Sustainable innovation in business models: celebrated but not interrogated

Abstract

This chapter contributes to literature on sustainable innovation by critically engaging with the concept of sustainable innovation in business models. Four types of models purported to contribute to sustainability are explored: circular business models, product–service systems, business models for collaborative consumption, and business models for collaborative production. First, we evaluate each model according to the framework of value proposition, value creation and value capture. Second, we investigate how each model addresses the economic, environmental and social dimensions of sustainability differently. Third, we study the different forms of innovation these business models rely on for their success, by following the classification of innovation that distinguishes between technological (product and process), organizational (management systems at a company, value chain or value network level), and societal innovation (change of lifestyles, consumer behaviour and consumption patterns). We end the chapter by outlining future research directions for studying sustainable innovation in these business models. (Less)