Background: Sustainability is becoming increasingly important from a consumer’s perspective when it comes to their preferences. Simultaneously, mass-market apparel brands are struggling to meet the demand for sustainable clothing and textile products. The industry is in dire need for sustainable development as it is responsible for 8-10% of world’s greenhouse gas emissions and is the cause of 20% of the world’s wastewater. Therefore, it is vital to explore what the barriers are that hinders the development of sustainable business models and the consequences of these barriers.  Purpose: This thesis aims to explore which barriers and subsequent consequences Swedish clothing & textile organizations face when developing a sustainable business model. Method: This study follows the interpretivist approach with inductively inspired reasoning. Qualitative semi-structured interviews are conducted on three different cases, which are analysed and compared using the general analytical procedure. The study used Snoek’s (2017) theoretical framework of internal and external barriers to explore the barriers in the Swedish clothing & textile industry. Findings: This thesis contributes with comprehensive knowledge about barriers and their consequences in the Swedish clothing & textile industry with the help of Snoek’s (2017) framework of internal and external barriers. A total of 24 barriers were classified under four barrier categories; “Costly business model”, “Lack of awareness & low willingness to pay”, “Lack of transparency”, and “Misalignment between policy & regulation within the C&T industry”. Nine were new out of these 24 barriers. A theoretical framework is brought forward illustrating the interconnectivity between “consumer awareness”, “demand and willingness to pay for sustainable products”, “companies match the demand”, and after that “, creating demand for sustainable products”. This study’s findings extend the knowledge about the Swedish clothing & textile industry for organizations that wish to develop sustainability into their business model.

Sustainability issues have been a popular and important topic on the world’s agenda the recent years, which has caused businesses to follow the policies of operating more sustainable. One of the latest introduced guidelines is the Global Goals imposed by the United Nations to be met by 2030. In light of these goals, awareness regarding sustainability issues among consumers and other stakeholders has increased, leading to that change is inevitable for businesses to start operating sustainably. The concept of sustainable business model innovation therefore becomes relevant. There is a lot of research regarding sustainable business model innovation. However, the research is heavily focusing on theoretical aspects of it, and less is given to the practical creation and implementation of sustainable business models. Further, less focus is given to start-up companies specifically. Due to the identified research gap, this study aims to answer the research question: “How can start-ups successfully create and implement sustainable business models to become an established actor on its specific market?” The purpose of this study is to create an understanding and contribute with extended knowledge of how sustainability is practiced in start-ups. More specifically, how sustainable business models are created and implemented in start-ups. A qualitative abductive approach was used to fulfill this purpose. Additionally, six semi-structured interviews were conducted with founders of start-ups and business coaches from Swedish incubators, which were structured based on the themes from the Lean Start-up Framework (LSF). This framework, along with the Triple Layered Business Model Canvas (TLBMC) showed to be of importance after the theoretical review. The key findings retrieved displayed that the LSF is suitable to describe the sustainable start-up process as well. Yet, the TLBMC needs to be integrated to fulfill the purpose of sustainability. Further, the benefit versus impact is shown to be of great importance whereas the framework’s components were modified in that sense as well in those cases needed. This study theoretically contributes to extended knowledge and additional components of the Lean Start-up framework that are advocated to be crucial to create a sustainable business model. These additional components are further of value for the existing field of research. Practically, by the extended and modified framework, it offers valuable insight for entrepreneurs with a business idea where the purpose is to offer a sustainable value proposition. Lastly, this study contributes to a social level by providing guidelines on the implementation of sustainability in the business model, leading to the encouragement to operate sustainably and towards a better environment and society.

Sustainability has become a crucial aspect in the fight against climate change, with the European Union focusing on bio-economies as a tool for transitioning away from fossil fuel dependencies through sustainable substitutes. Forestry plays a pivotal role in bio-economies and holds the potential to spearhead this transition. However, the industry faces challenges in creating- and capturing the appropriate types of value. The purpose of this study is to explore strategies for creating and capturing value from sustainability within the forestry industry to ensure resilience and sustainable development in the market. Employing a single case study of the Swedish forest company Sveaskog, as well as 17 interviews with four internal employees, six ecosystem partners, two benchmarked companies in other raw resource industries, and fivesubject matter experts, the study delves into ways of maximizing the created- and captured value arising from sustainable initiatives within forestry. A strategy framework, consisting of four strategies; The Economic-, The Environmental-, The Social- and The Maximized strategy is proposed to maximize value capture from sustainable initiatives. Examining these strategies reveals the risks and opportunities associated with each approach, emphasizing the need for a balanced, holistic strategy to ensure long-term resilience and sustainability in the market. The findings provide valuable insights for forestry companies seeking to adopt sustainable business models and contribute to the broader goal of sustainable development.

