This research has explored the business model and business model innovation in the context of the healthy food venture (HFV). The HFV is defined as an organised initiative that aims to improve people's health by encouraging healthy food consumption. This research has grown out of the need to find new ways of tackling the public health issues that stem from the way food is currently produced and consumed. Scholars increasingly suggest that business model innovation helps business practitioners to achieve specific value outcomes. Thought leaders increasingly call for new business models to solve the health problems stemming from the food system. However, the literature fails to offer theory and practical guidance about how to design and manage the business models of HFVs. The research seeks to answer two research questions: 1) what are the challenges faced by HFVs? and 2) how do HFVs innovate their business models? The purpose of this research is to help HFVs create multiple (both social and economic) value outcomes. One objective of the research is to contribute to the knowledge about healthy food intervention and more specifically, healthy food intervention through business models. Another objective of the research is to contribute to practice and offer practitioners tools that help them to operate successful HFVs. The research questions and objectives aligned with a qualitative approach. The researcher answered the research questions by studying a sample of HFVs using action research, autoethnography and traditional case study methodologies. The research has produced specific insights and tools that can help HFV practitioners and scholars. The insights highlight the multiplicity of value that is embedded within food. Its value richness creates both opportunities and challenges for HFVs. The research has developed a context-specific business model framework-the Business Model Blossom (BMB), and has also led to the development of a business model innovation language that complements the Business Model Blossom-the Negative Value Diagnostics (NVDs). Besides these specific insights and tools, the research has challenged the current business model literature as to the precision of the business model and business model innovation concepts. It has created future research opportunities for implementing and refining the Business Model Blossom and Negative Value Diagnostics with HFV practitioners, as well as practitioners from other industries.

In the United States, although foreign-born individuals are more than twice as likely to start new ventures, immigrant-owned businesses often fail within the first 5 years. The purpose of this single case study was to explore the strategies that U.S.-based Togolese small business owners who were engaged in entrepreneurial activities in Togo. The Schumpeterian entrepreneurship theory underpinned the study and served as a theoretical reference. Interview data were collected from 20 successful Togolese small business owners who resided in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area, who were engaged in entrepreneurial activities in Togo, and who had been in business for more than 5 years. Data analysis involved using coding techniques and word clustering, with the invocation of qualitative data analytical software. The use of methodological triangulation enabled deeper analysis and added to the rigor of the study. The 4 key themes emerging from the coding and thematic analysis of interviews included (a) entrepreneurial motivation and attributes, (b) overcoming financial hardship, (c) leveraging information technologies, and (d) addressing challenges in the dual business environment. The findings of the study may advance contribution to positive social change as immigrant business owners may use the knowledge to improve business success, which could lead to the creation of jobs and improvement in the standard of living of U.S.-based Togolese entrepreneurs. The discoveries from the research may also contribute to positive social change for local communities in Togo, as the diaspora flow of investments and remittances from the United States may increase.

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to develop and contribute with an improved understanding of socially responsible investing and its barriers within the asset management sector. To accomplish the purpose of this research, four areas have been investigated; sustainability, business models, socially responsible investing, and barriers for socially responsible investing. Method – Since the research aimed to use the existing theory, and at the same time explore and gain understanding within the area of sustainable, or responsible, investments, the research approach had iterative characteristics with theoretical and empirical findings. Therefore, an abductive research approach was chosen. For the gathering of data, a multiple case study was conducted by interviewing people working within asset management companies. For the analysis of the data, constant comparison, multilevel interviews, and thematic analysis were used. Results – First, the results indicate that socially responsible investments have greatly affected the business models for asset management companies, and responsible investments are starting to become more of a hygiene factor than a way of differentiation. Second, the most significant barrier for the increase of responsible investments is preconceptions and lack of knowledge. This barrier is rooted in an underlying issue, that is lack of transparency regarding asset management companies’ investments. Furthermore, the findings indicate that government actions within the market invested in, was not such a grand barrier as presented in the literature. Theoretical contributions – The main theoretical contribution with this research is the identification of the barrier preconceptions and lack of knowledge, as this is not highlighted in the literature, but among the asset management companies it was highly significant. By analyzing the findings with an institutional theory lens, it is an understandable behavior as there are no incentives for change, hence the managerial contributions consist of regulations.  Managerial contributions – The practical contributions with this report is the need for reformed regulations in the industry where asset management companies are operating, in order to increase transparency. By seeing the issue through the lens of institutional theory, it is unlikely for self-regulations to happen as the incentives are not great enough. For self-regulation to happen, the agency costs need to surpass the costs for increased responsible investments, as it would generate enough incentives for a change to happen.

