1 - Rafaela Cabral Almeida Trizotto UFRGS - Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul - Escola de Administração
2 - Leandro da Silva Nascimento - Escola de Administração - UFRGS
Responsável pela submissão
3 - Patricia Soldatelli Valente -
4 - Michele Kremer Sott Escola de Gestão e Negócios - Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos (UNISINOS) - PPG em Administração
5 - Natalia da Silvia Freitas -
Reumo
Given that sustainable business models, in addition to being economically viable, also contribute to social and environmental issues, the number of companies aiming for these models is increasing. Due to the new paradigms of sustainable production and consumption, innovation in business models becomes essential for the advancement of sustainability.
Although the concept of sustainable business model innovation is increasingly discussed in the literature, there is no clear of which dimensions of sustainability can drive (or are driving) this kind of innovation. This paper aims to identify which dimensions of sustainability (social, environmental, and economic) are being prioritized in the SBMI literature through a bibliometric review.
The traditional concept of the BM is a conceptual tool consisting of a set of elements and relationships that express the logic of a company with financial objectives (Teece, 2010). On the other hand, SBMs comprise a holistic approach that recognizes the importance of environmental and social benefits as contributors to financial viability (Karlsson et al., 2019). Lambrechts et al. (2021) explain that SBMs, by integrating social, environmental, and economic value, end up providing a range of possibilities for activities linked to sustainable value creation, delivery, and capture.
We conducted a bibliometric performance and network analysis mapping using a selected corpus of papers from the Web of Science and Scopus databases. 284 papers were analyzed using the SciMAT software.
We identified a predominance of the environmental dimension to the detriment of the social and economic dimensions. However, there has been a growing concern in recent years to portray the three dimensions of sustainability equitably in the SBMI literature. We present a strategic diagram depicting 15 clusters (themes) related to SBMI. Of these, eight clusters appear as predominant for the advancement of the SBMI literature such as Circular Economy, Business Development, Renewable Resources, and Investments.
Besides offering a general and international review of the scientific production of SBMI, we present the main challenges and opportunities for future research. The findings contribute to managerial practice, highlighting the importance of looking equitably and jointly at the benefits of social and environmental dimensions, associated with economic viability. The consideration of the three dimensions in the SBMI provides a range of possibilities for companies in creating, delivering, and capturing sustainable value.
Karlsson, N. P., et al. (2019). Business modelling in farm-based biogas production: towards network-level business models and stakeholder business cases for sustainability. Sustainability Science, 14(4), 1071-1090. Lambrechts, W., et al. (2021). The transition of Dutch social housing corporations to sustainable business models for new buildings and retrofits. Energies, 14(3), 631. Teece, D. J. (2010). Business models, business strategy and innovation. Long Range Planning, 43(2-3), 172-194.