An increasing number of manufacturing firms are developing new business models to improve sustainability in the face of growing environmental and social challenges. Product-service systems (PSS) are regarded as promising sustainable business models with significant potential to synergise economic, environmental and social value, together termed ‘sustainable value’. This research investigates ways in which manufacturing firms can identify opportunities for sustainable value creation in PSS business models. The research aims to make theoretical and practical contributions to the fields of sustainable business models, sustainable PSS and sustainable value. The research adopts a qualitative theory building approach, in which theory can be transformed into practice. It involves eight case studies and one focus group formed of manufacturers who provide PSS solutions. A practical-research tool, the Sustainable Value Analysis Tool, is developed to collect data and to provide business support. The key research findings and contributions to theory and practice are: · The research proposes a new PSS classification system based on the ownership of products and changes in ownership. This classification distinguishes the potential for sustainability of each PSS type more clearly than existing PSS classifications. · The research introduces a new concept, value uncaptured, and identifies four forms of this. The introduction of this concept provides a novel perspective of studying value exchange in business models. · The research identifies 26 sources of value uncaptured throughout the product life cycle. These can be used to help industrial practitioners to identify value uncaptured in a structured way. · The research proposed that the act of turning value uncaptured into value opportunities is an effective approach for improving sustainable value creation in business models. This has been empirically demonstrated. · The research proposes a model to understand how and where value uncaptured can be turned into value opportunities. This model comprises two mechanisms, two directions, and fourteen key tactics. The model improves theoretical understanding of the sustainable value creation system and can be applied in practice to help companies search for value opportunities in a systematic and strategic way. · The challenges of turning value opportunities into value are identified. The findings have been used to develop a framework for sustainable value creation in PSS business models. The proposed tool has been validated and used in workshops for purposes including research, consultancy, business education and university education. This research thus makes contributions to both academic knowledge and industrial practice.

Wassernutzung und Abbau der Frischwasser-Ressourcen sind heutzutage ein Thema, das als so wichtig wahrgenommen wird wie der Klimawandel. Wasser wird somit zunehmend Auswirkungen auf den ökonomischen Wert von Unternehmen haben. Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit ist es, den monetären Wert des Wassers mithilfe des Wasser-Fußabdrucks zu bestimmen. Hierfür werden nach einer kurzen Einführung in Kapitel 2 der ökologische Fußabdruck, der CO2-Fußabdruck und der Wasser-Fußabdruck kurz vorgestellt und in Beziehung zueinander gesetzt. Anschließend wird der Wasser-Fußabdruck diskutiert und sowohl in die Ökobilanzierung als auch in das Instrumentarium der Umweltleistungsmessung eingeordnet. Danach werden die Zielgrößen des Unternehmenswertes beschrieben und der Zusammenhang von ökologischer und ökonomischer Leistungsmessung dargestellt. Auf dem Stufenmodell zum Wertbeitrag aufbauend werden verschiedene Ansätze zur Integration ökologischer Aspekte in den Unternehmenswert diskutiert. In Kapitel 3 wird dann die Methode entwickelt, um den Wasser-Fußabdruck zu bestimmen und auszuwerten und anschließend mithilfe der Werttreiberanalyse, des Water Value Added und der Kumulierten Wasserintensitäten den ökonomischen Beitrag des Wassers zu berechnen. In der Fallstudie wird die Methode angewendet und anschließend in Kapitel 5 anhand der zuvor vorgestellten Kriterien bewertet. Abschließend werden einige Handlungsempfehlungen zur Anwendung und Weiterentwicklung der Methode gegeben. Als Ergebnis der Arbeit kann die Frage beantwortet werden, wie ein Unternehmen den Einfluss des Wassers auf den eigenen Unternehmenswert und den ökonomischen Wert des Wassers bestimmen kann.

