scholarly journals Sustainability Is All about Values: The Challenges of Considering Moral and Benefit Values in Business Model Decisions

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 664
Author(s):  
Ivan Bolis ◽  
Sandra Naomi Morioka ◽  
Wilza Karla dos Santos Leite ◽  
Paulo César Zambroni-de-Souza
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Moral Values ◽  
Strategic Decisions ◽  
Financial Benefit ◽  
Moral Value ◽  
Business Decisions ◽  
Business Context ◽  
Substantive Rationality

Despite indications in the literature about the existence of win-win business opportunities regarding sustainability, most companies are still producing limited social and environmental results that are disconnected from their value propositions. Studies on the rationales underlying decisions regarding sustainability can offer a better understanding of this challenge. In particular, substantive rationality suggests that the decision-making process consider collective values for sustainability. This study investigates the following research question: What are the main challenges of making business decisions based on moral values of sustainable development? Using strategic decisions as a unit of analysis, action research in a start-up environment identified the following business challenges: (1) recognizing the limits of applying the moral values of sustainable development to the current business context dominated by maximization of economic and financial benefit values; (2) recognizing the normative nature of sustainability goals, which implies that moral values related to sustainable development are still external and not naturally occurring in people’s personal moral values; (3) addressing conflicts between moral and benefit values and between collective and individual goals when including substantive rationality in business decisions; (4) engaging business stakeholders according to their personal moral values, as people are value driven; and (5) engaging workers in sustainable development values, as they play a central role in enabling benefit value creation for sustainable development. The paper offers interesting insights into moral value and benefit value. The former is the basis for individual decisions, while the latter represents benefits created by business models. Both concepts have been separately investigated, but this research delimits and differentiates them. Future studies can further investigate decision rationalities to enable sustainability in practice, as this is usually a theoretical discussion. Research on other start-ups and more mature organizations can also provide interesting insights.

Digitisation and Sustainable Development: The Opportunities and Risks of Using Digital Technologies for the Implementation of a Circular Economy

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-23
Author(s):  
Benjamin Kottmeyer
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Social Outcomes ◽  
Social Progress ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Critical Social

Digitisation is developing a transformational potential that is profoundly changing people, our societies and the planet. Like any major societal transformation, it offers both, significant opportunities for progress and significant risks with harmful consequences for societies. This paper, therefore, addresses the question: ‘What are the critical social outcomes and concerns flowing from the advances in digitisation on our work environment?’ To discuss the broad research question in sufficient depth, this paper focuses not only on specific critical social outcomes of digitisation but also on how some of them can be mitigated by combining digital tools with the concept of a circular economy (representing the abstract idea of sustainable development). The implementation of blockchain technologies and new business models shows that digital technologies have the potential to close the realisation gap between theory and practice of the circular economy concept by enhancing the information flow and the communication between stakeholders in the value chain. Nonetheless, the implementation of these technologies also entails social and economic risks, such as power abuse or regulatory arbitrage, which should be considered in advance. To avoid jeopardising digital innovations, future research should therefore develop a more holistic and interdisciplinary understanding of the complex interactions to exploit the potential of digitisation for social progress.

Gaining competitive advantage through the right business model: analysis based on case studies

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 138-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anish Purkayastha ◽  
Sunil Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Business Model ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Service Innovation ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Strategic Decisions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Inductive Research

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on an inductive research that analyzes the unique decisions of three firms that shape their business model and, consequently, provide a competitive advantage. Design/methodology/approach – Given the paucity of prior research on the effect that a firm’s business model has on its competitive advantage, addressing the research question warrants an in-depth qualitative study. The study requires explicitly capturing decisions from a firm’s chosen business model and how these decisions are linked to its competitive advantage. The authors take on an inductive research approach to study three longitudinal case studies of organizations that have either successfully implemented their adopted business model or are implementing unique business models. Findings – First, the authors identify nine different theoretically grounded propositions based on decisions taken by the firms the authors studied, which shape their business model and give them a competitive advantage. Second, the authors look at these decisions in an integrated manner and categorize these into structural decisions and strategic decisions. Third, the authors extend an existing line of thought that predominantly views the business model as complementary to a firm’s product or service innovation. The authors emphasize on the criticality of the business model as a higher level construct formed from multiple structural and strategic decisions that, eventually, become a source of competitive advantage. Originality/value – The findings help to identify a possible theoretical explanation of newer forms of organization, evolving from product, process or service innovation, combined with their unique business model. They help in guiding practitioners to identify sources of competitive advantage through the innovative business models.