Due to various ongoing environmental crises, there is an urgent need for sustainable solutions and initiatives, as it has become an imperative criterion for businesses to include in their operations. Further, the hospitality sector is a multibillion-dollar industry and has a great impact on not only the economy, but the environment as well. Therefore, the industry is transitioning increasingly fast, and incorporating greater actions to operate sustainably. It should be imperative for businesses to operationalise all facets (environmental, economic, and social) of sustainability within the organisation. However, previous literature has indicated that over the last decade, one solution has been presented to achieve this goal: the creation and implementation of the Sustainable Business Model. It is a concept, which would allow for the planning and organising, delivering, and obtaining value of a business in a sustainable structure. Whilst this concept has been adopted and applied in the business sector, there are still some uncertainties about how Sustainable Business Models are practised, and what makes them successful or not. In addition, there also still appears to be a lack of application in the hotel industry, and whether the implementation of this concept is viable and efficient towards operating sustainably. Therefore, this study addresses the lack of research by investigating the processes and implementation of a Sustainable Business Model in the context of a small luxury hotel group, through the perspective of Strategy-as-Practice as the main theory. The theoretical framework is this study, includes three theories (Strategy-as-Practice, Supply Chain Management and Green Supply Chain Management), however, Strategy-as-Practice is considered the main theory that serves as a foundation, and is also a branch of Practice Theory. With this theoretical framework, studying how individuals perceive Sustainable Business Models, and the activities performed within the industry, allows for this research to reveal the significance, skills, and competencies that enable the implementation of a Sustainable Business Model. This study was conducted through a qualitative approach, and gathered empirical data from three semi-structured interviews and a non-participant observation conducted in the hotel. The findings and analysis, backed by one case study, uncovered six themes, indicating that passion and personal interest along with the involvement of the practitioners (managers), time and allocation of financial investments are all key elements towards the practices related to the implementation of Sustainable Business Models in the context of a luxury hotel.

The economic development of the world in the last centuries has brought manypositive things, but also some new problems. The linear approach long used isbased on a long-term, unsustainable approach to economic activity and newmodels are required. The purpose of this report is to investigate newsustainability requirements that drive innovation with regard to business modelsand product development.A case study was carried out at the company Ecostrate, which is launching anew product with clear sustainability ambitions. A Triple Layered BusinessModel Canvas (TLBMC) is made for their product and from this case the roleof Circular Economics (CE) and sustainability in the formation of new businessmodels is evaluated. The case study was based on interviews made withcompany employees and other people in a focus group and on secondary dataprovided primarily from Ecostrate, but also other organizations and companies.From the case study, it can be seen how the business model of the product was,from start, designed in accordance with circular economic principles and with afocus on sustainability, where the starting point was a used material that wasthen altered to once again provide the consumer with a value offer. Accordingto profitability estimates, the product will competitive while significantenvironmental and social savings are possible. General conclusions can bedrawn that CE and sustainability are an important part of future business modeldesign, without which companies will not be competitive in the future andfuture markets with increasing raw material prices, stricter regulations and moreaware and sustainability-prioritizing customers.The primary limitation has been the calculations, which were not carried out asexhaustively as would have been needed in order to give the case study a morestable empirical foundation. In this study, they have been used as approximativevalues to draw generalizable conclusions so to understand the product, itsimpact and in order to get more precise implications for the rest of the market,there exists possible future research.

