Exploring Research Trends in Sustainable Business Models: A Bibliometric Analysis

Abstract

The topic of sustainable business-models (SBMs) has attracted significant interest among both academics and practitioners in recent years. A systemic approach to business-models (BMs) is now deemed necessary to address the challenges related to sustainability and acknowledge the interconnectedness of organizations with the environment and society as a whole. The paper identifies, presents and analyses (1) the scientific production across time; (2) the most influential and productive contributors (authors, organizations and countries) and their collaborative research activities; (3) the most frequently used keywords, their links and total link strength with other concepts in the network map; and (4) the key trends in the researched field. The paper employs a bibliometric analysis on SBMs based on a research sample of 987 publications in English, collected from the Web of Science database. The data spanning from 2001 to 2023 was exported, processed, analysed and visualized using VOSviewer, Excel and RStudio Bibliometrix/Biblioshiny software tools. A co-occurrence analysis was conducted to explore thematic evolution and identify current trends that are at the forefront of the field. In terms of the study’s findings, 19 authors were identified as having published more than 5 documents on the topic of interest, and their relative influence was established. Furthermore, the paper presents the most influential countries based on document count, citations and link strength. The 122 keywords that met the threshold of 10 occurrences were analysed across five emerging clusters. Given the current challenges and opportunities presented by Industry 4.0 technologies in the context of digital transformation, the push towards sustainability, coupled with the disruptive effects brought forth by the Covid-19 pandemic, there is a need for novel approaches in designing and implementing SBMs. These should be based on innovation and prioritize the interests of a multiple stakeholders, encompassing the environment and society.

1.1 Introduction

Driven by stakeholder demands for socially responsible behaviour and enterprise legitimacy, sustainability has become a critical global priority and a prominent theme of the twenty-first century, largely influenced by the recent developments such as the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Agenda (Gonçalves et al., 2023). The growing emphasis on sustainability has presented a challenge for organizations in reconciling immediate profits with long-term sustainability objectives (Haessler, 2020). This has led to the emergence of concepts such as shared value and corporate social responsibility (Yang & Yan, 2020), whereby businesses strive to enhance their economic and social value while minimizing their environmental impact. The movement has stimulated various active initiatives, with academics, policymakers, practitioners and investors all striving to address sustainability concerns. The multifaceted and dynamic nature of sustainability requires a balanced approach of the social, environmental and economic pillars, coined as the “triple bottom line” (3BL or TBL), making it critical and requiring context-specific solutions (Elkington, 1998, pp. 70–71; Mignon & Bankel, 2022; Nogueira et al., 2022; Dressler, 2023).

Given the current challenges hallmarked by sustainability issues, there is an imperative to reconsider business models (BMs) through a systemic approach that recognizes the interconnectedness of organizations with the broader natural environment and socioeconomic system (Stubbs & Cocklin, 2008). Elkington, who is credited with introducing the “triple bottom line” (3BL) concept, also known as “people, planet and profit”, advocates for the need to revamp economic models to foster a more circular, integrated and socially inclusive economy that generates multigenerational long-term results, by mitigating risks associated with “Black Swans” and capitalizing on “Green Swans” opportunities. In this context, the triple bottom line approach is undergoing a reinvention process that operates on various levels: responsibility, resilience and the regeneration of the social, natural and economic world (Elkington, 2020, pp. 232, 235).

Emergent and disruptive fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies play a key role in shaping production and consumption patterns. Moreover, linking innovation with sustainability and integrating innovative technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), in the decision-making process, can facilitate the emergence of more responsible business models which can serve as a pivotal driver contributing to the accomplishment of Sustainable-Development-Goals (SDGs) (Di Vaio et al., 2020). In the age of digital transformation, organizations aiming to integrate sustainability at strategic and operational levels should develop novel business models that capitalize on the complementarity of digital technologies and sustainability (Purcărea et al., 2022). To generate sustainable value and benefit from opportunities presented by emerging and disruptive technologies – including artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), Internet of Things (IoT), big data (BD), etc. – Industry 4.0 should be tackled within a sustainable paradigm and combined with sustainability-related constructs: “triple-bottom-line” (3BL or TBL), “circular economy” and “sustainable business models”. A sustainable Industry 4.0 ecosystem can be achieved by integrating the 3BL pillars along with circular economy tools, components and principles, thus providing a foundation towards the development of a holistic sustainability-oriented BM, based on innovation (Khan et al., 2021) (Fig. 1.1).

