Sustainable Value Creation Through Business Models

Sustainable Value Creation Through Business Models

The discussion presented in this paper, which also serves as a guest editorial for the special issue ‘Sustainable Value Creation Through Business Models, was motivated by an observation that has kept us wondering for quite some time. The whole business model discourse, including both its traditional and sustainability-oriented streams, receives its legitimacy and urgency from its focus on value, which is proposed, delivered, created and captured through business models. The notion of value creation is fascinating as it implies the emergence (or creation) of something valuable that did not exist previously.

But surprisingly, although it is a key concept in business model research, the notion of value creation remains a black box in most publications issued in the past two decades. It is remarkable that a whole
field of research gains its legitimacy from the need to better understand how firms create value, but it
neither offers nor uses clear definitions and explanations of this concept. At best, value creation is articulated as the ‘value chain’ part of a company, or the difference between revenues and costs. The same applies to the notion of sustainable value creation (SVC), which is increasingly used and discussed in the literature, but hardly defined and explained. Extensions of the concept of value creation to include sustainability considerations have been discussed in various fields, including corporate sustainability,
sustainable and social entrepreneurship and marketing. However, this idea is of particular importance to sustainable business model. Despite the obvious interest in and increasing use
of the notion of SVC, its definitions and theoretical foundations are still weak, possibly because of the
variety of theories and concepts underlying discussions and explorations of SBMs in general and SVC in particular . We are not saying that a single theory or concept – or some other form of monism – is what is needed, but we argue that starting to open up the
black box of SVC is crucial for stimulating progress
in SBM research.

Value creation is an inherently normative concept. Even though many scholars may think that they are

working on ‘values-free’ or ‘neutral’ grounds, they are not and cannot. However, this is not problematic
perse. The issue is whether ‘the normative’ is made transparent and accessible to criticism and systematic investigation. Assumptions, companies must make superior profits or that the economy must grow quantitatively, are neither neutral nor laws of nature. These assumptions reflect man-made properties of social systems that can be critically debated and designed.. Of course, the same holds true for SVC. The assumption that companies should consider stakeholders and the natural environment in their value-creating activities is grounded in certain normative positions, such as prioritizing a just distribution of benefits (howsoever this is defned) or giving a voice to nature. Such assumptions can and should be critically debated, which requires making them transparent. We therefore start by briefly acknowledging the inherently normative characteristics of value creation. This has two purposes: first, to clarify that not only sustainability-related concepts are grounded in certain norms, values and judgements, and second, to show that moving from traditional assumptions about value creation to SVC can be guided, for example, by ‘triple bottom line’ and stakeholder theory approaches. To address the research gaps and opportunities that exist in this area, we develop an initial theoretical framework for the what, who and how of sustainable value creation that enables us to propose cornerstones for future theorising about this concept. The articles contained in the special issue are introduced and their contributions to the exploration of SVC are highlighted against the backdrop of the proposed theoretical framework. This paper concludes with a brief summary of the theoretical propositions presented in this paper and suggestions for future research.

From a traditional strategic management perspective, customers’ willingness to pay decides whether the value proposed by a company, which is embedded in the products and services it offers, materialises

as benefits for customers and monetary earnings for the company . However, this commercial logic of value exchange (customer benefits in exchange for monetary payments), which forms the underlying rationale of the strategy and business model literature, is reducing the concept of value creation, typically, to value for customers and the company.

The situation becomes even more complex when one claims that nature is a stakeholder. Which kinds of value does nature ‘prefer’: relative improvements in resource use and toxic waste or the absolute avoidance of both? How can business model designers make sure that their organizations save trees from

being cut and animals from becoming extinct while contributing to gross domestic product and promoting social wellbeing? How can we account for all these forms of value creation? Even if we were able to associate all this with certain business model designs and had access to all the key performance indicators
needed to measure and manage them, how would we know which kind of value creation is more or less relevant for a certain stakeholder group in a certain geographical or cultural context?

The main forms of value are typically defined as value for customers (i.e. use value and customer surplus) and value for the company . If other stakeholders are considered, they are typically employees, who are paid wages, and capital providers and shareholders, who receive interest and dividend payments. To understand the sources of these forms of value, starting from the basic assumptions of resource-based theory, Bowman and Ambrosini posit that ‘resources have value in relation to their ability, inter alia, to meet customers’ needs’. A resource that is valuable, rare, inimitable and organised (VRIO) allows a company to meet customer needs better or at a lower cost than its competitors, and it helps the company to exploit market opportunities and/or neutralise threats in its business environment . As a result, applying VRIO resources and corresponding capabilities allows companies to offer valuable products and services and improve their market positions. Hence, resources and capabilities are traditionally

seen as the sources of value.