scholarly journals A New Face of Mining Engineer—International Curricula to Sustainable Development and Green Deal (A Case Study of the Wrocław University of Science and Technology)

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1393
Author(s):  
Karolina Adach-Pawelus ◽  
Anna Gogolewska ◽  
Justyna Górniak-Zimroz ◽  
Barbara Kiełczawa ◽  
Joanna Krupa-Kurzynowska ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Science And Technology ◽  
Mining Industry ◽  
Mining Engineer ◽  
European Institute ◽  
Innovation And Technology ◽  
Development Goals

The mining industry in the world has undergone a major metamorphosis in recent years. These changes have forced higher education to modify the curricula in a thorough way to meet the mining entrepreneurs’ needs. The paper’s scope is to answer the research question—how to attract students and implement Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in higher education in mining engineering? Based on the case of international cooperation carried out at the Faculty of Geoengineering, Mining and Geology of the Wrocław University of Science and Technology (WUST) within the framework of educational projects co-financed by European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) and EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities Raw Materials (EIT RM), the authors prove that the idea of sustainable development can be introduced into the system of teaching mining specialists at every level of their higher education (engineering and master’s studies), through developing their new competencies, introducing new subjects taking into account innovative solutions and technologies, or placing great emphasis on environmental and social aspects. Examples of new curricula show a good way to change into the new face of a mining engineer.

scholarly journals The Impact of Sustainability Awareness and Moral Values on Environmental Laws

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 5882
Author(s):  
Rita Yi Man Li ◽  
Yi Lut Li ◽  
M. James C. Crabbe ◽  
Otilia Manta ◽  
Muhammad Shoaib
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Moral Values ◽  
Web Pages ◽  
Environmental Legislation ◽  
Environmental Laws ◽  
Academic Publications ◽  
The Impact

We argue that environmental legislation and regulation of more developed countries reflects significantly their moral values, but in less developed countries it differs significantly from their moral values. We examined this topic by using the keywords “sustainability” and “sustainable development”, studying web pages and articles published between 1974 to 2018 in Web of Science, Scopus and Google. Australia, Zimbabwe, and Uganda were ranked as the top three countries in the number of Google searches for sustainability. The top five cities that appeared in sustainability searches through Google are all from Africa. In terms of academic publications, China, India, and Brazil record among the largest numbers of sustainability and sustainable development articles in Scopus. Six out of the ten top productive institutions publishing sustainable development articles indexed in Scopus were located in developing countries, indicating that developing countries are well aware of the issues surrounding sustainable development. Our results show that when environmental law reflects moral values for betterment, legal adoption is more likely to be successful, which usually happens in well-developed regions. In less-developed states, environmental law differs significantly from moral values, such that changes in moral values are necessary for successful legal implementation. Our study has important implications for the development of policies and cultures, together with the enforcement of environmental laws and regulations in all countries.

scholarly journals Promotion of Social Innovation through Fab Labs. The Case of ProteinLab UTEM in Chile

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (16) ◽  
pp. 8790
Author(s):  
Macarena Valenzuela-Zubiaur ◽  
Héctor Torres Bustos ◽  
Mónica Arroyo-Vázquez ◽  
Pablo Ferrer-Gisbert
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Quadruple Helix ◽  
Third Mission ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Social Challenges ◽  
Mixed Analysis ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Effective Instrument

