The Catalytic Role of Sustainability Transitions for Business Models

Abstract

AbstractIn the dynamic realm of global business and the pressing climate crisis, the need for sustainability transitions has become a pivotal catalyst for change, fundamentally reshaping the core tenets of companies’ business models. In this chapter, we delve into the notion of sustainability transitions and discuss the dynamic interplay between business models and the broader socio-technical contexts in which they operate. The chapter argues that sustainability transitions are a game-changing lens through which businesses can understand, respond to, and influence the changing world around them. This leads to reflections on the nature of so-called business models for sustainability transitions (BMfST), which might become a new breed of sustainability-oriented business models. The chapter concludes with illustrations of three categories of business models which represent antecedents of future BMfST, as well as a set of tentative principles for thinking about business model design catalysed by sustainability transitions.