This study explores how higher education can enable the management accounting curriculum to include sustainability content and learning outcomes to encourage future accountants and leaders to use such information in organizational decision-making. It examines current systems thinking theories, and studies how the leverage points available through the management accounting function may assist organizations to embed sustainability into daily practice. To support this transformation, the research reviews the knowledge-base, activities, and tools of management accounting and suggests how to incorporate sustainability principles and criteria into the curriculum within a community college in British Columbia (BC) that has established sustainability as a strategic goal. Action research interviews explore how the management accounting curriculum within the school of business could be enhanced to support organizations - and by extension society - in embedding sustainability into practice, and identifies recommendations for curriculum re-design at the department level, and key elements of change-making to enable it.

abstract: Restaurants have a cumulative impact on the environment, economy, and society. The majority of restaurants are small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs). Review of sustainability and industry literature revealed that considering restaurants as businesses with sustainable development options is the most appropriate way to evaluate their sustainable practices or lack thereof. Sustainable development is the means by which a company progresses towards achieving an identified set of sustainability goals and harnesses competitive advantage. The purpose of this thesis is to identify barriers to implementing sustainable practices in restaurants, and explore ways that restaurateurs can incorporate sustainable business practices. Energy consumption, water use, waste production, and food throughput are the four sustainability indicators addressed in this thesis. Interviews were conducted with five Tempe, Arizona restaurants, two of which consider their operations to be sustainable, and three of which are traditional restaurants. Results show that for traditional restaurants, the primary barriers to implementing sustainable business practices are cost, lack of awareness, and space. For sustainability-marketed restaurants, the barriers included a lack of knowledge or legal concerns. The sustainability-marketed restaurants have energy-efficient equipment and locally source a majority of their food purchases. There is a marked difference between the two types of restaurants in perception of barriers to sustainable business practices. I created a matrix to identify whether each indicator metric was applicable and present at a particular restaurant, and the potential barriers to implementing sustainable practices in each of the four indicator areas. Restaurants can use the assessment matrix to compare their current practices with sustainable practices and find ways to implement new or enhance existing sustainable practices. Identifying the barriers from within restaurants increases our understanding of the reasons why sustainable practices are not automatically adopted by SMEs. The assessment matrix can help restaurants overcome barriers to achieving sustainability by highlighting how to incorporate sustainable business practices. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Sustainability 2011