Fab Labs as manufacturing laboratories that stimulate innovation and collaboration are nowadays proliferating within universities. Given the new social challenges, framed within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), we formulate the following research question: Are Fab Labs an effective tool for the promotion of social innovation from universities? To answer this question, a mixed analysis has been carried out focusing on the case of ProteinLab UTEM. The approach aims to generate a model for the promotion of social innovation from universities through Fab Labs, linking the quadruple helix actors. The objective of this model is to show how Fab Labs can become an effective instrument to promote social innovation from universities. The contribution of this article lies in linking Fab Labs with social innovation through the university’s third mission. Our approach considers Fab Labs as an instrument for the development of social innovations within the university, which contribute, through the third mission, to the social and sustainable development of its environment. As a result of this research, a model is presented for the development of social innovation from universities through Fab Labs. Our research concludes that Fab Labs are an effective instrument for the promotion of social innovation from universities.

Sustainable life cycle offers through cooperation

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Selberherr
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Business Model ◽  
Value Creation ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Construction Sector ◽  
Content Type ◽  
New Business ◽  
Societal Level

Purpose – Sustainable buildings bear enormous potential benefits for clients, service providers, and our society. To release this potential a change in business models is required. The purpose of this paper is to develop a new business model with the objective of proactively contributing to sustainable development on the societal level and thereby improving the economic position of the service providers in the construction sector. Design/methodology/approach – The modeling process comprises two steps, the formal structuring and the contextual configuration. In the formal structuring systems theory is used and two levels are analytically separated. The outside view concerns the business model’s interaction with the environment and its impact on sustainability. The inside view focusses on efficient value creation for securing sustainability. The logically deductively developed business model is subsequently theory-led substantiated with Giddens’ structuration theory. Findings – The relevant mechanisms for the development of a new service offer, which creates a perceivable surplus value to the client and contributes to sustainable development on the societal level, are identified. The requirements for an efficient value creation process with the objective of optimizing the service providers’ competitive position are outlined. Research limitations/implications – The model is developed logically deductively based on literature and embedded in a theoretical framework. It has not yet been empirically tested. Practical implications – Guidelines for the practical implementation of more sustainable business models for the provision of life cycle service offers are developed. Social implications – The construction industry’s impact requires it to contribute proactively to a more sustainable development of the society. Originality/value – This paper analyzes the role for the players in the construction sector in proactively contributing to sustainable development on the societal level. One feasible strategy is proposed with a new business model, which aims at cooperatively optimizing buildings and infrastructures and taking the responsibility for the operating phase via guarantees.

A conceptual framework for product service system design for machine tools

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 1227-1248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pankaj U. Zine ◽  
Makarand S Kulkarni ◽  
Arun K. Ray ◽  
Rakesh Chawla
Keyword(s):  
Machine Tool ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Machine Tools ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Service System ◽  
Product Service System ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business Context ◽  
Product Service ◽  
Key Issues

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual framework for product service system (PSS) design for machine tools and discuss the PSS implementation issues focusing on the Indian machine tool business sector. Design/methodology/approach – The paper opted for an exploratory survey conducted in the Indian machine tool sector including 39 in-depth interviews with employees of different organizations representing middle and senior management having decision-making authority. It also involves proposing a framework to address the stakeholder’s requirements for services that offers foundation for PSS designers. Findings – The paper helps get an insights about key issues for PSS implementation by the Indian machine tool sector. The hybrid PSS model proposed in the paper can address the stakeholder’s requirements for flexibility in business models through different business phases. Practical implications – The paper offers suggestions for the development of PSS for machine tools for designers and identify issues to be considered particularly in Indian machine tools business context. Originality/value – This paper provides an insight to judge the feasibility of PSS concept for machine tools in Indian context and offers framework for PSS designers.

