scholarly journals How to Maintain the Sustainable Development of a Business Platform: A Case Study of Pinduoduo Social Commerce Platform in China

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (22) ◽  
pp. 6337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wu Zhao ◽  
AnQi Wang ◽  
Yun Chen

At present, the ‘platform business model’ has indicated innovative potentials not just in traditional industrial sectors such as telecommunications, IT and retail, but also other sectors like social commerce. However, ‘Platform’ is not static as it is firmed at the beginning. Using Pinduoduo as a case study, this research conducts in-depth interviews and surveys in China to analyze the dynamic change of the platform provider’s role for successful platform operation via the lens of platform business models. As a “2.0 generation eCommerce platform”, Pinduoduo platform has become the largest social commerce platform in China with continuous growth at a high speed. The study found that stabilisation of the platform has experienced two stages: spread and evolution. At the spread stage, the role of platform provider focuses on forming “incentive to participants” through “Low price + Social contact” strategy and “Gamification + brand channel” strategy. At the evolution stage, the provider’s role is transformed into manager of products/services quality and revenue structure. Pinduoduo’s quality control is composed of three levels, including front-end quality control, middle-end quality control and back-end quality control. Besides, platform revenue structure strategies are sponsor-type. The purpose of this study is to enlighten the current players in the market on how they might utilize the underlying rationales in framework to further develop their platform business models. From the perspective of a platform, sustainable development of a theoretical framework is proposed based on these findings to facilitate future research in this area.

Author(s):  
Patrizia Accordino ◽  
Tindara Abbate ◽  
Daniela Rupo ◽  
Raffaella Coppolino ◽  
Elvira Tiziana La Rocca

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development intends to improve efforts of governments, societies, and companies to deal with major social and environmental problems affecting contemporary societies. From a business perspective, companies can find a propulsive boost of innovation looking at different models of production and use of services/products. This new perspective is radically changing the ways companies and consumers interact, and the role of companies in supporting the achievement of SDGs through service innovation is becoming pervasive. In addition, the emerging digital economy represents a great opportunity opening up to sustainability-oriented service innovation and firms are developing their competitive advantage based on the introduction of new digital business models. This chapter explores this issue through an explorative case study based on the MyTaxi business model. Implications for managers and researchers and opportunities for future research are highlighted.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 538-553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Vallaster ◽  
Sascha Kraus ◽  
Norbert Kailer ◽  
Brooke Baldwin

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to give an up-to-date assessment of key topics and methods discussed in the current literature on responsible entrepreneurship. In the past years, sustainable development itself has become a more popular and important topic in the academic literature and hence the field of sustainable entrepreneurship has become a greater topic of interest and opportunity for solution. Therefore, a systematic literature review is conducted to assess new contributions to the field and its potential for the future of sustainable development, with a focus on responsible innovation.Design/methodology/approachSystematic, evidence-informed literature review following Tranfieldet al.(2003).FindingsBased on a conceptual literature review, five streams of research that responsible entrepreneurs distinguish from purely for-profit entrepreneurs are identified and discussed: walking the line between profit creation and value creation for society; business models of responsible entrepreneurs; their role in transforming society; getting ready to innovate responsibly; and the role of market incentives to foster sustainable business practices.Originality/valueThe structured literature review allows to identify future research paths. In detail, ideas as regards the management of upcoming tensions when trying to combine profit creation and value creation for society, and finally, the way innovation processes need to be rethought when innovating responsibly are discussed and outlined.


Author(s):  
Prof. Dr. Nadia Cipullo

The paper aims at showing how innovations in agri-food business models influence the corporate sustainability of rural ecosystems, assuring the attainment of specific sustainable development goals. The purpose is achieved through a case study method, using a relevant farmhouse and agritourism “Anna dei Sapori” located in the Cilento Bio-District – rich of bio-cultural diversity and homeland of the Mediterranean Diet, Intangible Cultural Heritage by the UNESCO – in Italy. Results show as all corporate processes are managed according to agroecological principles, introducing useful innovations. The goal demonstrates the impact of this thrilling “philosophy”, based on a circular and holistic approach, on environmental, sociocultural, and economic dimensions of sustainability, and the achievement of specific Sustainable Development Goals and targets.