Fig. 1.1

Industry 4.0 implementation strategy to sustainable value. (Source: Authors’ own processing based on Khan et al., 2021, p. 12)

Findings of a previous bibliometric analysis on “corporate sustainability”, performed by the authors, revealed a noteworthy interest among both academic scholars and practitioners in investigating innovative approaches to business models (BMs). The analysis of the average publishing year (APY) of various concepts encompassed under the business models, “umbrella”, revealed a significant evolution in interest from traditional to novel BM approaches. This shift is linked to current challenges and opportunities arising from the transition to sustainability and digital transformation. Therefore, an extensive inquiry into sustainable business models (SBMs) is relevant (Hausdorf & Timm, 2022), and this paper aims to analyse the critical and challenging topics linked with this concept.

The goal of the current study is to identify, present and analyse key aspects related to sustainable business models (SBMs), using bibliometric research. The paper aims to achieve four main objectives:

• 1. To present the scientific production on SBMs over time, including the evolution of the number of published documents, research categories, significant scientific journals and publishers and the related source dynamics.

• 2. To establish influential and prolific contributors, such as authors, organizations and countries, as well as their collaborative research activities regarding SBMs.

• 3. To ascertain the most frequently used keywords, their connections and the total link strength (TLS) with other concepts.

• 4. To emphasize trends and emerging themes that are associated with sustainable business models.

For this purpose, a bibliometric analysis was performed in March 2023. To establish the research sample, the Web of Science (WoS) database introduced by Eugene Garfield in 1964 (Birkle et al., 2020) has been used. From the searched topic “sustainable business model”, a number of 1000 documents, in different languages, were identified. To process filtered data exported from WoS, different software solutions have been used: VOSviewer, RStudio Bibliometrix/Biblioshiny (Aria & Cuccurullo, 2017) and Microsoft Excel. Among these, VOSviewer plays a vital role in mapping bibliographic data (Van Eck & Waltman, 2019, pp. 25–27) and identifying the most prominent concepts, trends and emerging research themes, based on the average publication year (APY).

1.2 Literature Review

A business model (BM) aims to capture market opportunities and create and deliver value for different categories of stakeholders. The traditional approach to business models prioritizes a limited set of stakeholders and primarily focuses on generating benefits for shareholders and customers. As an alternative, modern approaches aim to create a total value – both for the focal firm and other involved groups (Amit & Zott, 2020). As an interdependent activity system, a business model outlines how profit and value are generated. Apart from generating value, each business model has impact on both society and the environment within which it operates (Dembek et al., 2022).

In the context of the current challenges and opportunities, which predominantly pertain to sustainability-related concerns, a new approach towards business models is needed. This novel outlook incorporates, besides the economic issues, the social and environmental perspectives of sustainability. Considering the complexity of sustainable development, there is a need for more in-depth research to broaden overall knowledge on how social practices can be integrated into BMs that promote the comprehensive provision of necessities while respecting planetary limits (Boons & Laasch, 2019). BMs that benefit both the company and society over time are required to make sustainability viable for organizations. Although counterintuitive, this can inspire entrepreneurs and strategists to reassess and rebuild existing business models, leading to novel sustainability solutions (Ogrean & Herciu, 2020).

Schaltegger and his collaborators (2016) assert that a SBM facilitates the depiction and communication of organizational sustainable value proposition to stakeholders, emphasizing their approach in creating and delivering value and demonstrating their ability to generate economic value while preserving or renewing natural capital and social capital, besides the economic one. SBMs are created through the integration of traditional business models and the corporate sustainability approach (Morioka et al., 2022). They should prioritize the management of the organization’s external effects, seeking to decrease negative impacts and/or increase positive outcomes (Schaltegger et al., 2016).

To generate a significant positive impact on the environment and society, as well as to contribute towards the achievement of SDGs, organizations should embrace a system-wide approach and implement various sustainable business model (SBM) archetypes in tandem, which address diverse sustainability challenges. In their work, Bocken and Short (2021) have put forth a hierarchy of SBMs ranging from “less unsustainable to strong sustainable”: (1) efficiency/productivity (fewer resource usage), (2) net zero (substitute with renewable), (3) circular economy (resilience and regeneration), (4) sufficiency economy, (5) net positive for nature and society (stewardship and regenerative models) and (6) flourishing (well-being of humanity/society and planet/environment above economic optimization).

