Dear Colleagues,

Business models are defined as the “fundamental structures for how companies create, deliver, and capture value” (Osterwalder and Pigneur, 2010). By incorporating sustainability into core business processes, companies can generate sustainable business models that create, deliver, and capture sustainable value across all production and consumption stages (Yang, Vladimirova, and Evans, 2017). Such examples may include companies that modify their manufacturing processes, design sustainable product life cycles, or improve supply chain practices with the end goal of creating sustainable value.

In light of growing interest and awareness of sustainability issues in consumer markets, consumers have been increasingly turning to companies taking sustainable actions and stewardship of ecosystems. Companies successfully leveraging sustainability as a core value in their business model can be at a greater competitive advantage as they invite consumers to co-create values around sustainability. This role reversal converts consumers from passive users to responsible agents in the development and implementation of sustainable business models. Sustainable business models can be implemented into consumer marketing to motivate consumers to proactively participate in companies’ sustainable marketing efforts.

Although emerging sustainable business models have been gaining momentum across business sectors, little research has addressed the impact of these models on consumer marketing. As sustainability becomes our daily practice and more companies embrace sustainability, there is a critical need for academic research that can shed light on sustainable business models in practice and provide a roadmap for consumer marketing professionals. To this end, we are seeking theoretical and empirical research addressesing topics including, but not limited to, the following:  

• Consumer values driving sustainable business models;
• Sharing economy with sustainable business practices;
• Consumer perceptions and attitudes toward sustainable business models;
• Sustainable brands in consumer marketing;
• Consumer responses to corporate social responsibility/cause marketing;
• Consumer value co-creation behaviors to support sustainable business models;
• Sustainable consumer behavior.

References

1. Osterwalder, A.; Pigneur, Y. Business Model Generation; A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers, John Wiley & Sons: Hoboken, NJ, 2010.
2. Yang, M.; Vladimirova, D.; Evans, S. Creating and capturing value through sustainability. Research-Technology Management 2017, 60(3), 30-39, DOI: 10.1080/08956308.2017.1301001

Prof. Kiseol Yang
Prof. Youn-Kyung Kim
Prof. Christy Crutsinger
Dr. Jihye Min
Guest Editors

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• sustainable business models;
• sustainable value;
• sustainable consumer behavior;
• sustainable brands