Abstract
This chapter discusses the role of business models in sustainability transitions. Sustainability-oriented entrepreneurs develop business models that can transform the societal systems they operate in, functioning in this way as a catalyst for system-wide transitions. But what does it take for a business model to be transformative? This chapter introduces Transformative Business Models as a new framework to advance our understanding of how the business model concept can contribute to sustainability transitions as well as how transition thinking supports the prospects of sustainable business models to unlock their transformative potential. Our argument is that the reflexive dynamics that play out between the innovative businesses and the regimes in which they emerge play a critical role in determining whether the emerging transformations will over time lead to fundamental systemic change. Building on insights from a business model perspective and sustainability transitions, the introduced framework enables a systematic analysis of these dynamics. To illustrate its merits, this chapter presents the case of Deltawind, an energy cooperative in the Netherlands. The chapter concludes by proposing three main characteristics of business models exhibiting transformative potential: a broad value orientation, a broad stakeholder network , and a reflexive orientation.
This book chapter is based on research carried out as part of the project TRAPESES—Transition Patterns Enabling Smart Energy Systems, which was funded by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) under Grant Agreement 408-13-029. The authors would like to express their gratitude to Matthijs Hischemöller for his assistance and contributions to the overall research. We are also indebted and wish to thank all the practitioners with whom we worked during the project.
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Notes
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It is worth mentioning that the reason why the cooperative did not collaborate with the energy provider DE UNIE, a cooperative of cooperatives in the Netherlands, is because of the fact that despite taking on the administration tasks, DE UNIE asks the initiatives to find their customers, something that is not Deltawind’s core business and given its scale of operation it is also a difficult and expensive task (the director suggests that for the last wind park, there would be a need for 11,000 contracts to make use of the total electricity produced).
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Proka, A., Beers, P.J., Loorbach, D. (2018). Transformative Business Models for Sustainability Transitions. In: Moratis, L., Melissen, F., Idowu, S. (eds) Sustainable Business Models. CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73503-0_2
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