in order to achieve more sustainable solvency. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovative and Sustainable Business Models and Practices)
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17 pages, 1162 KiB  
Article
Doing Well by Creating Economic Value through Social Values among Craft Beer Breweries: A Case Study in Responsible Innovation and Growth
by Niclas Erhardt, Carlos Martin-Rios, Jason Bolton and Matthew Luth
Sustainability 2022, 14(5), 2826; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14052826 - 28 Feb 2022
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 6660
Abstract
Social values are key to the sustainability of organizations. Drawing on value-based research, stakeholder theory, and corporate social responsibility research, this paper builds a case study of the interplay between social values, innovation, and economic growth. The craft beer industry is a fast-growing [...] Read more.
Social values are key to the sustainability of organizations. Drawing on value-based research, stakeholder theory, and corporate social responsibility research, this paper builds a case study of the interplay between social values, innovation, and economic growth. The craft beer industry is a fast-growing industry with a potential emphasis on social values built on small-scale production and localism. We examine how craft breweries attempt to resolve tensions derived from pursuing economic and social values simultaneously. As breweries continue to grow, owners face decisions of scale and growth, which may undermine a value-driven industry with close ties to the local community. Findings from six craft breweries, operating in Northern New England, USA, suggest a complex managerial dilemma involving (a) small-batch innovation for niche and mass production for growth, (b) responsible innovation for balancing local authenticity and geographical expansion, and (c) independent and business partnering. We further unpacked the tensions that operated at local and non-local levels. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovative and Sustainable Business Models and Practices)
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18 pages, 523 KiB  
Article
Sustainability Buckets: A Flexible Heuristic for Facilitating Strategic Investment on Place-Dependent Sustainability Narratives
by Barbara Ribeiro and James A. Turner
Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 9367; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13169367 - 20 Aug 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3348
Abstract
This article presents a heuristic framework to help respond to gaps in knowledge construction in sustainability transitions. Transition theory publications highlight concerns ranging from contentious understandings of sustainability to the need for generalisable conceptual frameworks around how place specificity matters in transitions. The [...] Read more.
This article presents a heuristic framework to help respond to gaps in knowledge construction in sustainability transitions. Transition theory publications highlight concerns ranging from contentious understandings of sustainability to the need for generalisable conceptual frameworks around how place specificity matters in transitions. The heuristic presented here is a flexible framework for developing place-dependent narratives of sustainability transitions grounded in investment choices. The sustainability buckets development resulted from the abduction and retroduction methods. It was also underpinned by a praxis-oriented mechanism from business (‘strategic investment buckets’), a transition theory conceptual framework (‘the multi-level perspective’—MLP), and a social sciences heuristic (‘sustainability cultures’). The sustainability buckets resulted from synthesising the critical literature with empirical findings drawn from two case studies in New Zealand. The heuristic proved helpful to navigate, organise, and code meanings and understandings of sustainability in the New Zealand agri-food context. It also helped facilitate dialogue with research participants from different backgrounds, such as government and business. The heuristic was designed to transform, remaining fit for purpose as transitions evolve. This article suggests the sustainability buckets could be used to enable investment opportunities for upscaling, reproducing, and transplanting transitions happening in distinct sectors and high-level systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovative and Sustainable Business Models and Practices)
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12 pages, 845 KiB  
Article
Sustainability-Oriented Innovations in Food Waste Management Technology
by Carlos Martin-Rios, Anastasia Hofmann and Naomi Mackenzie
Sustainability 2021, 13(1), 210; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13010210 - 28 Dec 2020
Cited by 100 | Viewed by 24758
Abstract
Food is essential to our survival, yet the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that about 820 million people were undernourished in 2018. In this context, food waste generation is a particularly salient issue. Wasting food means missing opportunities [...] Read more.
