Behind the curtain of sustainable business models: the role of firm’s strategic agility in value creation
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to identify the archetypes of business models and illustrate how firms create, deliver and capture value by juxtaposing the firm’s aspired value emphasis with its strategic agility.
Design/methodology/approach
The two-by-two matrix is constructed based on an analysis of existing literature and conceptual development.
Findings
We advance a conceptualization of strategic agility to emphasize speed and flexibility as the main drivers, along with attention toward stakeholder expectations. Additionally, we unveil four different archetypes of business models based on the firm’s aspired value emphasis (economic vs plus social/environmental) and the type of strategic agility (defensive vs proactive).
Research limitations/implications
Studies that empirically corroborate the proposed conceptualization of strategic agility are needed. In addition, empirical investigations on the evolutionary paths underlying the development of firms’ business models are requested.
Practical implications
Managers learn about aspects and actions that they should pursue to shift from one business model archetype to another.
Originality/value
We identify the features – in terms of focus on all the components of the triple bottom line (or not) and in terms of strategic agility – that firms need to face or even anticipate environmental and social transformation.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This research combines and recombines the insights gathered from the 7th International Conference on Sustainable Business Model Challenges: Economic Recovery and Digital Transformation hosted by LUMSA University on 23–24 June, 2022. The authors are grateful to the Management Decision editor, Professor Brandon Randolph-Seng, for recognizing the Conference as a promising arena where the most pressing and cutting-edge sustainability issues were debated and for inviting us to link the sustainable business model with a strategic perspective on flexibility (Agostini et al., 2024). We also thank the guest editors Professors Lara Agostini, Anna Nosella and Rikka Sarala; our contribution stems from the desire for a cross-fertilization of knowledge based on the awareness that addressing the great sustainability challenges of our time require coordinated action, multi-disciplinary contributions and innovative approaches (George and Schillebeeckx, 2022).
Citation
Mina’, A. and Michelini, L. (2024), "Behind the curtain of sustainable business models: the role of firm’s strategic agility in value creation", Management Decision, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-01-2024-0071
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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