Abstract:
There is increasing pressure on incumbent companies to innovate their business to
include sustainability, thereby creating social, environmental as well as economic value.
This requires companies to innovate their existing business model to include
sustainability, known as sustainable business model innovation (SBMI). This study
aimed to develop insights and new understanding into how incumbent companies
implement SBMI, thereby contributing to the emergent literature relating to SBMI
implementation in incumbent firms.
As incumbent firms implement SBMI, internal and external factors impede or facilitate
the changes that are required. Identifying and understanding the challenges and the
enablers that assist a company in overcoming the challenges, act as a guide to assist
companies in increasing the likelihood of more successful implementation of SBMI.
Furthermore, having insight into the value that is created through the successful
implementation of SBMI, may provide impetus for incumbent firms to undertake the
process.
This was a qualitative study that explored the challenges, enablers, and outcomes of
SBMI implementation. Data was gathered from 16 semi-structured interviews with
participants that had experience of SBMI implementation in an incumbent firm.
Participants were from three industry sectors in South Africa, namely, manufacturing
consumer goods, financial services, and the retail sector, which allowed for comparison
across the industry sectors. The qualitative data was systematically analysed using a
hybrid thematic analysis approach.
The study culminated in a conceptual framework of how incumbent firms implement
SBMI. Similarities of the study to the literature added to the existing body of theory and
the differences identified five potential refinements to the literature, relating to external
challenges, internal enablers, and internal outcomes.