abstract: Over the past few decades, businesses globally have advanced in incorporating the principles of sustainability as they strive to align economic outcomes with growing and complex social and environmental demands and opportunities. This transition is conditioned by the maturity, scale, and geographical location of a business (among other factors), with particular challenges placed on small enterprises in middle- to low-income communities. Within this context, the overarching research question of this dissertation is why and how business incubation processes may foster sustainable enterprises at the middle and base of the socioeconomic pyramid (MoP/BoP). To explore this question, in this project I used as a case study the experience of a network of social business incubators operated by Tecnologico de Monterrey, a private, non-profit, multi-campus university system in Mexico. Centering on its campus in Guadalajara and in order to understand if and how MoP/BoP businesses address sustainability, I developed a current state assessment of incubator processes, analyzing during two semesters the activities of incubated entrepreneurs and their goals, motivations, and outcomes. The general expectation at the outset of the study was that Tec's social business incubation process, in both its design and implementation, focuses on the economic viability and outcomes of incubated projects and hence does not promote entrepreneur commitment to sustainability goals and practices. The general approach of the research project involved a qualitative, in-depth ethnographic assessment of participants. Data were collected by means of the following research tools: (a) archival and documentary review, (b) participant observation, (c) surveys of participants (entrepreneurs and advisors/mentors), and (d) semi-structured interviews of participants. The overall design of the research was inspired by the transitions management approach and by the intervention research method, while qualitative results were assessed under the grounded theory approach. Results of the research are reported under three general categories: (a) analysis of entrepreneur goals, motivations, and outcomes, (b) identification of social and environmental opportunities, and (c) review of the role of social networks and broader support structures. While results confirmed the general expectation of the study, it was possible to establish (based on the interaction with the entrepreneurs and other actors) that there is both interest and commitment to identify and explore opportunities in social and environmental issues. Thus, the dissertation concludes with a proposal for potential future interventions in this social incubator, exploring a new vision and strategies for a transition to a more sustainability-oriented approach. Finally, key recommendations define the most critical elements of an agenda for transition in the social incubation process at Campus Guadalajara and provide input for other efforts. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Sustainability 2014

O objetivo deste trabalho é contribuir para a discussão sobre como as organizações podem desenvolver modelos de negócio que promovam a mobilidade urbana sustentável, diante da relevância crescente que as discussões sobre o futuro da mobilidade e das cidades como um todo tem assumido em diversas áreas da ciência. Parte-se da ideia de que a concentração da produção de bens e serviços em grandes centros urbanos tem acentuado cada vez mais o desafio de reduzir a dependência do veículo privado para promover alternativas que promovam a mobilidade sustentável, visto que o uso crescente deste modal trouxe reduções significativas nos padrões de qualidade do deslocamento das pessoas, além de impactar diretamente as funções econômica, ambiental e social das cidades. Nesse contexto, têm emergido diversos atores interessados em desenvolver novos modelos de negócio no campo da mobilidade urbana, expandindo as fronteiras de um setor que anteriormente vinha sendo regido, principalmente, pelas regras da indústria automotiva. No entanto, embora a literatura tenha discutido sobre como cada vez mais modelos de negócios são relevantes diante dos desafios da mobilidade sustentável, menor atenção tem sido dedicada para compreender o que de fato caracteriza um modelo de negócio orientado à mobilidade urbana sustentável. Para preencher essa lacuna de pesquisa, recorreu-se a uma análise tanto da literatura de mobilidade urbana sustentável quanto à de modelos de negócio sustentáveis. A partir do resultado da intersecção entre essas literaturas, foi proposto um modelo conceitual que abrange oito tipologias pelas quais um modelo de negócio pode promover a mobilidade sustentável, além de aspectos que caracterizam esses modelos de forma transversal. O modelo conceitual foi testado empiricamente em seis modelos de negócio alinhados às tipologias definidas, com base em um estudo de casos múltiplos de caráter exploratório. O resultado do estudo de campo evidenciou outras variáveis relevantes que devem ser consideradas na caracterização de modelos de negócio orientados à mobilidade urbana sustentável no contexto brasileiro, além de barreiras associadas ao desenvolvimento dessas iniciativas. Dessa forma, o resultado da pesquisa permitiu enriquecer o modelo conceitual proposto inicialmente com a incorporação de novas dimensões de análise, bem como obter uma perspectiva mais ampla sobre a compreensão de modelos de negócio orientados à mobilidade urbana sustentável. / The objective of this research is to contribute to the discussion about how organizations may develop business models oriented to sustainable urban mobility, given the growing relevance that discussions about the future of mobility and cities have assumed in several areas of knowledge. It is based on the idea that the concentration of the production of goods and services in large urban centers has increasingly accentuated the challenge of reducing dependence on private car use to providing alternatives that promote sustainable mobility, because the use of the previous modal has produced significant reductions in people\'s travel quality standards and has directly affected the economic, environmental, and social functions of cities. In this context, several actors have emerged interested in developing new business models in urban mobility field, expanding frontiers previously dominated exclusively by the automotive industry players. However, although researchers have increasingly examined how business models promote sustainable urban mobility, less attention has been focused on what constitutes business models oriented to sustainable urban mobility. To fill this research gap, a theoretical analysis of sustainable urban mobility and sustainable business models was made. From the result of this literature intersection, a conceptual framework was proposed and organized in eight typologies by which a business model could promote sustainable mobility, besides some aspects that characterize these models in a transversal way. The conceptual framework was empirically tested in six business models aligned to the defined typologies, based on an exploratory multiple case study. The results of the empirical study revealed other relevant variables that should be considered in order to characterize business models oriented to sustainable urban mobility in Brazil context, in addition to some barriers associated with the development of these initiatives. In this way, the research results allowed to enrich the conceptual framework proposed initially with the incorporation of new analysis dimensions, as well as to obtain a broader perspective on how business models can promote sustainable urban mobility.