The Tropics continue to provide the most biologically diverse and carbon rich forest in the world, but they are being lost at alarming rates. To meet the global climate change targets and the UN sustainable development goals, financing is urgently needed to speed up and increase tropical forest restoration. The aim of this thesis is to show that sustainable timber and non-timber forest products offer are a viable vehicle for investment in tropical forest restoration and to identify the needed incentives and tools to enable sustainable investment.   There is a lack of research on the integration between business model design and sustainability generally and an absence of business models for tropical forest restoration. Very little research if any, has been undertaken to link the two and evaluate the feasibility of applying business models on tropical forest restoration, especially with regard to its potential as an interesting investment option. This thesis gives a background about tropical forest restorations, sustainable investment, presents three tropical reforestation projects and a conceptual framework. The conceptual framework will be used to evaluate the potential for business model application to finance restoration and enable sustainable investments.   Using a business model for tropical forest restoration projects, which in most cases are not defined as businesses, is an innovative approach and an agent of needed radical change. A business model is a crucial strategic management tool to enable success of tropical forest restorations. The core logic of the business model can offer equitable customer value and the fulfillment of new types of needs. Merging economic development and forest restoration is a powerful tool for innovation. The critical variables for financing are management, monitoring, operational efficiency, political incentives and regulations, stakeholder involvement, community benefits, transparency and information communication technology.

Sustainability transition has gained more interest in academic research. However, it has rarely been studied specifically from a firm-level perspective. Therefore, this study aims to understand and learn from the firm-level perspective to contribute to firm- and system-level understanding. The case study of insects as food and feed industry is interesting in a niche and challenging market or to understand the overcoming activities of those facing barriers, whether the overcoming of customer acceptance, uncertainty of the market, and the regulations of eating insects as just been approved by the European Commission in recent years. Moreover, the study of insects has been widely focused on entomology, such as species, and nutrition. It is beginning to be studied in the food sector in Western countries, recently. Therefore, this research will contribute an in-depth understanding of the firm-level in the edible insect industry, especially in the business section in Sweden. This research contributes to the understanding of entrepreneurs' sustainable business models in different time periods, which could be shaped by barriers and opportunities. The barriers found in this study are similar to previous studies of the insect industry in other countries, except for customer acceptance, which seems to be different in Sweden. The customer issue that stands out here is finding the niche group of customers and the niche product that suits these early adopter customers. I also found the importance of entrepreneurial activities in relation to the development of the technological innovation system (TIS). The actors or entrepreneurs are the catalysts for the development of the TIS in the uncertain industry, since every single movement of the entrepreneurs leads to the dynamics of the system, such as a lobbying activity to overcome the regulatory barrier.