Given the absence of a universal SBM, Mignon and Bankel (2022) emphasize that a tailored approach is imperative to address the distinctive needs of organizations in their respective contexts. SBMs should be designed in a balanced and integrative approach towards the environmental, social and economic dimensions of sustainability (Lüdeke-Freund et al., 2018). They should prioritize the needs of multiple stakeholders, instead of merely focusing on shareholder needs and expectations (Bocken, 2021). In developing SBMs, it is vital to identify and mitigate value destruction in order to minimize negative impacts on society and the environment, this being crucial in generating value for both business and society (Roome & Louche, 2016). Geissdoerfer and colleagues have emphasized the significance of generating benefits and value for a wider spectrum of stakeholders, beyond just shareholders and customers, when analysing sustainable-business-model-innovation (SBMI). In this regard, the value created for a particular group of stakeholders may be translated into value for the organization (Geissdoerfer et al., 2018). Stubbs also brings into discussion the concepts of innovative architecture and value – as important elements for developing modern business models that consider sustainability performance. The value – created, delivered and captured – integrates environmental and societal objectives as central elements of the business and, in this sense, also directs its activities (Stubbs, 2019).

1.3 Research Methodology

Bibliometric analysis, as a quantitative method employed, enables the identification of state of the art, hotspots and trends within a specific research field, alongside with authors, institutions, countries and their collaborative associations (Li et al., 2022). To create a comprehensive and representative research sample, a bibliometric analysis was carried out in March 2023, using Web of Science (WoS), on the topic “sustainable business model*” (* wildcard used to identify both singular and plural forms). To identify and collect relevant documents related to the researched topic, the query was conducted based on topic (titles, abstracts and all keywords). Employing both author keywords (AK) and keywords plus (KP), the search facilitated a thorough understanding of the field of study. Keywords plus are not created by the authors but extracted automatically from the titles of the cited papers. Keywords plus increase the body of knowledge regarding a topic, being an independent augmentation of authors keywords. For a bibliometric analysis, both AK an KP are important as they reveal frequently occurring terms and concepts which aid academics in gaining a more comprehensive understanding of the existing research efforts across various subfields (Zhang et al., 2016; Pech et al., 2022).

Upon conducting the aforementioned search, a number of 1000 documents written in various languages emerged: English (987), Spanish (6), Portuguese (2) and Afrikaans, Dutch, German, Italian and Polish (1 of each). A language-based exclusion criterion was established, excluding all non-English written documents, thus yielding a final number of 987 papers.

With an intention to ensure a comprehensive overview of the information contained in the WoS database, the sole exclusion criterion applied was the document language (English). Therefore, to gain relevant insights from researchers, academics and practitioners, all document types were selected for the studied topic. This approach was deemed to provide a meaningful starting point for the research, as it included, in addition to articles, proceedings papers, book-chapters, books and editorial materials. Furthermore, to better portray emerging topics, early access publications were also included in the research sample.

The analysis has considered all 118 Web of Science categories to acquire a complete picture of the SBM concept and identify research trends across various domains, including environmental sciences, environmental studies, management, business, economics, telecommunications, communication, transportation, sociology and many more. Domain-specific elements with high frequency of occurrence will be identified in future research for a more targeted analysis. Moreover, no limitations, restrictions or filters have been applied in terms of affiliation, publication titles or publishers. The resulted records of all 987 English documents have been exported in Excel (.csv format) and Plain Text File (.txt format) for subsequent processing and analysis. Plain Text Files were downloaded in sequential batches of 500. These outputs (in .txt format) were merged into a single file, which served as the input for analysis via VOSviewer and RStudio Bibliometrix/Biblioshiny. The resulting data collected from the WoS database and processed with both aforementioned software enabled the identification of the top categories, publications titles, publishers, significant authors, institutions and countries, collaboration networks, main conceptual clusters and concept maps, as well as the prevailing themes (based on occurrences, links and total link strengths). Additionally, a co-occurrence analysis of all keywords has been deployed in order to explore thematic evolution and identify the latest developments in the researched field.

1.4 Results and Discussions

The present study provides a detailed analysis of the results acquired from querying WoS on topic “sustainable business model*”. The results covering a time span ranging from 2001 to 2023 were afterwards processed using VOSviewer, Excel and Biblioshiny. The ensuing paragraphs are emphasizing some research trends regarding the topic of “sustainable business models” offering an elaborate account of these findings.

1.4.1 Citation Report

The publication analysis serves as a common approach for identifying research trends, akin to research fronts, where researchers collectively concentrate on a specific scientific topic (Mazov et al., 2020). In this regard, Fig. 1.2 showcases the cumulated evolution of both published documents and associated citations in the period between 2001 and 2023, emphasizing the growing interest in this field.