This case study presents the factors that define a sustainable entrepreneurship in theory and how a sustainable business can be presented in practice. The questions that will be answered are: (1) How do Oatly and Saltå Kvarn implement sustainable practices within their organisations? (2) How do the representatives of Oatly and Saltå Kvarn perceive the impact that sustainable practices have on business results? (3) How do the representatives of Oatly and Saltå Kvarn use sustainability to create innovation? (4) How are attitudes and values related to the organisation of sustainable practices in Oatly and Saltå Kvarn? Also, I will present how different practices of sustainable business is related to each other and how it can be implemented in theory. To retrieve as much useful information as possible I have collected material by conducting a literature study and semi-structured interviews with one representative from Oatly ab and one representative from Saltå Kvarn ab. The interviews aim to give the reader of this thesis an in-depth and detailed perspective of the chosen organisations. I conduct a qualitative research method where my aim is to present an exemplification of the subject and provide the reader with a deep analysis of the chosen companies in the paper. There are several motives behind why a company choose to move in a more sustainable direction and therefore engage in some practices. There might be a strong value based core at the foundation of the business or it can be a reaction of the trends in society. The reasons are many, and it is possible to see the different engagements in different levels of socio-economic management thinking. Businesses that are engaged in single issues can be defined as mere philanthropy or a compliance issue. Corporations that have taken their engagements one level further see their responsibilities related to their core business. That is, it is integrated within their business model. These firms can engage in explicit responsibility management or integrative business models. The thesis is concluded in the definition of sustainable entrepreneurship where the business itself contributes to urgent societal as well as ecological challenges by having it in their core competences. By having this new innovative approach, the sustainable entrepreneurship at its finest would increase value for business as well as increased value for society by fostering social innovations.

Stakeholder interaction has been recognised as one of the main principles to advance organisational sustainability. However, there is only limited knowledge on how organisations interact with their stakeholders to develop sustainability practices from an overarching perspective. There is also only fragmented research on the role of stakeholders when developing a sustainable business model (SBM). The purpose of this thesis is therefore to explore the role of stakeholder interaction for developing organisational sustainability practices and SBMs. Three research questions drive this thesis which compiles three papers based on three individual studies. The first study concentrates on stakeholder interaction as an organisational sustainability practice applying quantitative methods. The second study is a systematic literature review analysing the role of stakeholder interaction to develop SBMs. The third study explores how organisations implemented stakeholder interaction efforts, using qualitative methods. The results reveal that stakeholder interaction implemented as organisational sustainability practices and part of the SBM includes multiple stakeholders and different interaction degrees, potentially leading to new value opportunities and virtuous cycles of sustainable value creation. However, while organisations recognise the importance of stakeholder interaction, most organisations focus on low-to medium interaction degrees related to specific sustainability activities. This may limits the potential of stakeholder interaction for developing organisational sustainability practices and SBMs. This thesis contributes to sustainability, stakeholder and SBM literature by systematically exploring the role of stakeholder interaction, highlighting different degrees and extents practices are implemented in organisations. For practitioners, insights are offered how to foster stakeholder interaction practices and with that move towards organisational sustainability.

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