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 374-391
Author(s):  
Daniel Ferreira Polónia ◽  
Adriana Coutinho Gradim

 Innovation has come a long way since the times it was defined just as a new idea. Nowadays, innovation activities comprise a lot more, from new products and/or services to improvements in organisational business models. The healthcare sector is no exception. This leads public authorities to increase their investment in innovation, research and development in the healthcare sector. The rising of internal and external collaborations between hospitals and other parties calls for a specific analysis on how the healthcare innovation environments behave and how knowledge flows within them are managed. This study, through the lens of the ecosystem theory, aims to study how a healthcare innovation ecosystem can be activated and knowledge flows are managed to ensure that all the parties are benefited. For that purpose, it presents a case study based on a set of three meetings of Portuguese stakeholders inserted in innovation healthcare ecosystems. With this work it was possible to observe that the healthcare innovation ecosystem can be analysed from different perspectives. The interaction with the different stakeholders allowed to identify possible partners to be involved in innovation activities (e.g.: hospitals, universities, research centres, start-ups). This paper suggests possible roles for the different parties along the innovation funnel as well as what they can do in each phase. Using a case study approach, it is possible to compare different contexts and identify best practices on the management of healthcare innovation ecosystems. Also, it becomes evident the need for more effective knowledge management to ensure that hospitals and the other parties meet their goals and play a relevant role in the ecosystem. Although this paper provides guidelines for action, it lacks implementation of the suggestions in a specific context. As such, this paper aims to serve as a basis for future research on the study of hospitals’ innovation ecosystems and underlying knowledge flows, in different contexts to achieve best practices for its effective management.


Author(s):  
Dana Maria (Oprea) Constantin ◽  
Sorinel Căpușneanu ◽  
Dan Ioan Topor ◽  
Hassan Danial Aslam

This chapter aims to synthesize some of the current issues of the circular economy and circular business models. Based on the international literature, the chapter highlights aspects such as the conceptual theoretical approaches of the circular economy and circular business models, interconnecting the principles of the circular economy, the difference between the linear and the circular economy, the circular economy and the sustainable development, the supply chain within the circular economy, possible business models of the circular economy, advantages and limitations in the successful implementation of the circular economy and supporting sustainability, other aspects of the circular economy and sustainability. The covered topics are based on the studies conducted by specialists and also present some author opinions on the sustainable development and circular economy. The chapter ends with the authors' conclusions on the impact of the circular economy and circular business models in the actual ecological context, launching possible future research topics for specialists.


2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 246-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
JinHyo Joseph Yun ◽  
WooYoung Jung ◽  
JeongHo Yang

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to figure out the factors for sustainable growth of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Design/methodology/approach – In all, 27 SMEs in the area of IT (Information Technology) in Korea were analysed through interview method basically. Findings – It is found that sustainable development of SMEs requires two kinds of open innovation which are knowledge strategy and business model. According to developing process, SMEs change their open innovation strategy in knowledge strategy and business model. The highest growth limit of SMEs depends on open innovation in knowledge strategy and business model in sequence from closed innovation in both, through open innovation in both, to open innovation in knowledge strategy and closed innovation in business model and to closed innovation in knowledge strategy and open innovation in business model. Research limitations/implications – First, the present study was conducted with IT sector SMEs in Korea. It is true that the IT sector is one of the most rapidly changing industrial sectors and is one of representative business types of SMEs in which manufacturing and service industries coexist and diverse sizes of SMEs exist (Malerba, 2002). Second, the present study relies on case study methods. It is true that case study is a method that gives excellent qualitative analysis in firm studies (Yin, 2008). Practical implications – SMEs cannot survive if they do not accept open innovation in knowledge strategy and business model. SMEs that show absolute limitations in resources and manpower should absolutely implement open innovation strategies to secure more diverse resources from markets and external knowledge bases rather than preparing all resources and capabilities by themselves (Van de Vrande et al., 2009; Yun and Mohan, 2012a, 2012b). Social implications – SMEs should bear in mind the two different levels of open innovation, such as knowledge strategies and business models (Chesbrough, 2007; Chesbrough and Appleyard, 2007). Originality/value – SMEs should not confuse between temporally sustainable development and infinite sustainable development. Firms that take closed innovation strategies in both knowledge strategies and business models can also grow for some time. However, because of the deepening of knowledge-based economy, not only the amount of knowledge existing in the world and the speed of knowledge distribution increased but also the customers’ demands and expectations have been observed to increase in the market immediately through social networking sites (SNS), etc. (Yun and Ryu, 2012).