Biznes modellari orqali barqaror qiymat yaratish

Ushbu maqolada keltirilgan munozara, shuningdek "Biznes modellari orqali barqaror qiymatni yaratish" maxsus sonining mehmonlari tahririyati vazifasini bajaradi, bizni ancha vaqtdan beri hayron qoldirib kelayotgan kuzatuv sabab bo'ldi. An'anaviy va barqarorlikka yo'naltirilgan oqimlarni o'z ichiga olgan butun biznes-model nutqi o'zining qonuniyligi va dolzarbligini biznes modellari orqali taklif qilinadigan, etkazib beriladigan, yaratilgan va qo'lga kiritilgan qiymatga yo'naltirilganligidan oladi. Qiymatni yaratish tushunchasi maftunkor, chunki u ilgari mavjud bo'lmagan qimmatli narsaning paydo bo'lishini (yoki yaratilishini) nazarda tutadi.

Ammo ajablanarlisi shundaki, bu biznes modellarini tadqiq qilishda asosiy tushuncha bo'lsa-da, so'nggi 20 yil ichida nashr etilgan aksariyat nashrlarda qiymat yaratish tushunchasi qora quti bo'lib qolmoqda. Bir butun ekanligi diqqatga sazovordir

tadqiqot sohasi qonuniylikni firmalar qanday qilib qiymat yaratishini yaxshiroq anglash zarurligidan kelib chiqadi, ammo u

ushbu kontseptsiyaning aniq ta'riflari va tushuntirishlarini taklif qilmaydi va ishlatmaydi. Eng yaxshi holatda, qiymatni yaratish kompaniyaning "qiymat zanjiri" qismi yoki daromadlar va xarajatlar o'rtasidagi farq sifatida ifodalanadi. Xuddi shu narsa tobora ko'proq foydalanilayotgan va adabiyotda muhokama qilinadigan, ammo deyarli aniqlanmagan va tushuntirilmagan barqaror qiymat yaratish tushunchasiga ham tegishli. Barqarorlikni hisobga oladigan qiymat yaratish kontseptsiyasining kengaytmalari turli sohalarda, shu jumladan korporativ barqarorlik,

barqaror va ijtimoiy tadbirkorlik va marketing. Biroq, ushbu g'oya barqaror biznes modeli uchun alohida ahamiyatga ega.

Aniq qiziqish va foydalanishni ko'payishiga qaramay

SVC tushunchasi, uning ta'riflari va nazariy asoslari hali ham zaifdir, ehtimol

umuman SBM va xususan SVC-ni muhokama qilish va tadqiq qilish asosida turli xil nazariyalar va tushunchalar. Biz bitta nazariya yoki kontseptsiya yoki monizmning boshqa bir shakli kerak deb aytmayapmiz, lekin biz ochilishni boshlashimiz kerak

SVC ning qora qutisi taraqqiyotni rag'batlantirish uchun juda muhimdir

SBM tadqiqotlarida.

Qiymatni yaratish - bu tabiatan me'yoriy tushuncha. Garchi ko'plab olimlar ular deb o'ylashlari mumkin

"qadriyatlardan xoli" yoki "neytral" asoslarda ishlash, ular yo'q va mumkin emas. Biroq, bu muammoli emas

perse. Gap shundaki, "me'yoriy" tanqid va tizimli tergov uchun shaffof va ochiq bo'ladimi. Taxminlar, kompaniyalar yuqori foyda olishlari yoki iqtisodiyot miqdoriy o'sishi kerak, bu neytral ham emas, tabiat qonunlari ham emas. Ushbu taxminlar ijtimoiy tizimlarning sun'iy xususiyatlarini aks ettiradi, ularni tanqidiy ravishda muhokama qilish va loyihalashtirish mumkin .. Albatta, xuddi shu narsa SVC uchun ham amal qiladi. Kompaniyalar manfaatdor tomonlar va tabiiy muhitni o'zlarining qiymatini yaratish faoliyatida hisobga olishlari kerak degan taxmin, ba'zi bir normativ pozitsiyalarga asoslanadi, masalan, foydalarni adolatli taqsimlashga ustuvor ahamiyat berish (har qanday bo'lsa ham, bu rad etilgan) yoki tabiatga ovoz berish. Bunday taxminlar tanqidiy muhokama qilinishi mumkin va bo'lishi kerak, bu ularni shaffof qilishni talab qiladi. Shuning uchun biz qiymat yaratishning o'ziga xos me'yoriy xususiyatlarini tan olishdan boshlaymiz. Buning ikkita maqsadi bor: birinchidan, nafaqat barqarorlik bilan bog'liq tushunchalar ma'lum me'yorlar, qadriyatlar va hukmlarga asoslanishini, ikkinchidan, qiymat yaratish haqidagi an'anaviy taxminlardan SVC ga o'tishni, masalan, ' manfaatdor tomonlar nazariyasi yondashuvi. Ushbu sohada mavjud bo'lgan tadqiqot kamchiliklari va imkoniyatlarini bartaraf etish uchun biz kelajakda ushbu kontseptsiya haqida nazariya yaratish uchun asoslarni taklif qilishimizga imkon beradigan barqaror qiymatni yaratish nimani, kimni va qanday yaratishni dastlabki nazariy asoslarini ishlab chiqamiz. Maxsus sonda keltirilgan maqolalar taqdim etiladi va ularning SVCni o'rganishga qo'shgan hissalari tavsiya etilgan nazariy asos fonida yoritib berilgan. Ushbu maqola ushbu maqolada keltirilgan nazariy takliflarning qisqacha mazmuni va kelgusidagi tadqiqotlar uchun takliflar bilan yakunlanadi.

