Highlights

Abstract

Keywords

۱٫ Introduction

۲٫ Theoretical background

۳٫ Methodology

۴٫ The cases

۵٫ Analysis

۶٫ Discussion

۷٫ Summary and conclusions

Appendix A. Topics covered in the interviews

References

Abstract

To navigate sustainability transitions, firms are often prompted to take an active role in business model innovation. Previous research has shown, however, that when attempting to change business models, incumbent firms frequently face challenges concerning the ambiguity of transition pathways. This paper is an inquiry into this intersection between business model innovation and sustainability transitions. Anchored in three case studies of sustainability-driven, pre-commercial projects of emerging technologies, it reveals how groups of organizations collaborate in time-limited, cross-industry networks, to explore potential business models for anticipated, profound, changes in socio-technical systems. Drawing on these findings, the paper introduces the concept of experimental networks and illustrates how experimental networks can facilitate business model innovation in relation to systemic change. By outlining the constituents of the experimental network concept, the paper contributes to theory by uncovering the interplay of interorganizational collaboration and network level business model innovation. In addition, it reveals how experimental networks constitute one way for incumbents to claim agency with respect to emerging sustainability transitions.

۱٫ Introduction

It is widely acknowledged that a transition towards environmental sustainability requires systemic change to existing production and consumption patterns. In research, this has driven scholarly attention to address issues of sustainability transitions, i.e., trying to understand how to achieve profound changes in existing socio-technical systems for example, infrastructure, road transportation, and energy (Köhler et al., 2019; Markard et al., 2012). In practice, many companies also seek strategies to navigate such transitions, often by probing the potentials of new technologies, new business models, and new collaborative patterns aimed at gaining (and shaping) competitive positions for the future (Berggren et al., 2015; Tongur and Engwall, 2014). Consequently, how businesses can innovate so as to contribute to sustainability has emerged as a key question in research (Foss and Saebi, 2017, 2018; van Waes et al., 2018; Bolton and Hannon, 2016; Geels, 2018).

However, previous research has identified business models as constituting a key bottleneck in sustainability transitions (Bidmon and Knab, 2018; Wells and Nieuwenhuis, 2012). Since sustainability performance seldom overrides financial performance criteria in the short term (Schaltegger et al., 2016; Tongur, 2018), incumbent businesses tend to hold back more sustainable alternatives to existing, less sustainable technologies. Furthermore, since novel, alternative business models tend to conflict with the entrenched, institutionalized ways of doing business (Bidmon and Knab, 2018), business model innovation for sustainability transitions in established industries often requires systemic reconfiguration (Markard et al., 2012).