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 98-110
Author(s):  
William L. Swann ◽  
Shelley McMullen ◽  
Dan Graeve ◽  
Serena Kim

How bureaucrats exercise administrative discretion is an enduring question in urban planning and democratic governance. Conflicts between urban planners’ professional recommendations and community stakeholders’ demands play out especially in the sustainable development context, where planners confront value conflicts between environmental, economic, and social goals. This article investigates the sources of community resistance to sustainable development and the discretionary strategies planners employ to persuade communities towards a more sustainable future. Utilizing a descriptive case study design, we examine four Colorado cities experiencing growth and community resistance to sustainable development practices. We find that while planners face community resistance from a multitude of sources, including developer pressures, NIMBYism and density concerns, and distrust of the planning profession, planners also work within their discretionary space using interdepartmental coordination, communication and outreach, data and evidence, rule changes, and neutral stewardship to encourage sustainable development. Implications for planning practice and future research are discussed.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atchara Leeraphong ◽  
Borworn Papasratorn

Social networking platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Line have recently gained enormous popularity for commercial purposes among social media users, and is commonly known as C2C social commerce (SC). These new online businesses are continuing to flourish in Southeast Asia especially in Thailand where the C2C-SC market size is significant. To get a clear picture of C2C-SC in Southeast Asia, this study investigated the patterns of purchasing processes and business models being used in Thailand. The data was gathered from direct observations and an online survey. The findings revealed that the typical purchasing process of this channel consists of five basic steps: advertising, searching, negotiation and ordering, payment, and delivery. The business models can be categorized into five models: S-retailing, S-specific market, S-preorder, S-auction and S-reverse auction. The results may contribute to promote SC activities and value creation for the local business community in this region. Social networking users who wish to build their businesses on SC can reference our findings to provide transaction process effectiveness and promote more satisfactory services to their customers.Keywords: C2C Social commerce, business models, s-commerce transactions


Author(s):  
Florina Bran ◽  
Gian Paolo Cesaretti ◽  
Ion Cdobre

The last decades fueled the energy challenge by the continuous growth of demand and strengthening of environmental restrains. How these challenges are addressed at global and national level is the main topic approached by the paper using as case study Romania. The availability of resources and how they compare with the current and growing needs of energy is analyzed and discussed. The analysis is taking in account the structure by primary energy sources and the dynamic on the last decades. Applying the same approach for energy imports it is calculated the degree of energy freedom and how this could be improved by considering the potential of renewable energy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 5148
Author(s):  
Diego Corrales-Garay ◽  
Eva-María Mora-Valentín ◽  
Marta Ortiz-de-Urbina-Criado

Entrepreneurship and open data are key elements in the sustainable development field, improving economic, social, and environmental dimensions. However, entrepreneurship and open data are barely studied together in the literature from a theoretical perspective. Therefore, this study identifies the main themes in the previous studies and proposes a conceptual model for analyzing entrepreneurship through open data. For this purpose, a descriptive analysis and a co-word analysis were performed. Results show that the subject is multidisciplinary, and the main theme of study is how different agents reuse information released by public administrations to generate new entrepreneurial initiatives, especially novel business models associated with new mobile applications. Open data sources, innovation, and business models are studied as critical factors for analyzing entrepreneurship through open data. Likewise, a conceptual model is presented and emerging themes for future research are proposed. Among them, the importance of encouraging collaboration between different agents in the open data ecosystem for service development and improvement is emphasized. Our study identifies an emerging theme that is still in an early phase: The study of sustainable entrepreneurship through open data as a value creation initiative to address global sustainable development.


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