Wassernutzung und Abbau der Frischwasser-Ressourcen sind heutzutage ein Thema, das als so wichtig wahrgenommen wird wie der Klimawandel. Wasser wird somit zunehmend Auswirkungen auf den ökonomischen Wert von Unternehmen haben. Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit ist es, den monetären Wert des Wassers mithilfe des Wasser-Fußabdrucks zu bestimmen. Hierfür werden nach einer kurzen Einführung in Kapitel 2 der ökologische Fußabdruck, der CO2-Fußabdruck und der Wasser-Fußabdruck kurz vorgestellt und in Beziehung zueinander gesetzt. Anschließend wird der Wasser-Fußabdruck diskutiert und sowohl in die Ökobilanzierung als auch in das Instrumentarium der Umweltleistungsmessung eingeordnet. Danach werden die Zielgrößen des Unternehmenswertes beschrieben und der Zusammenhang von ökologischer und ökonomischer Leistungsmessung dargestellt. Auf dem Stufenmodell zum Wertbeitrag aufbauend werden verschiedene Ansätze zur Integration ökologischer Aspekte in den Unternehmenswert diskutiert. In Kapitel 3 wird dann die Methode entwickelt, um den Wasser-Fußabdruck zu bestimmen und auszuwerten und anschließend mithilfe der Werttreiberanalyse, des Water Value Added und der Kumulierten Wasserintensitäten den ökonomischen Beitrag des Wassers zu berechnen. In der Fallstudie wird die Methode angewendet und anschließend in Kapitel 5 anhand der zuvor vorgestellten Kriterien bewertet. Abschließend werden einige Handlungsempfehlungen zur Anwendung und Weiterentwicklung der Methode gegeben. Als Ergebnis der Arbeit kann die Frage beantwortet werden, wie ein Unternehmen den Einfluss des Wassers auf den eigenen Unternehmenswert und den ökonomischen Wert des Wassers bestimmen kann.

In the field of product development, many organizations struggle to create a value proposition that can overcome the headwinds of technology change, regulatory requirements, and intense competition, in an effort to satisfy the long-term goals of sustainability. Today, organizations are realizing that they have lost portfolio value due to poor reliability, early product retirement, and abandoned design platforms. Beyond Lean and Green Manufacturing, shareholder value can be enhanced by taking a broader perspective, and integrating sustainability innovation elements into product designs in order to improve the delivery process and extend the life of product platforms. This research is divided into two parts that lead to closing the loop towards Sustainable Value Creation in product development. The first section presents a framework for achieving Sustainable Lifetime Value through a toolset that bridges the gap between financial success and sustainable product design. Focus is placed on the analysis of the sustainable value proposition between producers, consumers, society, and the environment and the half-life of product platforms. The Half-Life Return Model is presented, designed to provide feedback to producers in the pursuit of improving the return on investment for the primary stakeholders. The second part applies the driving aspects of the framework with the development of an Adaptive Genetic Search Algorithm. The algorithm is designed to improve fault detection and mitigation during the product delivery process. A computer simulation is used to study the effectiveness of primary aspects introduced in the search algorithm, in order to attempt to improve the reliability growth of the system during the development life-cycle. The results of the analysis draw attention to the sensitivity of the driving aspects identified in the product development lifecycle, which affect the long term goals of sustainable product development. With the use of the techniques identified in this research, cost effective test case generation can be improved without a major degradation in the diversity of the search patterns required to insure a high level of fault detection. This in turn can lead to improvements in the driving aspects of the Half-Life Return Model, and ultimately the goal of designing sustainable products and processes.