Fig. 1.2

Evolution of publication volume and citation metrics over time. (Source: Authors’ own processing based on data from WoS)

As can be seen, during the 22-year period spanning from 2001 to 2022, the average number of papers published yearly was 43.9. It is important to emphasize that 2023 has been excluded from the average calculation, as only data for two months was available. From 2001 to 2015, the number of published documents was consistently lower than the aforementioned average, with yearly output below 10 papers from 2001 to 2010, below 20 papers from 2011 to 2012 and below 30 papers from 2013 to 2015. Subsequently, beginning with 2016, an ascending trend can be observed in the number of publications, apart from two years: (a) 2019, a slight reduction of 8 papers was recorded, dropping from 121 to 113, and (b) 2022, another slight reduction of 7 papers was recorded, decreasing from 162 to 155. The year 2020 witnessed a significant surge in the volume of documents (from 115 to 157), which could be attributed, in part, to the challenges associated with the Covid-19 crisis. As presented before, in 2022 there was a slight decrease in the number of documents, which can be explained, in part, by the shift of integrating innovation with BMs and the growing interest in sustainable business model innovation (SBMI), as evidenced by a more detailed analysis, the results of which are forthcoming.

1.4.2 Web of Science Categories, Publishers and Publication Titles

The findings depicted in Fig. 1.3, featuring the top domains of interest from WoS, reveal that the preponderance of papers (1120) is concentrated in the composite domain of Environment–Energy (green), with Business-Management-Economics (456) and Engineering-Computers-Telecommunication (179) following as secondary and tertiary domains of interest.

Fig. 1.3

Top 15 Web of Science categories. (Source: Authors’ own processing based on data from WoS)

As part of this study, a total of 132 publishers were identified on WoS. Figure 1.4 provides an overview of the first 15 publishers based on the number of documents published. Among these, five publishers were found to have published more than the average number of documents, namely, Elsevier (250), Mdpi (175), Springer Nature (123), Wiley (76) and Emerald Publishing (74), which are highlighted in green in the figure. Interestingly, out of the top 15 publishers, 7 have published fewer than 10 papers. Moreover, of the 132 identified publishers, a total of 96 had published only 1 paper on this topic.

Fig. 1.4

Top 15 publishers. (Source: Authors’ own processing based on data from WoS)

Figure 1.5 presents the top 15 publication titles, out of the total of 550 identified in WOS, that have the greatest contribution to the body of knowledge on the researched topic, based on the historical quantity of published documents. The analysis reveals that only two publications (green colour in the graphic), namely, Sustainability (146) and Journal of Cleaner Production (132), have produced more than a half of the documents (278) on this topic. Business Strategy and the Environment completes the top three, though the number of published documents is considerably lower (only 39) than for the previous two. It is also important to emphasize that 432 out of the 550 identified publication titles only have one document.

Fig. 1.5

Top 15 publication titles. (Source: Authors’ own processing based on data from WoS)

1.4.3 Co-Authorship Analysis

The co-authorship analysis was completed based on data from WoS and contains three units of analysis: (a) authors, (b) organizations and (c) countries.

• (a) Authors

In the context of the conducted WoS query, a total of 2669 authors were identified. In accordance with the current research objectives, only authors who have produced minimum five publications were included, regardless of the citation count (including also those with zero citations). Based on this selection criterion, the left-hand side of Fig. 1.6 depicts the 19 authors who have published 5 or more documents on the research topic. The remaining 2650 have authored less than 5 articles on this topic. Consequently, authors have been grouped based on their publication volume (number of documents), with Bocken N.M.P. (33) securing the top rank, followed by other distinguished authors, namely, Evans S. (21), Di Vaio A. (8), Geissdoerfer, M. (7), Morioka S.N. (7), Palladino R. (7) and Pizzi S. (7). The classification of the authors derived from the citation count is illustrated in the right side of Fig. 1.6. Notably, Evans S. (3148) and Bocken N.M.P (3,127) again occupy the top two positions, this time in terms of number of citations. Rana P. (1667) ranks third in this classification based on the citation criterion.

