A Stakeholder Theory Perspective on Business Models: Value Creation for Sustainability
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ORIGINAL PAPER
A Stakeholder Theory Perspective on Business Models: Value Creation for Sustainability Birte Freudenreich1 · Florian Lüdeke‑Freund2 · Stefan Schaltegger1 Received: 21 December 2016 / Accepted: 18 January 2019 © Springer Nature B.V. 2019
Abstract Business models are developed and managed to create value. While most business model frameworks envision value creation as a uni-directional flow between the focal business and its customers, this article presents a broader view based on a stringent application of stakeholder theory. It provides a stakeholder value creation framework derived from key characteristics of stakeholder theory. This article highlights mutual stakeholder relationships in which stakeholders are both recipients and (co-) creators of value in joint value creation processes. Key findings include that the concept and analysis of value creation through business models need to be expanded with regard to (i) different types of value created with and for different stakeholders and (ii) the resulting value portfolio, i.e., the different kinds of value exchanged between the company and its stakeholders. This paper details the application of the stakeholder value creation framework and its theoretical propositions for the case of business models for sustainability. The framework aims to support theoretical and empirical analyses of value creation as well as the management and transformation of business models in line with corporate sustainability ambitions and stakeholder expectations. Overall, this paper proposes a shift in perspective from business models as devices of sheer value creation to business models as devices that organize and facilitate stakeholder relationships and corresponding value exchanges. Keywords Business model · Stakeholder theory · Corporate sustainability · Value creation · Business models for sustainability
Introduction Value creation is the centerpiece of business model research (e.g., Richardson 2008; Wirtz et al. 2016; Zott et al. 2011) and has been discussed from different perspectives. More often than not, business model concepts conceptualize value as a uni-directional flow between a business and its customers, emphasizing the creation of value for customers in exchange for economic value for the business. Other * Stefan Schaltegger [email protected] Birte Freudenreich [email protected] Florian Lüdeke‑Freund fluedeke‑[email protected] 1
Centre for Sustainability Management, Leuphana University Lüneburg, Universitätsallee. 1, 21335 Lüneburg, Germany
Chair for Corporate Sustainability, ESCP Europe Business School Berlin, Heubnerweg 8‑10, 14059 Berlin, Germany
2
stakeholders, if considered at all, seem to be standing on the sidelines. This is evidenced in the well-known business model canvas by Osterwalder and Pigneur (2010), which places the value proposition for customers in the center and the monetary outcomes for the focal business as the key outcome or bottom line. A review of the business model literature leads Lambe
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