An'anaviy strategik menejment nuqtai nazaridan mijozlarning to'lashga tayyorligi kompaniya tomonidan taklif etilayotgan mahsulot va xizmatlarga kiritilgan qiymat amalga oshadimi yoki yo'qligini hal qiladi.

mijozlar uchun foyda va kompaniya uchun daromad sifatida. Biroq, strategiya va biznes modeli adabiyotining asosini tashkil etadigan qiymat almashinuvining ushbu tijorat mantig'i (pul to'lovlari evaziga mijozning foydasi), qiymatni yaratish kontseptsiyasini odatda mijozlar va kompaniya uchun kamaytiradi.

Tabiat manfaatdor tomon deb da'vo qilganda, vaziyat yanada murakkablashadi. Tabiat qaysi turdagi qiymatlarni "afzal ko'radi": resurslardan foydalanish va zaharli chiqindilarni nisbiy yaxshilash yoki ikkalasidan ham mutlaqo qochish? Qanday qilib biznes-model dizaynerlari o'zlarining tashkilotlari daraxtlarni tejashiga ishonch hosil qilishlari mumkin

yalpi ichki mahsulotga hissa qo'shishda va ijtimoiy farovonlikni oshirishda hayvonlar qirilib ketadimi? Qanday qilib qiymat yaratishning ushbu barcha shakllarini hisobga olishimiz mumkin? Agar biz bularning barchasini ma'lum biznes modellari dizaynlari bilan bog'lashga qodir bo'lsak ham va barcha asosiy ko'rsatkichlarga kirish imkoniga ega bo'lsak ham

ularni o'lchash va boshqarish uchun zarur bo'lgan, qanday geografik yoki madaniy sharoitda ma'lum bir manfaatdor tomonlar guruhi uchun qanday qiymat yaratish ko'proq yoki kamroq ahamiyatga ega ekanligini qaerdan bilamiz?

Qiymatning asosiy shakllari odatda mijozlar uchun qiymat (ya'ni foydalanish qiymati va mijozning ortiqcha) va kompaniya uchun qiymat sifatida belgilanadi. Agar boshqa manfaatdor tomonlar ko'rib chiqilsa, ular odatda ish haqi to'lanadigan xodimlar va foizlar va dividendlar to'laydigan kapital etkazib beruvchilar va aktsiyadorlardir. Ushbu qiymat shakllarining manbalarini tushunish uchun, manbalarga asoslangan nazariyaning asosiy taxminlaridan boshlab, Bowman va Ambrosini, "resurslar, xususan, mijozlarning ehtiyojlarini qondirish qobiliyatiga nisbatan qiymatga ega", deb ta'kidlaydilar. Qimmatbaho, kamdan-kam uchraydigan, takrorlanmas va uyushgan (VRIO) manba kompaniyaga xaridorlarning ehtiyojlarini raqobatchilariga qaraganda yaxshiroq yoki arzon narxlarda qondirishga imkon beradi va bu kompaniyaga bozor imkoniyatlaridan foydalanishda va / yoki o'z biznes muhitidagi tahdidlarni zararsizlantirishda yordam beradi. Natijada, VRIO resurslari va tegishli imkoniyatlardan foydalanish kompaniyalarga qimmatbaho mahsulotlar va xizmatlarni taklif qilish hamda o'zlarining bozordagi mavqelarini yaxshilash imkonini beradi. Demak, resurslar va imkoniyatlar an'anaviy ravishda

qiymat manbalari sifatida qaraladi.