Case Study on a Tool for SMEs Developing Business Models for Sustainability

Climate change and the call for fair and sustainable economic activities are mega-challenges that change the business landscape dramatically in the coming years (OECD in OECD Publishing. Paris, 2023). Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in the global economy as 90% of businesses are SMEs (World Bank, n.d.). Therefore, on a large scale, SMEs have an important position in creating societal and environmental impacts. Having a sustainable business strategy will eventually become a competitive advantage (Elkington in Cannibals with forks: the triple bottom line of twenty-first century business, Capstone, 1999; Hart and Dowell in J Manag 37:1464–1479, 2011; Porter and Siggelkow in Acad Manag Perspect 22:34–56, 2008). For businesses, the most influential manner to impact sustainability is fully incorporating sustainable practices into their overall business strategy. As client demands for sustainability increase, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) must prioritize sustainable practices in both their daily operations and overall strategy. However, many SMEs struggle with integrating sustainability into their business models. There is a need for further research to understand the construction and contextual elements of sustainable business models since they are currently inadequately developed in academia (Najmaei and Sadeghinejad in Scientometrics 128:957–999, 2023). This paper views sustainable business models as social constructions and emphasizes the need to gain a deeper understanding of how these phenomena are created in their respective contexts. The study adopts a case study method and focuses on one service for small and medium-sized enterprises to develop sustainability of their business models. This concept is investigated to understand underlying assumptions and resources on how SMEs can develop business models for sustainability. The study composes a literature review on business models for sustainability in the context of SMEs. Then study zooms on a method developed by Think Further to analyze how it approaches the phenomenon of developing sustainable business models in SMEs. The concept developed by Think Further is then analyzed with inductive coding, and interpretative results are then reflected with the theoretical perspectives of sustainable business models. The study sheds light on sustainable business models as social constructions that are relative and combine firm-level knowledge with stakeholders’ views and more general knowledge and macro-level knowledge. This article uncovers the relationship between sustainable business models as standardizable, universal but also as contextual, relative and specific, and constantly evolving phenomena. The suggestions for future studies are suggested.