Circular economy (CE) is widely seen as a potential solution to negative impacts caused by thelinear economy; however, companies must integrate CE principles into the business modeldeeper to achieve sustainable development. The Product-Service System (PSS) businessmodel is a potential solution to the superficial implementation of CE due to shifting the focusto delivering functionality rather than ownership. However, several researchers point out thatPSS systems, whilst promoted as sustainability alternatives, rarely have enough quantitativedata supporting these outcomes and where the research field widely highlight the need tofurther develop assessment methods for PSS, with the use phase being a specifically criticalarea to monitor due to companies increased responsibility. This master’s thesis, therefore,aims to evaluate how companies monitor and assess their use-oriented PSS during the usephase to safeguard the intended increase in sustainability performance. To achieve theseobjectives, a qualitative, multiple case study was employed, where four companies wereinterviewed following a semi-structured approach, creating in-depth knowledge in each case. The case studies reveal that the different companies' primary methods to safeguard theirsustainability ambitions were through data collection, which, however, lacked the structuralsupport of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). The different case studies could be seen tomainly collect performance data for proactive maintenance and consumer behaviour data toadjust their services and, by that, reduce environmental impact. However, only Volvo CarMobility did try to reduce the risk of unforeseen rebound effects by investigating customers'changed mobility behaviour. All of the companies did during the interviews refer to KPIs thatthey used to ensure that their sustainability goals were met; however, only one of the casestudies had an indicator that could meet the requirements of KPIs, whereas others lackedspecified targets, were vaguely defined or were irregularly collected. Additionally, the casestudies confirmed different strategic reasons for implementing their PSS other thansustainability and whether all sustainability goals could be connected to economic incentives.These different drivers confirm the PSS attraction and suitability for companies; however, italso emphasises the importance of implementing a system perspective to mitigate risks ofburden shifting and loss of the potential to contribute to sustainable development. Future research could further evaluate the importance of information and communicationtechnologies (ICT) when collecting data on PSS consumers, how AI-supported technologycould facilitate the recognition of consumer behaviour, and how this data collection shouldbe efficiently managed in the organisation. Additionally, another interesting avenue for futureinvestigation would be the overall consumer behaviour of society and its impact on businessmodels such as PSS. In conclusion, this master's thesis confirms and extends previous assertions on theimportance and complexity of use-oriented PSS and adds to the emerging literature on the subject through the information from the case studies. The findings also point to the holisticinsights and performance assessments required to optimise the potential and ensure thesustainability of the services. / Cirkulär ekonomi (CE) betraktas allmänt som en potentiell lösning på den negativa påverkansom den linjära ekonomin orsakar. För att uppnå en hållbar utveckling är det nödvändigt förföretag att djupare integrera CE-principer i affärsmodellen. Affärsmodellen förprodukttjänstsystem (product service system - PSS) anses vara en potentiell lösning när CEytligt implementerats i företag, detta genom att fokusera på att leverera funktionalitetsnarare än äganderätt. Dock pekar flera forskare på att PSS-system, trots att de främjas somhållbarhetsalternativ, sällan har tillräckligt med kvantitativ data som stödjer dessa resultat.Inom PSS forskningsfältet betonas behovet av att vidareutveckla bedömningsmetoder(Nakada et al., 2020), där användningsfasen anses vara ett specifikt kritiskt område attkontrollera på grund av företagens ökade ansvar. Denna masteravhandling syftar därför tillatt utvärdera hur företag kontrollerar och bedömer sina användningsorienterade PSS underanvändningsfasen för att säkerställa den avsedda ökningen i hållbarhetsprestanda. För attuppnå dessa mål användes en kvalitativ, flerfallstudie där fyra företag intervjuades med ettsemistrukturerat förhållningssätt, vilket skapade mer djupgående kunskap om vardera fall. Fallstudierna visar att de olika företagens huvudsakliga metod för att säkerställa sinahållbarhetsambitioner var genom datainsamling, men detta saknade dock det strukturellastödet av nyckeltal (Key Performance Indicators - KPI:er). De olika fallstudierna kunde sessamla prestandadata främst för proaktivt underhåll och konsumentbeteendedata för attjustera sina tjänster och därigenom minska miljöpåverkan. Endast Volvo Car Mobility försökteminska risken för oförutsedda rekyleffekter genom att undersöka kunders ändraderörelsebeteende. Samtliga företag hänvisade under intervjuerna till KPI:er som de användeför att säkerställa att deras hållbarhetsmål uppnåddes, men endast företaget som hyrde utbilbarnstolar hade en indikator som kunde uppfylla KPI-kraven, medan de andra fallensaknade specificerade objektiv, var vagt definierade eller insamlades oregelbundet.Dessutom bekräftade fallstudierna olika strategiska skäl för att implementera sina PSS utöverhållbarhet, och alla hållbarhetsmål kunde kopplas till ekonomiska incitament. Dessa olikadrivkrafter bekräftar PSS attraktion och lämplighet för företag, men betonar också vikten avatt implementera ett systemperspektiv för att minska riskerna för tunnelseende ochförskjutning av belastningen (s.k. burden shifting) och förlora potentialen att bidra till enhållbar utveckling. Framtida forskning kan rikta sig mot att ytterligare utvärdera betydelsen av informations- ochkommunikationsteknologier (Information and Communication Technology - ICT) vid insamlingav data om PSS-konsumenter, hur AI-stödd teknik kan underlätta igenkänning avkonsumentbeteende och särskilt hur denna datainsamling bör hanteras effektivt iorganisationen. Dessutom skulle en annan intressant väg för framtida undersökningar kunnavara samhällets övergripande konsumentbeteende och dess påverkan på affärsmodeller somPSS.   Sammanfattningsvis bekräftar denna masteravhandling tidigare påståenden omanvändningsorienterade PSS betydelse och komplexitet och bidrar till den växandelitteraturen om ämnet genom information från fallstudierna. Resultaten pekar också på deholistiska insikter och prestandabedömningar som krävs för att optimera potentialen ochsäkerställa tjänsternas hållbarhet.