Food is essential to our survival, yet the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that about 820 million people were undernourished in 2018. In this context, food waste generation is a particularly salient issue. Wasting food means missing opportunities to feed the growing world population and consuming scarce resources, such as land, water and energy used in the production, processing, distribution and consumption of food. Firms in HORECA (hospitality, restaurant and catering) represent a considerable share of total food waste and, more importantly, are characterized by an overall low sense of awareness about the sustainability-oriented innovation opportunities and challenges of minimizing food waste. This article draws on an in-depth case study to explore the use of technological advancements in downstream value chain. This case study draws on a tech startup providing services for HORECA companies to address a new way for companies to solve the food waste challenge. Adopting technological innovations to quantify and minimize wastage via collaborations with third-party companies can be a strategic and cost-effective way to supplement a company’s open innovation activities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovative and Sustainable Business Models and Practices)
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24 pages, 864 KiB  
Article
Entrepreneurial Experience and Performance: From the Aspect of Sustainable Growth of Enterprises
by Huatao Peng, Chen Zhou and Yang Liu
Sustainability 2020, 12(18), 7351; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12187351 - 8 Sep 2020
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 5210
Abstract
In the uncertain entrepreneurial ecosystem, scholarly knowledge is bounded by the sustainable growth of entrepreneurial enterprises. Moreover, there is a lack of consensus in academic circles on the relationship between entrepreneurial experience and entrepreneurial performance. In adopting the meta-analysis method, we found a [...] Read more.
In the uncertain entrepreneurial ecosystem, scholarly knowledge is bounded by the sustainable growth of entrepreneurial enterprises. Moreover, there is a lack of consensus in academic circles on the relationship between entrepreneurial experience and entrepreneurial performance. In adopting the meta-analysis method, we found a significant relationship between entrepreneurial experience and entrepreneurial performance based on an investigation of 45 independent samples (N = 18,752). We also examined theoretically derived moderators of this relationship referring to firm age, industry condition and experience type to test whether the moderating effects can explain the inconsistent research results on the relationship between entrepreneurial experience and entrepreneurial performance. The relationship was stronger for the high-tech industry than for low-tech industry, for the early business stage than for late business stage and for start-up experience compared to management experience, work experience and industry experience. Our research findings are meaningful for practitioners to achieve sustainable growth by better preserving and coordinating entrepreneurial experience in a dynamic environment. Further, these findings are also important for future research to analyze the factors triggering the heterogeneity of entrepreneurial experience and to investigate the extent to which the start-up experience is more capable of promoting entrepreneurial performance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovative and Sustainable Business Models and Practices)
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18 pages, 2126 KiB  
Article
Can Design for the Environment be Worthwhile? Green Design for Manufacturers Brands When Confronted with Competition from Store Brands
by Xi Yang, Maozeng Xu and Wanleng Zhang
Sustainability 2020, 12(3), 1078; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12031078 - 3 Feb 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3000
Abstract
To contribute to global sustainability, many manufacturers are starting to implement green product development and trying to provide environmentally friendly products. Although green products are environmentally beneficial to our society, the performance of green product development remains poor because of cannibalization from traditional [...] Read more.
To contribute to global sustainability, many manufacturers are starting to implement green product development and trying to provide environmentally friendly products. Although green products are environmentally beneficial to our society, the performance of green product development remains poor because of cannibalization from traditional alternatives at lower prices. This is particularly the case in the current unforgiving marketing reality in which many brand retailers, such as Wal-Mart, Tesco, and Carrefour, offer their own store brands as traditional alternatives. Although a large stream of research has studied the effects of competition on manufacturers’ green design, to the best of our knowledge, there is a dearth of research on the effects of competition from retailers’ store brands on manufacturers’ green design. To fill this gap, we present two models in which the manufacturer has an incentive to design for the environment, and the retailer has the flexibility to sell store brands (Model S), or it does not (Model N). Surprisingly, our analysis indicates that the presence of store brands may stimulate the manufacturer to release a new greener version of the national brand. Moreover, we find that although the presence of store brands is beneficial to the retailer and industry, it always hurts the manufacturer’s profitability. To incentivize the manufacturer to support Model S, we propose a two-part tariff contract. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovative and Sustainable Business Models and Practices)
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