Fig. 1.6

Top 19 most prolific and most cited authors. (Source: Authors’ own processing based on data from WoS)

• (b) Organizations

As part of the WoS search performed, a total of 1251 organizations were initially identified. However, only those organizations that met the minimum threshold of five documents published were included in the analysis, irrespective of their citation count (even if they had zero citations). As a result, 51 organizations met the inclusion criteria and are represented in Fig. 1.7. By using VOSviewer automated clustering algorithms, the number of links and the overall strength of co-authorship between the organizations, defined as total link strength (TLS), has been established. The identified organizations are distributed across 22 clusters and are characterized by a reduced number of links (71) and TLS (132). The map depicts a network of 51 organizations, out of which 37 are central items, forming the largest connected data set and being distributed across 9 distinct clusters. The majority of links are established within this central nucleus, indicating a stronger interconnectivity among these organizations. The remaining 14 organizations are dispersed across 13 clusters and exhibit insignificant links. Due to the extensive length of the list, only a select few of the central nucleus universities are highlighted: Cambridge, Utrecht, Aarhus, Turin, Lincoln, Kassel, etc.

Fig. 1.7

Top 15 publishers. (Source: Authors’ own processing with VOSviewer)

• (c) Countries

In terms of the country criteria as unit of co-authorship analysis, only countries with a minimum of five documents available in WoS on the researched topic were considered, regardless of the number of citations. Using this criterion, 45 out of 87 countries were deemed eligible. The data was processed using VOSviewer automated clustering algorithms, and a map was generated (Fig. 1.8) including the number of organizations (45), number of clusters (7), links (287) and total link strength (664).

Fig. 1.8

Country as a unit of analysis – network visualization. (Source: Authors’ own processing with VOSviewer)

An analysis of the top ten countries based on document number (DN), citations (C) and total link strength (TLS) provides insights into the influence and importance of countries when it comes to SBM research. It helps in identifying which countries have published the most and have thus contributed significantly to the current knowledge base.

Citations provide insights into research impact and relevance of different countries, while the total link strength highlights the degree of collaboration with other countries. As can be seen in Fig. 1.9, England ranks first based on all 3 criteria (DN, 131; C, 7099; TLS, 126). It is followed by the USA (119) and Germany (113) in terms of document numbers and the Netherlands (4668) and Germany (3515) in terms of citations, while based on total link strength, it is succeeded by the Netherlands (105) and the USA (99).

Fig. 1.9

Top ten countries (documents, citation, total link strength). (Source: Authors’ own processing based on WoS data)

1.4.4 Most Cited Articles on the Researched Topic

Table 1.1 illustrates the top ten most cited documents on the topic of SBMs (article title, source and number of citations).

Table 1.1 Top ten most cited articles on sustainable business models in WoS

Based on the identified information, the following noteworthy observations can be formulated:

• The top ten articles have cumulated a total of 6864 citations.

• The Journal of Cleaner Production published six articles, accounting for 60% of the top ten list.

• Elsevier is the primary publisher, with six of the ten documents published.

• Author contribution to the ten most cited articles stands as follows: Evans S. (4), Boons F. (2), Geissdoerfer M. (2) and Vladimirova D. (2), while other authors have only contributed with one article.

• The concept “sustainable/sustainability business model” appears in four of the ten document titles, while making an appearance as an author keyword in eight of the ten documents.

• The most frequent author keywords used in the top ten documents are sustainable-business-model (8), business-model-innovation (5), circular-economy (3), circular-business-models (3) and sustainable/sustainability innovation (3).

1.4.5 Co-occurrence Analysis: Top Keywords for Research Trend Identification

The identification of research trends within a specific field of study and the extraction of essential content from published articles can be achieved through a comprehensive analysis of keywords (Park et al., 2020). Author keywords play a crucial role in enabling researchers to understand and monitor scientific development and research trends, as they capture essential insights and facilitate tracking of advancements (Kalantari et al., 2017). From the research sample resulting from WoS, two Word Clouds have been developed in RStudio Bibliometrix/Biblioshiny, each of them based on top 50 AK, respective top 50 KP.

As depicted in Fig. 1.10, the word cloud generated from AK can be classified into several categories:

• 1. Models – sustainable business models (318), business model (158), business-model-innovation (70), circular-business-model (20), sustainable-business-model-innovation (26) and business-model canvas (17).

• 2. Sustainability and sustainable development (SD): sustainability (170), economy (92), sustainable development (59), csr (24), corporate sustainability (23), sharing economy (20) and sdgs (17).

• 3. Others: innovation (38), product-service systems (21), etc.