The topic of sustainability has found its way into the corporate entrepreneurship activities of large corporations. The Sustainable Corporate Entrepreneurship (SCE) strand is still in its infancy. Since most large corporations engage in corporate entrepreneurship and are exploring new business models inside and outside corporate boundaries, several questions arise from different viewpoints. First, from corporate perspective researchers and business leaders wonder which internal modes of SCE activities have emerged in business practice and how large corporations explore sustainable value propositions. Second, from entrepreneur and investor perspective, the question emerges which factors influence the likelihood of corporate ventures, such as spin-offs from corporations, raising venture capital to scale sustainable business models. Therefore, to further develop the field of SCE, this cumulative dissertation presents three research papers analysing sustainable corporate entrepreneurship at the intersection of corporations and start-ups.

Rapid growing population, urbanization, climate change, decreasing agricultural production, and soil degradation causes massive challenges for food production and supply chain in Southeast Asia, especially in urban areas. A sustainable food production and supply chain system is needed to produce and supply food for Southeast Asia urban areas. One potential solution to those challenges is introducing vertical farming. Vertical farming can produce high-quality crops locally and sustainably by reducing water and land use, decreasing pesticide use, reducing carbon footprint, and growing plants in any climate. This research aims to identify the current status of vertical farming startups in Southeast Asia, investigate the existing challenges and available opportunities in the Southeast Asia vertical farming industry, and analyze the sustainability practices and sustainable business model innovation implemented by Southeast Asia vertical farming startups. A literature review of vertical farming business typology, business model innovation, and sustainable business model innovation is used to create theoretical frameworks in this research. This research is an exploratory multiple case studies research with a qualitative method. The data in this research is collected through interviews with founders and managers from 10 vertical farming startups in Southeast Asia. The interview data is analyzed using vertical farming business typology, business model framework, and sustainable business model innovation archetypes. The research outcomes indicate that the vertical farming industry in Southeast Asia is an early growing industry, and Southeast Asia vertical farming startups are considered as early growing startups with small capital and small teams. Despite existing financial, operational, and market challenges, Southeast Asia vertical farming startups have considerable opportunities to grow with their effort to develop their vertical farming business into a more sustainable business by conducting various sustainability practices and adopting sustainable business model innovation. / Snabbt växande befolkning, urbanisering, klimatförändringar, minskad jordbruksproduktion och markförstöring orsakar enorma utmaningar för livsmedelsproduktionen och försörjningskedjan i Sydostasien, särskilt i stadsområden. En hållbar livsmedelsproduktion och försörjningskedja behövs för att producera och leverera mat till Sydostasiens stadsområden. En potentiell lösning på dessa utmaningar är att införa vertikalt jordbruk. Vertikalt jordbruk kan producera högkvalitativa grödor lokalt och hållbart genom att minska vatten- och markanvändningen, minska användningen av bekämpningsmedel, minska koldioxidavtrycket och odla växter i alla klimat. Denna forskning syftar till att identifiera den nuvarande statusen för vertikala jordbruks-startups i Sydostasien, undersöka de befintliga utmaningarna och tillgängliga möjligheter i den vertikala jordbruksindustrin och analysera hållbarhetspraxis och hållbar affärsmodellsinnovation som implementerats av vertikala jordbruks-startups. En litteraturgenomgång av vertikal jordbruksverksamhetstypologi och hållbar affärsmodellsinnovation används för att skapa teoretiskt ramverk i denna studie. I detta examensarbete tillämpas en kvalitativ forskning med flera fallstudier. Data samlas in genom intervjuer med grundare och chefer från 10 vertikala jordbruks-startups i Sydostasien. Intervjudata analyseras med hjälp av typologi för vertikal jordbruksföretag, ramverk för affärsmodeller och arketyper för hållbar affärsmodellsinnovation. Resultaten indikerar att den vertikala jordbruksindustrin i Sydostasien är en tidig växande industri, med tidigt växande startups med litet kapital och små team. Trots befintliga ekonomiska, operativa och marknadsmässiga utmaningar har vertikala jordbruks-startups i Sydostasien stora möjligheter att växa med sina ansträngningar att utveckla sin vertikala jordbruksverksamhet till en mer hållbar verksamhet genom att bedriva olika hållbarhetsmetoder och införa hållbar affärsmodellsinnovation.