Journal of Business Models (2019), Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 9-12

Business Models for Sustainable Development:
A Process Perspective

Frank Boons

Alliance Manchester Business School and Sustainable Consumption Institute, University of Manchester,
United Kingdom, frank.boons@manchester.ac.uk

Oliver Laasch

University of Nottingham, Ningbo, China, Oliver.laasch@nottingham.edu.cn

Abstract

Drawing on Theories of Practice, we develop a process-oriented conceptualization of
business models that resonates with the original formulation of sustainable devel-
opment as a process.

Please cite this paper as: Boons, F. and Laasch, O. (2019), Business Models for Sustainable Development: A Process Perspective, Vol. 7,
No. 1, pp. 1-4

Keywords: Business models; sustainable development; process perspective

Introduction
Business model research shows weaknesses in terms
of concept clarity and depth of theorizing (Foss and
Saebi, 2017). This is also true for much of the literature
on business models for sustainable development. An
overlooked point in this respect is a bias in ontology:
most work on business models assumes the existence
of entities with comparable and assessable character-
istics. In contrast, a process ontology posits that the
world of organization and management consists of
processes: sequences of events that unfold (Langley

et al., 2013). Process-based ontologies provide differ-
ent angles for research questions and methodologies
(Abbott, 2016).

A process-based ontology is especially relevant when
dealing with questions of sustainability. While the label
sustainability suggests that it is a characteristic of enti-
ties such as products and organizations, its use stems
from the concept of sustainable development, where
‘development’ reveals its inherent processual nature.
We aim to provide a consistent process definition of

Journal of Business Models (2019), Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 9-12

business models, in order to understand how business
models may contribute to sustainable development.

The Process of Sustainable
Development
The term ‘sustainability’ is linked to the process of
global societal development. Sustainable development
denotes “not a fixed state of harmony, but rather a pro-
cess of change in which the exploitation of resources,
the direction of investments, the orientation of techno-
logical development, and institutional change are made
consistent with future and present needs” (Brundtland,
1987: 30). Sustainability (a noun often used to refer to
the nominalized verb sustainable development) needs to
be seen as a process where evolving ecological systems
interact with changing socio-technological systems and
human communities (Pirages,1994). This relates directly
to the notion of business models for sustainable devel-
opment in the following way:

1. Sustainable development as a multi-stranded
dynamic process is at odds with fixed indicators
and standards; the formulation, use and assess-
ment of such tools is part of the process of sus-
tainable development. Thus, any normative criteria
for business models for sustainable development
are inherently processual: they propose qualities
for how sustainability is organized, and not for
the actual products and services that are provided
through the business model (Boons and Lüdeke-
Freund, 2013).

2. The temporality and potentiality of business
models for sustainable development requires
us to see how they emerge, persist and dissolve
in the process of sustainable development.

Business Models as Process
We view business models as a subset of modes of pro-
vision: sets of social practices through which groups
provide for their needs (Boons and Bocken, 2018). Social
practices are stable combinations of particular mean-
ings, competences and artefacts (Reckwitz, 2002).

Modes of provision include a wide range of practices,
such as self-sufficient provision, intimate sharing

(Price, 1975) and collaborative consumption (Botsman
and Rogers, 2010; Leismann, Schmitt, Rohn, and Bae-
deker, 2013), as well as business models. Theories of
practice, the collective label for theorizing on social
practices (Reckwitz, 2002) have a processual quality
that at least implicitly emphasizes processes of enact-
ment, enrollment and assemblage (Gherardi, 2012;
Nicolini, 2012; Shove, Pantzar, and Watson, 2012). By
understanding management of an organization as
social practices (Whittington, 2011), we can conceptual-
ize business models as assemblages of social practices
coordinating the economic activities that constitute a
mode of provision. The sustainability of a mode of pro-
vision ultimately depends on the quality of these prac-
tices. As further elaborated below, to the extent that
practices are inclusive and allow for the consideration
of multiple values, they facilitate the participation of
the organization in sustainable development.

A process definition of business models for
sustainable development in four points

1. They consist of a negotiated assemblage of social
practices that enables human need provision
requiring scarce resources

Social practices that have emerged specifically to
organize parts of the production and consumption
exist prior to the formation of a business model;
examples include practices associated with strate-
gizing, accounting and waste management. Their
assemblage into a business model can be an infor-
mal process, but it is negotiated, as it requires
intentionality, and has consequences for the eco-
nomic actors involved. A business model for sus-
tainable development requires an inclusive process
of negotiated assemblage, and utilizes only social
practices of production and consumption that are
considered just and within planetary boundaries
(Rockström et al., 2009) in their operation and out-
comes. Also, the resulting need provision is equita-
ble in the evaluation of participants.

2. The practices constituting a business model are in
need of continuous enrollment to persist and grow

A key characteristic of a processual perspective is
that persistence of any (assemblage of) practice(s)
needs enactment, the need for enrollment (Shove,
Pantzar and Watson, 2012). In addition to their
continued performance, practices need to acquire

Journal of Business Models (2019), Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 9-12

additional organizational members, as well as other
organizations, to persist. A business model for sus-
tainable development is characterized by inclusive
processes of enrollment; it is not selective in what
organizational members, consumers, or organiza-
tions are sought as participants. This can manifest
itself through user-led or open innovation, as well
as particular choice of channels to consumers.

3. Any business model competes with other busi-
ness models that provide for overlapping (but
never completely similar) needs

Specific for the economic system presupposed by
business models is the logic of competition, relating
to business models’ competitive advantage (Teece,
2010). Competitive dynamic can support a process
of sustainable development, for instance, when
it drives resource efficiency. Conversely, it might
support increased consumption. Thus, a business
model for sustainable development is distinct as it
competes with business models with inferior social
and ecological impact. In this respect, the notion of
co-evolving business models is relevant (Schalteg-
ger et al., 2016).

4. Any business model has ecological relationships
with other business models (i.e. symbiotic, com-
petitive, parasitic)

As an assemblage of social practices, a business
model necessarily presupposes other social prac-
tices. They require other business models that
ensure the provision for needs that, if left unful-
filled, would adversely affect the focal business
(Boons and Bocken, 2018). As a consequence, a
business model constituted by practices that in
themselves are in line with the notion of sustaina-
ble development, might depend on, or strengthen,

business models that are not in line with sustain-
able development. An example is when sharing
business models require the use of smart devices.
These are provided through business models that
often use fast replacement cycles of devices as a
marketing tool.

Conclusion
The four points above constitute a complete process-
based definition of business models. It resonates
strongly with the notion of sustainable development,
and thus provides a basis for analyzing business mod-
els for sustainable development in terms of negotiated
assemblage, enrollment, and links to other busi-
ness models. Our four-point definition is as a call for
research that aims to:

1. Analyze systematically the dynamics through
which practices of production and consumption
assemble into business models;

2. Assess the interaction dynamics between business
models that have ecological relationships;

3. Understand the way in which the constituting
practices intersect with the process of sustainable
development;

4. Assess how the dynamics of assemblage and
ecological interaction affect the process of
sustainable development.

Given the processual nature of sustainable develop-
ment, such research will provide deeper insight into the
particular ways in which social practices can be assem-
bled into business models that advance inclusive provi-
sion of needs within planetary boundaries.

Journal of Business Models (2019), Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 9-12

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