Companies are faced with challenges constraining the achievement of set budgets, goals, profit and cost of product, to name a few, on a daily basis. These challenges influence value creation and sustainable value creation. Value-based management is an integrated management tool which may assist in achieving sustainable value creation within a company. Achieving sustainable value creation will result in benefits for both the shareholders and the various stakeholders. In 2008 and 2009 Eskom, South Africa’s sole electricity provider announced a major shortage of electricity and consequently major price increases. Since electricity consumption is a crucial part of the production process, this announcement had a devastating effect on mining companies. The primary objective of the current study is to investigate whether a local mining company is focusing on applicable endeavours to overcome the electricity constraint and price hikes in order to sustain value creation. This was done by studying the company’s financial & management reports, public announcements and media coverage, in conjunction with a quantitative study, collecting primary data by using standardised questionnaires distributed among the mining company’s employees. The results from this study indicate that the selected company is focusing on relevant projects to overcome the electricity constraints. Further, the conclusion made from the results of the questionnaires shows that the higher staff levels are more informed and aware of value-based management. It also points out that the lower levels and employees from the production and mining departments are less informed and aware of value-based management. / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to explore suitable end-of-life strategies for fashion retailers of custom-made products after they have been returned by the customer, by analysing and evaluating these strategies, and how to implement and conclude the viability of these. Method: The study follows an abductive explorative case study method. The exploratory design is structured as follows; a literature review is carried out, followed by interviews for collecting empirical data, which is analysed with the help of a conceptual framework. Thereafter, secondary data is collected to create an overview of the real-world context in the form of end-of-life strategies implemented by fashion retailers. Finally, the case was tested within a new proposed framework. Findings: The findings demonstrate the importance of the core values of the companies and inherent to that, the product characteristics and design in the decision-making of a suitable end-of-life strategy. For that reason, a second phase of data collection based on secondary data was implemented and juxtaposed the first finding from the interviews. The main insight this paper shows is that resell “as it is”, which is a common end-of-life strategy for regular fashion retailers, is a conflicting strategy for retailers of custom-made clothing. Introducing an adapted version of the Sustainable Value Analysis Tool as a conceptual framework gave a better insight in how to approach and analyse suitable end-of-life strategies and shows the relation between these parameters. Originality: It is difficult according to the findings of this study to conclude a generalisable, one-size-fits-all end-of-life strategy for returned custom-made products. However, the introduction of an adapted version of the Sustainable Value Analysis Tool can serve a purpose for all fashion retailers in this transformation process and which is not limited to fashion retailers of mass customised clothing.

This thesis aims to provide insights on how private-sector inter-organizational collaboration creates interaction and synergistic value towards sustainability. Value propositions are directed towards individuals, organizations and society at large. To achieve this purpose, an explorative, in-depth case study on the NextWave initiative is conducted to address the sustainability challenge of marine plastic pollution. An abductive research approach is applied, matching main theories of both private-sector partnerships and value co-creation with empirical data gathered through semi-structured interviews with NextWave members. The study looks at individual as well as collaborative activities leading to the cocreationof interaction and synergistic value. It is further analyzed, how these created values lead toexternal system change towards sustainability. Key findings are limited to the case of NextWave as the intent of the study is an initial exploration of the topic. The data leads the authors to an affirmative conclusion, delivering a number of activity and process examples that foster collaboration and promote interaction and synergistic value. That, in turn, allows for system change and a more sustainable development. Therefore, this thesis makes valuable contributions to the theoretical knowledge of collaboration and value creation. Additionally, a conceptual and analytical framework based on contemporary literature contributes to the body of knowledge as well as allows practical application.

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.

Submitted by Jorge Silva (jorgelmsilva@ufrrj.br) on 2018-11-08T19:08:26Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2013 - Jadiel Guerra de Moura.pdf: 1576291 bytes, checksum: 1c0321985dce3ecb4b74f06340ecc33d (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-11-08T19:08:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2013 - Jadiel Guerra de Moura.pdf: 1576291 bytes, checksum: 1c0321985dce3ecb4b74f06340ecc33d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-10-29 / This is a study of the known principles of sustainable management in business environment with social and environmental initiatives, with TV GLOBO?s example. The sustainable potential, pioneering initiatives such as ISO 14001 certification and performance in waste management are covered under the studied models and compared in relation to official standards for sustainability. The bibliographic source which gives the theoretical foundation portfolio primarily comprises the sustainable value of Hart and the main instruments for the sustainable management such as ISO 16000, 26000 standards, reports the GRI indicators and the ISE . The environmental initiatives of the company and the results of performance and environmental care were extracted from published social reports, presentations at conferences, seminars, videos and materials available in various media. Additionally, a questionnaire of commitments to sustainability, interviews and content of programs complement the disclosed data and environmental issues. As a result, we have a evaluation of the range of initiatives, a diagnosis of the potential for creating sustainable value and a comparative analysis of sustainable actions in relation to systems and studied models. / Este trabalho ? um estudo dos princ?pios conhecidos da gest?o sustent?vel no ?mbito empresarial tendo como exemplo as iniciativas socioambientais da TV GLOBO. O potencial sustent?vel, iniciativas como o pioneirismo na certifica??o ISO 14001 e o desempenho na gest?o de res?duos s?o contemplados segundo modelos estudados e comparados em rela??o a par?metros oficiais de sustentabilidade. A fonte bibliogr?fica que d? a fundamenta??o te?rica compreende basicamente o portf?lio de valor sustent?vel de Hart e os principais instrumentos para a gest?o sustent?vel como as normas ISO 16000, 26000, relat?rios do GRI e indicadores do ISE. As iniciativas socioambientais da empresa, bem como os resultados de desempenho e de cuidados ambientais, foram extra?das de balan?os sociais publicados, apresenta??es feitas em congressos, semin?rios, v?deos e materiais disponibilizados em diversas m?dias. Adicionalmente, um question?rio de compromissos com a sustentabilidade, entrevistas realizadas e conte?dos de programas divulgados complementam os dados e os temas socioambientais abordados. Como resultado, temos uma avalia??o do conjunto de iniciativas, diagn?stico do potencial de cria??o de valor sustent?vel e an?lise comparativa de a??es sustent?veis em rela??o aos sistemas e modelos estudados.

