Certified B corporations: An approach to tensions of sustainable-driven hybrid business models in an emerging economy

Abstract

New business models have been attracting attention for their capacity to respond to the current society's challenges, maintaining a balance between social, environmental, and economic logics. This paper focuses on the so-called sustainability-driven hybrid business models, which operate in the interception of hybrid organizing and sustainable business models. Considering the dearth of research on the contextual factors that influence organizations implementing this model, this study investigates the attributes that alleviate the tensions of operating in an emerging economy, building on a multiple case study of eighteen Certified B Corporations from diverse sectors in Colombia. The main contribution was to provide a sustainability-driven hybrid business model archetype for Certified B Corporations based on the core business model elements: value proposition, value creation and delivery, and value capture. Drawing on the institutional pillars — regulative, normative, and cognitive-cultural, it is suggested that Certified B Corporations respond to tensions by adapting specific attributes of their business model to the particularities of the operating environment. The paper links the findings to the extant literature and offers recommendations for research and practice.