Abstract
This chapter describes avenues for future research to develop a “sustainable business model pattern language.” The chapter reflects on how sustainable business model (SBM) patterns can be identified, described, and turned into a design language to support the development of more sustainable organisations. Such organisations solve ecological, social, and economic problems through new approaches to proposing, delivering, capturing, and creating value. Theoretical and conceptual elements as well as methodological issues of developing an SBM pattern language are discussed. The value of using patterns in practice is illustrated with two business model innovation tools, one analogue and one digital, that use different patterns, including revenue and pricing, circular economy, and SBM patterns. Finally, questions for future research are proposed.
“The people can shape buildings for themselves, and have done it for centuries by using languages which I call pattern languages. A pattern language gives each person who uses it, the power to create an infinite variety of new and unique buildings, just as his ordinary language gives him the power to create an infinite variety of sentences.”
(Alexander 1979, p. 167)
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Also referred to as “business models for sustainability” (e.g., Wells 2013). Both terms are used interchangeably in this chapter.
- 2.
Since 2002, the Iba Lab at Keio University & CreativeShift Lab created 67 pattern languages including 1610 patterns; see http://web.sfc.keio.ac.jp/~iba/languages.html (as of April 2018).
References
Abdelkafi, N., and K. Täuscher. 2016. Business Models for Sustainability from a System Dynamics Perspective. Organization & Environment 29 (1): 74–96.
Abdelkafi, N., S. Makhotin, and T. Posselt.2013. Business Model Innovations for Electric Mobility—What Can Be Learned from Existing Business Model Patterns?International Journal of Innovation Management17(1): Art. 1340003.
Alexander, C. 1979. The Timeless Way of Building. Cambridge, MA: Oxford University Press.
Alexander, C., S. Ishikawa, M. Silverstein, M. Jacobson, I. Fiksdahl-King, and S. Angel. 1977. A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction. Cambridge, MA: Oxford University Press.
Alt, R., and H.-D. Zimmermann. 2001. Preface: Introduction to Special Section—Business Models. EM—Electronic Markets 11 (1): 3–9.
Amshoff, B., C.Dülme, J.Echterfeld, and J.Gausemeier.2015. Business Model Patterns for Disruptive Technologies. International Journal of Innovation Management19 (3): Art. No. 1540002.
Beltramello, A., L. Haie-Fayle, and D. Pilat. 2013. Why New Business Models Matter for Green Growth. Paris: OECD Publishing.
Bisgaard, T., K. Henriksen, and M. Bjerre. 2012. Green Business Model Innovation—Conceptualisation, Next Practice and Policy. Oslo: Nordic Innovation.
Bocken, N., S. Short, P. Rana, and S. Evans. 2013. A Value Mapping Tool for Sustainable Business Modelling. Corporate Governance: The International Journal of Business in Society 13 (5): 482–497.
———. 2014. A Literature and Practice Review to Develop Sustainable Business Model Archetypes. Journal of Cleaner Production 65: 42–56.
Bohnsack, R., and J. Pinkse. 2017. Value Propositions for Disruptive Technologies: Reconfiguration Tactics in the Case of Electric Vehicles. California Management Review 59 (4): 79–96.
Bohnsack, R., J. Pinkse, and A. Kolk. 2014. Business Models for Sustainable Technologies: Exploring Business Model Evolution in the Case of Electric Vehicles. Research Policy 43 (2): 284–300.
Boons, F., and F. Lüdeke-Freund. 2013. Business Models for Sustainable Innovation: State-of-the-art and Steps Towards a Research Agenda. Journal of Cleaner Production 45: 9–19.
Breuer, H.2013. Lean Venturing: Learning to Create New Business Through Exploration, Elaboration, Evaluation, Experimentation, and Evolution. International Journal of Innovation Management 17 (3): Article 1340013 (22 pp.).
Breuer, H., K. Fichter, F. Lüdeke-Freund, and I. Tiemann. 2018. Sustainability-Oriented Business Model Development: Principles, Criteria, and Tools. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing 10 (2): 256–286.
Breuer, H., and F. Lüdeke-Freund. 2017a. Values-Based Innovation Management: Innovating by What We Care About. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan.
Breuer, H., and F.Lüdeke-Freund.2017b. Values-Based Network and Business Model Innovation. International Journal of Innovation Management 21 (3): Article 1750028 (35 pp.).
———. 2018. Values-Based Business Model Innovation—A Toolkit. In Sustainable Business Models: Principles, Promise, and Practice, ed. L.Moratis, F.Melissen, and S.Idowu. Springer, in print.
Carroux, S.2017. Patterns for Sustainable Business Model Innovation. Creating a Pattern Taxonomy for Business Model Innovation in the Sustainability Context. Master thesis, University of Hamburg, Hamburg.
CB Insights. 2018. The Top 20 Reasons Startups Fail. Accessed April 26, 2018. https://www.cbinsights.com/research/startup-failure-reasons-top/.
Clinton, L., and R. Whisnant. 2014. Model Behavior—20 Business Model Innovations for Sustainability. London: Sustainability.
Eisenhardt, K. 1989. Building Theories from Case Study Research. The Academy of Management Review 14 (4): 532–550.
Falconer, J. 1999. The Business Pattern: A New Tool for Organizational Knowledge Capture and Reuse. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting-American Society for Information Science 36: 313–330.
Froese, T.2017. Time for New Relationships: Stakeholder Relationship Patterns of Post-Growth Businesses. Master thesis, University of Hamburg, Hamburg.
Gassmann, O., K. Frankenberger, and M. Csik. 2014. The Business Model Navigator: 55 Models That Will Revolutionise Your Business. Pearson Education Limited.