Fig. 1.10

Word Cloud based on author keywords (AK). (Source: Authors’ own processing with R Studio Bibliometrix/Biblioshiny)

In terms of the word cloud based on KP (Fig. 1.11), the most prominent concepts are innovation (249), management (143), design (112), framework (108), performance (99), perspective (89), future (86), strategy (83), impact (66), csr (65), sustainability (61), systems (54), technology (54), challenges (49), business model (46), etc.

Fig. 1.11

Word Cloud based on keywords plus (KP). (Source: Authors’ own processing with R Studio Bibliometrix/Biblioshiny)

Innovation is extremely important in the current shift from traditional BMs to modern ones that revolve around alignment towards addressing the current challenges and opportunities – sustainability and digital transformation.

Table 1.2 illustrates the top 50 keywords (AK plus KP) for the researched field. In addition to the concepts related to business models in all their forms – sustainable business model (SBM), business model innovation (BMI), sustainable business model innovation (SBMI) and circular business model (CBM) – there are also other terms that can be grouped into several categories: (1) innovation; (2) sustainability, together with other related terms such as circular economy, sustainable development, csr, corporate sustainability, green, sharing economy, social entrepreneurship, etc.; (3) management and other connected terms, performance, strategy, systems, governance, capabilities, etc.; (4) perspective and future and other related ones, impact, challenges, opportunities and barriers; (6) design, framework, model and implementation; (6) technology; (7) value; etc.

Table 1.2 Keywords – AK plus KP (occurrence and TLS) – Top 50

1.4.6 Research Trends Resulting from the Bibliometric Research

Word cluster analysis is utilized to examine the distribution of words across article titles, abstracts, author keywords and keywords plus, with the aim of assessing the predominant research focuses or hotspots, as well as their trends, within a particular topic or discipline (Hernández-Torrano & Ho, 2021). When it comes to the cluster description, data extracted from WoS and processed with VOSviewer has generated 122 keywords that reached the threshold of 10 occurrences, assigned to 5 clusters. The resulting network visualization map (Fig. 1.12) is characterized by colours (automatically assigned), number of items (122), links (3590) and total link strength – TLS (12,735). The name of each cluster is assigned by the authors taking into consideration the keywords with the highest frequency. As can be seen, four of the clusters have an approximately similar number of items, while one is very small in comparation with the others: Cluster 1, “sustainability” red (33); Cluster 2, “sustainable business models” green (32); Cluster 3, “management” blue (27); Cluster 4, “systems” yellow (22); and Cluster 5, magenta (8).

Fig. 1.12

Network visualization – “sustainable business model”. (Source: Authors’ own processing with VOSviewer)

1.4.6.1 Trends and Emerging Concepts Resulted from the Overlay Visualization

VOSviewer Overlay Visualization, due to its capability to classify items based on timescales, enables the validation of recent trends in the academic field (Shvindina, 2019). VosViewer Overlay Map was used to identify, investigate, visualize and understand worldwide research trends, fields and subfields across time. In this regard, for the Overlay Colours, based on average publishing year (APY), the spectral scale was chosen (Fig. 1.13). This allowed for the allocation of different colours to scheme items on a year-colour scale, ranging from blue (representing 2018) to red (representing 2021).

Fig. 1.13

Overlay colours for trends representation based on average publication year (APY). (Source: Authors’ own processing with VOSviewer)

As can be derived from Fig. 1.14, the concept “sustainable business models” appears with a high frequency (Occ: 340) and with strong links – marked by curved lines – with other words on the map, located across all clusters (links, 121; TLS, 1773). Sustainable business models concept occupies a central position and is represented by the colour yellow on the spectral scale. Based on its APY (2019,56) – displayed at the bottom of the figure and on the colour – it can be concluded that the topic is a relatively new one in the research field. The concept of SBM exhibits connections with a substantial number of other concepts, spanning a range of research interest over time, from the earliest (indicated by the blue colour) to the most current (indicated by the dark red colour).

Fig. 1.14

“Sustainable business model” – trends resulting from Overlay Visualization. (Source: Authors’ own processing with VOSviewer)

For the research aim, it is important to establish the links between the investigated concept and other terms from the map, together with the trends – emphasized by the respective keywords position on the research time scale. In this regard, an analysis has been performed, and the results presented in Fig. 1.15 highlight that the strongest links of the “sustainable business model” concept are innovation (LS, 140; APY, 2019,40), sustainability (LS, 72; APY, 2019,47), management (LS, 69; APY, 2019,56), framework (LS, 62; APY, 2019,55), circular economy (LS, 60; APY, 2020,30), design (LS, 58; APY, 2019,78), business model innovation (LS, 48; APY, 2019,66), business model (LS, 47; APY, 2018,71) and perspective (LS, 40; APY, 2020,28). It is also important to underline that in terms of novelty, circular economy (APY, 2020,30) and perspective (APY, 2020,28) are the newest terms that have a strong link with the studied concept.

