Business models for sustainability: the current state of the literature and future research directions

Abstract

Business models for sustainability is an emerging research field that has been gaining attention among scholars and practitioners in recent years. Business models for sustainability are fruitful tools that organisations can use to create and deliver value for a wide range of stakeholders including society (e.g., health and well-being) and the environment (e.g., reduction of GHG emissions and afforestation). This chapter reflects on the current state of the literature by focusing on business models for sustainability across three carbon-intensive industries: construction and building, energy, and automotive. It critically analyses business models for sustainability across these industries and delineates future research directions. Our comparative analysis showed that technological changes and developments are main drivers of business model innovation for sustainability across the three industries. While there are different types of business models for sustainability, their uptake by companies is slow. We suggest that future research uses multiple case studies including stakeholders’ workshops, in-depth interviews and longitudinal studies to track changes and impacts of business model innovations over time.