Gioia, D., K. Corley, and A. Hamilton. 2013. Seeking Qualitative Rigor in Inductive Research: Notes on the Gioia Methodology. Organizational Research Methods 16 (1): 15–31.
Girotra, K., and S. Netessine. 2013. OM Forum—Business Model Innovation for Sustainability. Manufacturing & Service Operations Management 15 (4): 537–544.
Joyce, A. 2016. A Proposal for a Design Approach to More Sustainable Business Models: Tools, Process and Outcomes to Envision the Future of an Organization. Doctoral dissertation, Concordia University, Montreal.
Joyce, A., and R.L. Paquin. 2016. The Triple Layered Business Model Canvas: A Tool to Design More Sustainable Business Models. Journal of Cleaner Production 135: 1474–1486.
KPMG. 2015. 5 Insights & Predictions on Disruptive Tech from KPMG’s 2015 Global Innovation Survey. Accessed April 28, 2018. https://www.forbes.com/sites/louiscolumbus/2015/11/08/5-insights-predictions-on-disruptive-tech-from-kpmgs-2015-global-innovation-survey/#224de63a3cbb.
Lambert, S. 2015. The Importance of Classification to Business Model Research. Journal of Business Models 3 (1): 49–61.
Leitner, H. 2015. Pattern Theory—Introduction and Perspectives on the Tracks of Christopher Alexander. Graz: HLS.
Lüdeke-Freund, F., and K. Dembek. 2017. Sustainable Business Model Research and Practice: Emerging Field or Passing Fancy? Journal of Cleaner Production 168: 1668–1678.
Lüdeke-Freund, F., S. Carroux, A. Joyce, L. Massa, and H. Breuer. 2018a. The sustainable business model pattern taxonomy—45 patterns to support sustainability-oriented business model innovation. Sustainable Production and Consumption. Online first 26 June 2018.
Lüdeke-Freund, F., S.Gold, and N.Bocken. 2018b. A Review and Typology of Circular Economy Business Model Patterns. Journal of Industrial Ecology, in print. Online first 25 April 2018.
Massa, L., C. Tucci, and A. Afuah. 2017. A Critical Assessment of Business Model Research. Academy of Management Annals 11 (1): 73–104.
Miles, M., and A. Huberman. 1994. Cross-case Displays: Exploring and Describing. In Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Ohnesorge, M.2017. Thinking Outside the Bin—Sustainable Business Model Patterns for Food Waste Prevention. Master thesis, University of Hamburg, Hamburg.
Osterwalder, A., and Y. Pigneur. 2009. Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers. Amsterdam: Self-published.
Parrish, B. 2010. Sustainability-driven Entrepreneurship: Principles of Organization Design. Journal of Business Venturing 25 (5): 510–523.
Paul, C. 2008. A Modified Delphi Approach to a New Card Sorting Methodology. Journal of Usability Studies 4 (1): 7–30.
Rauter, R., J. Jonker, and R.J. Baumgartner. 2017. Going One’s Own Way: Drivers in Developing Business Models for Sustainability. Journal of Cleaner Production 140: 144–154.
Remane, G., A. Hanelt, J. Tesch, and L.M. Kolbe.2017. The Business Model Pattern Database—A Tool for Systematic Business Model Innovation. International Journal of Innovation Management 21 (1): Article 1750004.
Rich, P. 1992. The Organizational Taxonomy: Definition and Design. Academy of Management Review 17 (4): 758–781.
Schaltegger, S., E.G. Hansen, and F. Lüdeke-Freund. 2016. Business Models for Sustainability: Origins, Present Research, and Future Avenues. Organization & Environment 29 (1): 3–10.
Simon, H.1969/1996. The Sciences of the Artificial. 3rd ed. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Smith, K. 2002. Typologies, Taxonomies, and the Benefits of Policy Classification. Policy Studies Journal 30 (3): 379–395.
Stubbs, W., and C. Cocklin. 2008. Conceptualizing a ‘Sustainability Business Model. Organization & Environment 21 (2): 103–127.
Tukker, A. 2004. Eight Types of Product–Service System: Eight Ways to Sustainability? Experiences from SusProNet. Business Strategy and the Environment 13 (4): 246–260.
———. 2015. Product Services for a Resource-Efficient and Circular Economy—A Review. Journal of Cleaner Production 97: 76–91.
Upward, A., and P. Jones. 2016. An Ontology for Strongly Sustainable Business Models: Defining an Enterprise Framework Compatible with Natural and Social Science. Organization & Environment 29 (1): 97–123.
UXBerlin. 2018. Refinement for Business Modelling (Template). Accessed April 26, 2018. http://www.uxberlin.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Values-Based_Business_Modelling_UXBerlin.pdf.
Wells, P. 2013. Business Models for Sustainability. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Wirtz, B.W., A. Pistoia, S. Ullrich, and V. Göttel. 2016. Business Models: Origin, Development and Future Research Perspectives. Long Range Planning 49 (1): 36–54.
Yang, M., S. Evans, D. Vladimirova, and P. Rana. 2017. Value Uncaptured Perspective for Sustainable Business Model Innovation. Journal of Cleaner Production 140: 1794–1804.
Yin, R. 2013. Case Study Research: Design and Methods. 5th ed. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Zott, C., R. Amit, and L. Massa. 2011. The Business Model: Recent Developments and Future Research. Journal of Management 37 (4): 1019–1042.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Lüdeke-Freund, F., Bohnsack, R., Breuer, H., Massa, L. (2019). Research on Sustainable Business Model Patterns: Status quo, Methodological Issues, and a Research Agenda. In: Aagaard, A. (eds) Sustainable Business Models. Palgrave Studies in Sustainable Business In Association with Future Earth. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93275-0_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93275-0_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-93274-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-93275-0
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)