Fig. 1.15

Sustainable business model – strongest links and novelty. (Source: Authors’ own processing with VOSviewer)

1.4.6.2 From Business-Model (BM) to Sustainable-Business-Model-Innovation (SBMI): Some Research Trends Regarding the Concepts

Depicted as part of the Overlay Visualization, six concepts have been found under the business model “umbrella”, and their trends are presented in Table 1.3 together with some other characteristics: the number of provenience cluster (Cl), occurrences (Occ.), links, total link strengths (TLS), average published year (APY) and novelty colour (on the spectral colour scale). Based on the APY, a shift in the interest of academics and researchers has been found, ranging from business-model (BM; APY: 2018.71) – the oldest approach – to sustainable-business-model (SBM; APY: 2019.56), business-model-innovation (BMI; APY: 2019.66), circular-business-model (CBM; APY: 2019.95), business-model canvas (BMC; APY: 2020.35) and finally to sustainable-business-model-innovation (SBMI; APY: 2020.6) – the newest.

Table 1.3 Business model evolution – research trends after 2018 (based on APY)

This evolution of research trends related to the BM concept is expected, in the context of current challenges and opportunities: sustainability approach, circular economy transition and innovation – regardless of whether it is due to technological, managerial or organizational factors. By integrating sustainability in the process of value proposition, creation, capture and delivery, eight sustainable business archetypes could be identified and grouped according to technological, social and organizational aspects (Bocken et al., 2014). Nowadays, SBMI is a valuable approach that aims at generating competitive advantage by simultaneously addressing environmental and societal issues (Massa et al., 2017). Consequently, SBMI – integrating sustainability, innovation and dynamic capabilities approach from a strategic perspective – can be a key source of nurturing competitive advantages and generating enhanced company performance (Bashir et al., 2022). Current opportunities – Industry 4.0 technologies and the transition to sustainability – but also disruptive challenges like the Covid-19 pandemic, are requesting new approaches to SBMs, which consider the interests of a diverse range of stakeholders, including the environment and society.

1.4.7 Research Trends and Hottest Keywords Identified Under the Research Theme

The newest concepts (with an APY after 2020) with an occurrence greater than 10 have been identified and represented graphically in descending order of occurrences to highlight the most representative and hottest keywords related to the research scope. Figure 1.16 illustrates that circular-economy has the highest occurrence (124), followed by perspectives (89) and impact (70). There is also an interest in discussing challenges (52), barriers (32) and drivers (15). The challenges are related to transition, the sharing economy, digital transformation and Industry 4.0 (together with its specific tools – big data and blockchain), sustainable development goals (SDGs), social responsibility, eco-innovation, servitization, etc.

Fig. 1.16

Most representative concepts (based on term occurrence) for APY after 2020. (Source: Authors’ own processing based on data extracted from VOSviewer)

In an organizational context, circular economy and innovation are related and important to the dimensions of sustainability. In their work, Sehnem and collaborators emphasize that dynamic capabilities, relational capabilities, alternative capabilities, innovation practices and business model design have a positive influence on circular economies activated by innovation (Sehnem et al., 2022).

Based on the current research trends, as represented in Fig. 1.17, the top three hottest topics regarding SBMs are Covid-19 (APY: 2021.21), digital transformation (APY: 2021.11) and sdgs (APY: 2021.00). Nowadays, the business world is confronted with megatrends – globalization, changing of socio-demographic factors, emergent and disruptive technologies, environmental issues, etc. Additionally, the Covid-19 crisis has resulted in widespread disturbances to the economy, markets, society, organizations and individuals. This crisis has raised concerns about social issues at various levels, including organizational, community and societal levels. Although the acute phase of the pandemic may have passed, its effects continue to be felt and are expected to persist. Consequently, a distinct approach to business models is required in the post-Covid-19 era. In this context, Saiz-Álvarez and collaborators analyse the socio-economic approach of business, specific for B Corps (Benefit Corporations) (Saiz-Álvarez et al., 2020). In a world characterized by climate change, resource depletion, economic crisis, social imbalances, inequalities, etc., there is a pressing need to integrate sustainability in the way of doing business. Unlike traditional companies – with their main, and sometimes only, focus on profit maximization – B Corps also have a societal purpose. By taking social responsibility beyond traditional CSR, the B Corps mission, vision and values incorporate a societal purpose and internalize both their environmental and social impacts. Moreover, to achieve positive societal effects, these hybrid organizations implement new types of BMs that combine for-profit and not-for-profit approaches.