Verbal Group Complexes Application In Palang Tamak Text Systemic Functional Linguistics Perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
I Ketut Suardana ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Systemic Functional Linguistics ◽  
Moral Values ◽  
Theory Approach ◽  
Narrative Texts ◽  
Moral Value ◽  
Real Condition ◽  
Functional Linguistics ◽  
Verbal Process ◽  
The World ◽  
Verbal Group

Pan Balang Tamak text is one of Balinese narrative texts developing in Balinese communities. This text contains very deep moral value that is very useful for communities to achieve happiness in the world. The moral values embed in the clauses constructing the text in metaphorical meaning. Many clauses constructing the text contain verbal group complexes in which describe kinds of actions done by the participants. This paper analyzes the application of verbal group complexes in Pan Balang Tamak text written by Suptra (2014). The theory used to analyze the verbal group complexes is the theory of group complex from Systemic Functional Linguistics from Halliday (2014). The paper used qualitative research, namely by the theory approach, the technique used is based on syntagmatic and paradigmatic based on field, tenor, mode. The result of the research suggested that both verbal group complexes in paratactic and in hypotactic were found in the text. Paratactic can be found in the way of the communities respect their bad behavior and the real condition happening to all animal living in the forest. The hypotactic were found the clauses which contain the effort to trap Pan Balang Tamak and the advantages obtained by Pan Balang Tamak from the efforts which be trap Pan Balang Tamak. Projection verb can be found in verbal process in which mean proposal, namely, the willing to trap Pan Balang Tamak

Saregama Carvaan: a phoenix that rose from the ashes

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Tausif Amir Mulla
Keyword(s):  
Consumer Behavior ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Graduate Program ◽  
Smart Device ◽  
Strategic Decisions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Profit Center ◽  
Academic Level

Learning outcomes The learning outcomes of this case are product innovation, the importance of consumer insights and data in marketing and the role of consumer insights in brand revival. Case overview/synopsis This case study is a fascinating look into how the shift from music compact disc (CDs) to streaming has completely changed consumer behavior. This change in attitude led many music labels down one of two paths as follows: shutting down the business or embracing new business models. The case study aims to bring out essential learning from a company, Saregama, that was on the verge of shutting down because of the losses incurred with the shift in consumer behavior from buying music CDs to streaming music for free on every smart device. This shift led most record companies to become shuttered. However, not all were as fortunate as Saregama, who threaded its way toward profitability. This case analyzes how Saregama turned from a loss-making business unit into a profit center by launching a breakthrough product backed by innovative thinking and strong consumer research. The researcher opted for secondary research based on reports from Deloitte and McKinsey & Company and other credible sources to understand the music streaming market in India. The study also includes excerpts from the interview of Vikram Mehra (MD of Saregama India Ltd.) to various media houses and customer reviews on e-commerce sites. Complexity academic level The case is relevant for learners studying for an undergraduate or graduate program and for discussions for modules such as marketing management and international marketing with a focus on product development and strategy. Applicability the case will provide the following exposure to the learners: the difference between corporate and marketing objectives; Using frameworks such as valuable, rare, inimitable, and organization and SAP-LAP to understand the rationale behind strategic decisions; An understanding of the importance of listening to consumers; Using the right marketing elements such as segmentation, targeting and positioning and marketing mix for a competitive marketing strategy. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS: 8 Marketing.

Alternatives to solve SDG trade-offs and to enforce SDG synergies: a systematic literature review

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrei Boar ◽  
Erola Palau Pinyana ◽  
Marc Oliveras-Villanueva
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Systematic Literature Review ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Economic Models ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Trade Offs

PurposeThis paper takes a critical view of synergies and trade-offs and discloses the practices that countries and companies should apply to achieve sustainable development.Design/methodology/approachThis paper offers a systematic literature review of 408 papers to find models of sustainable development goals (SDGs) interaction with the aim of shedding light on the existing synergies and trade-offs and finding solutions to enhance these synergies and minimize the trade-offs.FindingsBoth rich and developing countries should follow multiple strategies to improve the quality of life of their citizens. Developing countries should focus on eradicating poverty. Rich countries should apply new economic models that are more likely to be environmental-friendly. Finally, the topic of SDGs should be revisited by the United Nations.Practical implicationsBoosting the quality of education and providing clean energy are two of the most relevant actions that should to be taken by countries, as they will accelerate the fulfilment of all the other SDGs. The use of circular economic models or new business models, such as the sharing economy, is essential to the achievement of sustained economic growth without negative environmental impact.Originality/valueThe paper analyzes SDG interactions and offers a critical vision of practices that countries and companies should adhere to for achieving sustainable development.

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