Made available in DSpace on 2010-04-20T20:08:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 71050100665.pdf: 1200022 bytes, checksum: 1f8ccfefbe91b191497f4d5021ad4180 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-02-17T00:00:00Z / Este trabalho aborda o tema das aglomerações geográficas de organizações interconectadas, ou os assim chamados clusters empresariais. Sendo que a competitividade encontra seus fundamentos na ação das empresas, e estas podem não somente criar lucro econômico, mas também gerar benefícios para a sociedade local e o país, é necessário compreender melhor os efeitos decorrentes da aglomeração empresarial, para o conjunto de organizações que atuam conjuntamente na mesma região, e principalmente, para a sociedade local. O objetivo deste trabalho é determinar quais são os efeitos dos clusters nos municípios onde se encontram estabelecidos. Para tanto, adotou-se uma estratégia de pesquisa de múltiplas etapas, envolvendo inicialmente uma pesquisa exploratória em um reconhecido cluster de tecnologia da informação e comunicação, cujos subsídios foram utilizados no refinamento de hipóteses testadas em uma pesquisa quantitativa, na qual foram analisadas 645 observações, correspondentes aos municípios do estado de São Paulo. Os resultados sugerem que os municípios que contam com clusters industriais são aqueles que apresentam desempenho superior, em termos de intensidade exportadora e agregação de valor. Estes municípios apresentam ainda níveis elevados de riqueza para os munícipes, e, nas cidades com clusters industriais, há também maior longevidade dos cidadãos. Mas não há qualquer evidência de que municípios com concentrações estão relacionados à maior escolaridade, um resultado contra-intuitivo, já que supostamente, a atividade industrial demanda gestores mais especializados, e mão-de-obra mais qualificada. Uma evidência interessante se refere aos problemas ambientais. O grupo de municípios com clusters apresentou mais problemas relacionados a alterações ambientais. Sendo qualquer teoria resultado de características histórico-culturais bastante específicas, seu poder explicativo pode diminuir à medida que novas demandas sociais adentram nos campos científicos. Como tal, uma necessária revisão do modelo de vantagem competitiva em clusters é sugerida neste trabalho, contemplando as questões da sustentabilidade, que se fazem presentes na economia e na sociedade contemporâneas. / This study provides evidence regarding the strategic dynamics of competitive clusters. It’s suggested that the competitiveness must be pursued not only by the increasing of economic profits, but it also must generate benefits for the local society and the country. This is necessary to understand better the whole effects of the clusters for the set of organizations who act jointly in the same region. This work aims to determine which are the effects of clusters in the region where they are established. A strategy of research of multiple stages was adopted, having involved initially an exploratory research, in a cluster of information and communication technology. The results had been used in the refinement of hypotheses for a quantitative research, in which 645 observations had been analyzed, correspondent to the cities of the state of São Paulo. The results suggest that the industrial clusters cities are those who present superior performance of exporting intensity and aggregation of value. These cities still present high levels of wealth for the townspeople, and the cities with industrial clusters, also have bigger longevity of the citizens. But any evidence of that cities with clusters are related to the biggest years of study was found. An interesting evidence is related to the environmental problems. The group of cities with clusters presented more related ambient alterations. Thus, a necessary revision of the model of competitive advantage in clusters is suggested in this work, contemplating the contemporary questions about environmental problems.