Fig. 1.17

Trends – concepts with APY after 2020. (Source: Authors’ own processing based on data extracted from VOSviewer)

Digital transformation (APY: 2021.11), big data (APY: 2020.73), Industry 4.0 (APY: 2020.24) and blockchain (APY: 2020.09) have been identified as the top keywords with an APY after 2020. In the output resulting after processing the data collected from WoS, there are also other technologies specific to Industry 4.0: artificial intelligence (APY: 2021.43), machine learning (APY: 2020.50) and three-dimensional printing (APY: 2020.00), but these do not appear in the previous representation because their occurrences are below 10 (ten).

Digitalization is an important driving force for integrating innovation, having a strong influence on the development of novel approaches to BMs – business model innovation, circular business model innovation and sustainable business model innovation. Under the challenges and opportunities raised by the circular economy, it should be emphasized that when companies decide to shift towards adopting circularity, it is a strategic choice. Moreover, considering the proliferation of Industry 4.0 tools, companies engaged in utilizing circular economy concepts should combine both digital and circular strategies to generate competitive advantages (Neligan et al., 2023). Industry 4.0 can act as both an enabler and an inhibitor for creating and implementing a sustainable business model (SBM). It depends on organizational abilities to utilize emergent technologies for putting forward a sustainable value proposition by collaborating with a diverse network of stakeholders (Man & Strandhagen, 2017).

The prevailing topics of Covid-19 and digital transformation are interdependent. Although digital transformation has been widely debated, it has not generated significant tangible progress in numerous sectors, regions and countries. Nonetheless, the outbreak of Covid-19 and the subsequent social distancing measures have resulted in a widespread adoption of teleworking and telecommuting practices. In this environment, organizations of varying types, sizes and industries, along with nations and governments, have been compelled to accelerate their efforts towards digital transformation. The Covid-19 crisis has presented challenges not just for society as a whole but also for individual organizations. Consequently, the latest digital technologies should be perceived as opportunities and integrated into organizational practices and activities. This crisis raised an alarm bell about the urgent need to take significant and accelerated steps towards digital transformation, bringing to light the necessity of generating novel business models that simultaneously respond to challenges such as digitalization and crises/pandemics (Kutnjak, 2021).

Digital transformation – as an interaction between digital technologies, digital innovations and digital business models – is instrumental in the pursuit of achieving the SDGs. For this purpose, existing business models should be transformed to generate sustainable value based on using emerging digital technologies (Bican & Brem, 2020). To respond to external factors generated by an unpredictable and changing environment, there is a pressing need to adapt and redefine existing business models. Dynamic capabilities facilitate the ability to explore internal and external opportunities and to adapt to such an unpredictable environment. To survive and ensure business continuity, SBMs rely on digital technologies and should take into consideration other organizational, customer and social drivers of transformation in addition to the technological ones (Gregurec et al., 2021).

1.5 Conclusions

The paper aims to identify, visualize, analyse and discuss worldwide research trends over time, alongside with challenging topics regarding the concept of SBMs. A bibliometric analysis was conducted on a research sample of 987 publications retrieved from the WoS database and analysed using VOSviewer. Based on the findings, the following conclusions are presented:

• England, the USA and Germany are the top three countries based on document number.

• The most representative themes with the highest link strengths with SBM are innovation, sustainability, management, circular economy, design, framework, performance, strategy, perspective and future. From these keywords with strong links with SBM, the circular economy topic emerges as the most recent in terms of novelty.

• From the Overlay Visualization, based on APY, a shift in interest from BM, oldest, to BMI, SBM, CBM and SBMI, newest, was identified. This evolution of research trends is attributed to prevailing challenges and opportunities: sustainability, circular economy, digital transformation and innovation.

• Based on the current research trends, the hottest topics regarding SBMs are Covid-19 and digital transformation alongside with related concepts – Industry 4.0, big data and blockchain. Other emergent themes include SDGs, eco-innovation, circular economy and social responsibility. Furthermore, digital transformation, characterized by the synergistic interplay of digital technologies, digital innovations and digital business models, is essential in driving and advancing sustainability trends in the pursuit SDGs’ achievement.

Future research needs to be conducted regarding SBMs as a driver for corporate sustainability.