business model articulates the logic, the data and other evidence that support a value proposition for the customer, and a viable structure of revenues and costs for the enterprise delivering that value

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e describe business models as simplified representations of the elements e and interactions between these elements e that an organisational unit chooses in order to create, deliver, capture, and exchange value

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The business model is “an architecture of the product, service and information flows, including a description of the various business actors and their roles; a description of the potential benefits for the various business actors; a description of the sources of revenues” (p. 4)

Chesbrough and Rosenbloom, 2002The business model is “the heuristic logic that connects technical potential with the realization of economic value” (p. 529). “The business model provides a coherent framework that takes technological characteristics and potentials as inputs and converts them through customers and markets into economic outputs” (p. 532).

Knyphausen-Aufsess and Meinhardt, 2002A business model is a simplified representation of a profit aimed venture, consisting of its essential elements and their interconnections.

Magretta, 2002“[Business models] are, at heart, stories—stories that explain how enterprises work [and answer the following questions,] Who is the customer? And what does the customer value? It also answers the fundamental question every manager must ask: How do we make money in this business? What is the underlying economic logic that explains how we can deliver value to the customers at an appropriate cost?“ (p. 87)

Richardson, 2008A business model is “a conceptual framework that helps to link the firm's strategy, or theory of how to compete, to its activities, or execution of the strategy. The business model framework can help to think strategically about the details of the way the firm does business.” (p. 135) “The three major components of the framework — the value proposition, the value creation and delivery system, and value capture — reflect the logic of strategic thinking about value. The essence of strategy is to create superior value for customers and capture a greater amount of that value than competitors.” (p. 138)

Doganova and Eyquem-Renault, 2009“The business model is a narrative and calculative device that allows entrepreneurs to explore a market and plays a performative role by contributing to the construction of the techno-economic network of an innovation.” (p. 1559)

Baden-Fuller and Morgan, 2010“business models have a multivalent character as models. They can be found as exemplar role models that might be copied or presented as nutshell descriptions of a business organisation: simplified, short-hand descriptions equivalent to scale models. We can think of them not only as capturing the characteristics of observed kinds in the world (within a taxonomy), but also as abstract ideal types (in a typology)” (p. 167)

Casadesus-Masanell and Ricart, 2010)“A business model is […] a reflection of the firm's realized strategy” (p. 195).

Osterwalder and Pigneur, 2010“A business model describes the rationale of how an organisation creates, delivers, and captures value.”(p. 14)

Teece, 2010“A business model articulates the logic, the data and other evidence that support a value proposition for the customer, and a viable structure of revenues and costs for the enterprise delivering that value” (p. 179).

Zott and Amit, 2010“we conceptualize a firm's business model as a system of interdependent activities that transcends the focal firm and spans its boundaries. The activity system enables the firm, in concert with its partners, to create value and also to appropriate a share of that value [and is defined by] design elements - content, structure and governance - that describe the architecture of an activity system; and design themes - novelty, lock-in, complementarities and efficiency – that describe the sources of the activity system's value creation.” (p. 216).

Geissdoerfer et al., 2016“we describe business models as simplified representations of the elements e and interactions between these elements e that an organisational unit chooses in order to create, deliver, capture, and exchange value.” (p. 1218)

Wirtz et al., 2016“A business model is a simplified and aggregated representation of the relevant activities of a company. It describes how marketable information, products and/or services are generated by means of a company's value-added component. In addition to the architecture of value creation, strategic as well as customer and market components are taken into consideration, in order to achieve the superordinate goal of generating, or rather, securing the competitive advantage. To fulfil this latter purpose, a current business model should always be critically regarded from a dynamic perspective, thus within the consciousness that there may be the need for business model evolution or business model innovation, due to internal or external changes over time.” (p.41)

Massa et al., 2017“a business model is a description of an organisation and how that organisation functions in achieving its goals (e.g., profitability, growth, social impact, …).

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A sustainable business model is “a model where sustainability concepts shape the driving force of the firm and its decision making [so that] the dominant neoclassical model of the firm is transformed, rather than supplemented, by social and environmental priorities.” (p. 103)

Garetti and Taisch, 2012Sustainable business models “have a global market perspective, taking into account the development of new industrialised countries as well as the need for more sustainable products and services.” (p. 88)

Schaltegger et al., 2012Sustainable business models “create customer and social value by integrating social, environmental, and business activities” (p. 112)

Bocken et al., 2013“Sustainable business models seek to go beyond delivering economic value and include a consideration of other forms of value for a broader range of stakeholders.” (p. 484)

Boons and Lüdeke-Freund, 2013A sustainable business model is different from a conventional one through four propositions, “1. The value proposition provides measurable ecological and/or social value in concert with economic value […] 2. The supply chain involves suppliers who take responsibility towards their own as well as the focal company's stakeholders […] 3. The customer interface motivates customers to take responsibility for their consumption as well as for the focal company's stakeholders. […] 4. The financial model reflects an appropriate distribution of economic costs and benefits among actors involved in the business model and accounts for the company's ecological and social impacts” (p. 13)

Wells, 2013A business model for sustainability “would assists in the achievement of sustainability [by] following major principles […] for sustainability”, which Wells defines as 1) resource efficiency, 2) social relevance, 3) localisation and engagement, 4) longevity, 5) ethical sourcing, and 6) work enrichment. (p. 65)

Upward and Jones, 2015A (strongly) sustainable business model “is the definition by which an enterprise determines the appropriate inputs, resource flows, and value decisions and its role in ecosystems, [in a way that] sustainability measures [which] are those indicators that assess the outputs and effects of business model decisions […] might be claimed as successfully sustainable.” (p. 98)

Abdelkafi and Tauscher, 2016)Sustainable business models, “incorporate sustainability as an integral part of the company's value proposition and value creation logic. As such, [Business models for Sustainability] provide value to the customer and to the natural environment and/or society.” (p. 75)

Geissdoerfer et al., 2016)“we define a sustainable business model as a simplified representation of the elements, the interrelation between these elements, and the interactions with its stakeholders that an organisational unit uses to create, deliver, capture, and exchange sustainable value for, and in collaboration with, a broad range of stakeholders.” (p. 1219)

Evans et al., 2017Sustainable business models are described with five propositions, “1. Sustainable value incorporates economic, social and environmental benefits conceptualised as value forms. 2. Sustainable business models require a system of sustainable value flows among multiple stakeholders including the natural environment and society as primary stakeholders. 3. Sustainable business models require a value network with a new purpose, design and governance. 4. Sustainable business models require a systemic consideration of stakeholder interests and responsibilities for mutual value creation. 5.Internalizing externalities through product-service systems enables innovation towards sustainable business models.” (p. 5ff)

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