Search

While the current literature generally assumes that implementing sustainable business practices (SBPs) will lead to improved wellbeing and positive outcomes, relatively little research has explored the potential tensions and conflicts that SBPs may cause in multi-actor networks. To address this issue, we conduct a qualitative multiple case study in a regional business network, including interviews with 43 managers in 17 firms in different industries. The findings of this study identify four types of tensions (economic, structural, psychological, and behavioral) that tend to emerge when firms implement SBPs in networks, and illustrate how different stakeholders (implementers, suppliers, customers, other network partners) perceive them. Overall, this study contributes to the current literature by highlighting the underexplored “dark side” of sustainability, and illuminating how organizational decisions aiming at improving collective wellbeing can also lead to tensions and conflicts. For managers, this study offers insights into how to anticipate, manage and mitigate potential tensions that might arise in business networks when one stakeholder decides to implement a SBP.

In this world of scarce resources, circular economy (CE) has been identified as an important means for increasing resource efficiency and reducing the use of natural resources. However, what does implementing circular business and operational models mean for companies’ business execution, mindsets, and competitive edges? This publication presents the practical case studies of several different CE business implementations. The focus on this exploration was to identify the role of information management in successful CE business execution.

In recent decades theoretical frameworks for business sustainability increasingly have encouraged business leaders to engage with their external environments to create positive change. The tacit assumption in these frameworks is that firms demonstrating a high level of sustainability maturity will welcome the inherent complexity of the economic, social and environmental systems as a source of learning and innovation. Still, the question of sustainability leaders' orientation to complexity remains under-researched. Our multi-case study analyzes how business leaders from the Finnish forestry sector, an industry considered to be at a high level of sustainability maturity, align their commitment to sustainability with their approach to complexity. Our findings show that while these managers position sustainability at the center of their discourse about business strategy, their implementation is confined to contexts about which they express the ability to reduce complexity in order to gain a high-level of control. This is an important clarification of a disconnection between sustainability ambition and action. We propose that sustainability maturity be theorized as combining sustainability identity (a firm's identification with the principles of sustainability) and sustainability outlook (business leaders' approach to complex systems). We relate these concepts to propose an enhanced framework for sustainability maturity to assist business leaders to innovate within a complex and unpredictable future.

In this world of scarce resources, circular economy (CE) has been identified as an important means for increasing resource efficiency and reducing the use of natural resources. What, however, does implementing circular business and operational models mean for companies’ business execution, mindsets, and competitive edges? This publication presents the practical case studies of several different CE business implementations. The focus on this exploration was to identify the role of information management in successful CE business implementation. The outcomes offer a chance for different representatives of different firms to learn from practical cases of CE implementation in operational and business models. This publication aims to show the pathway toward CE by providing 1. a description of CE 2. an explanation of its impact on business execution 3. stories about the role of information in the creation of CE business 4. practical tools for the creation of CE business The structure of the publication tracks similar logic to, and presents practical case examples from, the field of CE business. Tools and methods were applied and further developed within the case companies: BMH Technology, Fortum, Solita, and UPM. The publication presents the major results of research and development work performed within the “From Data to Wisdom—Approaches Enabling Circular Economy” project (D2W). The project was initiated in August 2016 and continued until January 2019. The research work was conducted by VTT, LUT University, and Tampere University as part of the BioNets program of Business Finland. The project provided a good overview of the demands of CE business in a multidisciplinary multi-company setting. It focused on three approaches for examining circular business: innovation and business models, relationships and networks, and data and wisdom. Since D2W had a broad scope, some of these approaches should be developed further to provide practical tools for business developers (companies and organizations). The work of D2W will therefore continue. Case-specific projects are being considered to develop practical results for the needs of practitioners interested in improving their capabilities for CE business creation. Examples of new topics for the subsequent steps of research include, for example: • Key performance indicators of CE and sustainable development • Governance of CE business ecosystems • New artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, opportunities and requirements in CE business implementation Maapallon resurssien huvetessa kiertotalous on tunnistettu tärkeäksi keinoksi resurssitehokkuuden lisäämisessä ja luonnonvarojen käytön vähentämisessä. Toisaalta ymmärrys mitä kiertotalouden operatiivisten ja liiketoimintamallien käyttöön ottaminen vaatii yritysten ajattelumalleilta ja mikä sen merkitys kilpailukyvylle on, eivät ole vielä laajalti konkretisoituneita asioita. Tässä julkaisussa esitellään käytännön esimerkkejä kiertotalouden eri liiketoimintojen toteutuksista. Tutkimuksen pääpaino on ollut tunnistaa informaatiohallinnan rooli menestyksekkäässä kiertotalouden liiketoiminnan toteutuksessa. Julkaisun tavoitteena on tarjota yritysedustajille käytännön tuloksia ja oppeja kiertotalouden operatiivisten- ja liiketoimintamallien toteuttamisesta. Tämän julkaisun tavoitteena on viitoittaa polkua kiertotalouden liiketoiminnan suuntaan tarjoamalla: 1. kuvauksen mitä kiertotalous on 2. kuvaamalla kiertotalouden vaikutuksia liiketoiminnan toteuttamisessa 3. tarinoita informaation roolista kiertotalouden liiketoiminnan luomisessa 4. käytännön työkaluja kiertotalouden liiketoiminnan luomiseen Julkaisun rakenne seuraa tätä logiikkaa ja esittelee käytännön esimerkkitapauksia kiertotalouden liiketoiminnan kentältä. Julkaisussa esiteltäviä työkaluja ja menetelmiä sovellettiin ja kehitettiin edelleen yritysyhteistyössä, johon osallistuivat BMH Technology, Fortum, Solita ja UPM. Tämä julkaisu kokoaa projektin “Data to wisdom - Approaches Enabling Circular Economy” (D2W) keskeisimmät havainnot ja tulokset. Hanke alkoi elokuussa 2016 ja se kesti aina tammikuuhun 2019. Tutkimustyöhön osallistuivat VTT, LUT-yliopisto ja Tampereen yliopisto ja se toteutettiin osana Business Finlandin BioNets ohjelmaa. D2W-projekti tarjosi hyvän yleiskuvan kiertotalouden liiketoiminnan kehittämisen vaatimuksiin monialaisen osaamisen kattavassa usean yrityksen projektissa. Projektissa keskityttiin tarkastelemaan kiertotalouden liiketoiminnan kehittämistä erityisesti kolmen eri näkökulman kautta, joita olivat innovaatiot ja liiketoimintamallit, verkostot ja yhteistyösuhteet, sekä tieto ja viisaus. Koska D2W-projektissa lähestymistapa oli laaja, on joitakin ehdotettuja työkaluja ja menetelmiä syytä edelleen jalostaa, jotta ne olisivat entistä käyttökelpoisempia yritysten ja organisaatioiden hyödynnettäväksi. D2W-projektin työtä siis jatketaan ja uusien tutkimus- ja kehityshankkeiden valmistelu on käynnissä yhdessä toimijoiden kanssa, joiden mielenkiinnon kohteena on lisätä valmiuksiaan kiertotalouden periaatteita noudattavan liiketoiminnan luomisessa. Esimerkkejä uusista aiheista seuraavien vaiheiden tutkimukseen ovat muun muassa: • Kiertotalouden ja kestävän kehityksen avainindikaattorit • Kiertotalouden liiketoimintaekosysteemin ohjaaminen • Tekoäly (IT teknologia), mahdollisuudet ja vaatimukset kiertotalouden liiketoiminnan implementoinnissa Publishers version

As the sharing economy has become more popular, its problems are discussed increasingly. However, these discussions are often confusing because there are multiple definitions for the sharing economy, and the discourse does not usually specify which definition it is based on. Therefore, the actors may be wrongfully accused of problems that do not concern them, only because they are perceived as belonging to the sharing economy. We aim to clarify this discussion by creating a framework that maps specific problem discourses to specific actors and stakeholder groups. We create a framework based on a review of the academic literature in which the sharing economy is delineated into smaller markets. The framework is further utilized to map empirically identified problems based on data collected from 180 web pages that discuss problems in the sharing economy. The findings indicate that the key problems in the sharing economy, such as labor rights, concern a very narrow segment of the sharing economy. We conclude that issues concerning safety are neglected in the academic research.

Value creation and capture aspects introduce specific requirements for sustaining a multi-sided platform-based system. The case studied is DORA, a platform-based information system for multimodal traveling optimization. Utilizing focus group methodology, we explain the requisite conditions for the emergence of an ecosystem and describe the attributes that enable the ecosystem to remain sustainably together. Analyzing positive and negative value elements for each stakeholder we find that to subscribe to the transformative effect that the platform has on their business stakeholders expect benefits in scaling up their business cost-effectively while also pursuing common goals related to platform development, fair sharing of the created value and improving the sustainability of the transport system. We also find that reorganizing into an ecosystem creates benefits especially for society and end users at the expense of traditional business models of service providers.

The quest for sustainability has already transformed the competitive landscape and is changing the mindsets of companies. Since natural resources are scarce, actors doing business must take into account not just the economic goals, but they also need to address the environmental and social objectives in executing business. This publication presents the results of practical case studies where different approaches for sustainable business were created. The results offer an opportunity for different representatives of various companies to compare their own practices and learn from practical cases in sustainable business models and governance. This publication shows the path towards sustainable business through the following themes: 1) understanding the value of sustainability, and considering it in: 2) strategic decision making, 3) business development and 4) innovation orchestration. The structure of the publication follows the same logic and presents practical case examples in these topics. Tools and methods were applied and further developed within the case companies: Ekokem, Fortum Power Solutions, Nokia, Solita and Vapo Clean Waters. This publication combines the main results of the work carried out within the "Strategic business models and governance for sustainable solutions" project (StraSus). The project started in December 2013 and it continued until February 2016. The research work was conducted by VTT, Lappeenranta University of Technology, Tampere University of Technology and Aalto University as a part of the Green Growth programme of Tekes. The project provided a good overview of the demands of sustainable business in a multi-disciplinary multi-company setting. Since StraSus had a broad scope, some of the developed approaches need to be further enhanced and refined to provide practical tools for practitioners (companies and organisations). The work of StraSus is therefore being continued. Case-specific projects are being considered to develop practical results for the needs of practitioners interested in improving their capabilities for sustainable business creation. Examples of new topics for the next steps of research include e.g.: - Sustainability strategies implementation through the life cycle of the solution - Symbiotic business relationships in industrial ecosystems - From data to wisdom - approaches enabling circular business.