Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Business Model Innovation

BMAN75102 Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Business Model Innovation 15 Semester 2 Postgraduate Taught Level 7 Tonny Kukeera Unit coordinator Alliance Manchester Business School 1 FHEQ level (Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) ' Masters/Integrated Masters P4 ' European Credit Transfer & Accumulation System Rating : 7.5 The unit introduces the concept of business models for sustainability to explain how firms can engage in sustainable innovation and entrepreneurship. Students will learn how business model innovation can help firms to create, deliver, and capture social, environmental, and economic value for a wide range of stakeholders. The unit takes a systems perspective, examining not only how to design sustainable business models but also how these models exist within and interact with broader business ecosystems, institutional contexts, and socio-technical transitions. Students will learn to design sustainable ventures, navigate the challenges of scaling them, and measure their impact using established methodologies.Theory about sustainable business models and sustainable entrepreneurship will be applied through cases and hands-on activities. Students will analyse existing ventures, identify sustainability challenges, and work in groups to develop and refine business plans for sustainable start-ups that address those challenges. The unit introduces the concept of business models for sustainability to explain how firms can engage in sustainable innovation and entrepreneurship. Students will learn how business model innovation can help firms to create, deliver, and capture social, environmental, and economic value for a wide range of stakeholders. The unit takes a systems perspective, examining not only how to design sustainable business models but also how these models exist within and interact with broader business ecosystems, institutional contexts, and socio-technical transitions. Students will learn to design sustainable ventures, navigate the challenges of scaling them, and measure their impact using established methodologies.Theory about sustainable business models and sustainable entrepreneurship will be applied through cases and hands-on activities. Students will analyse existing ventures, identify sustainability challenges, and work in groups to develop and refine business plans for sustainable start-ups that address those challenges. The unit aims to:· Introduce students to the concepts of sustainable entrepreneurship, business model innovation and its importance in driving sustainability.· Develop students’ ability to analyse approaches to business model innovation and their applicability in diverse organisational contexts.· Identify opportunities and challenges associated with integrating sustainability principles into business models.· Explore the practice of sustainable business modelling and entrepreneurship through application to cases for redesigning existing business models of unsustainable firms and designing new sustainable business models for start-ups and social enterprises Evaluate the role of business models in sustainable business ventures.Evaluate how business models enable firms to successfully pursue social, environmental, and economic sustainability.Critically analyse the role of business models innovation and entrepreneurship in sustainability transitions. Demonstrate an entrepreneurial mindset by identifying and exploiting sustainable business opportunities through evidence-based opportunity evaluation and business model design.Evaluate the tensions and trade-offs involved in sustainable entrepreneurship and innovationDevelop solutions for sustainability challenges through business model innovation. Apply sustainable business modelling with the relevant tools and frameworks.Assess the value a sustainable business venture creates across social, environmental and economic dimensions.Communicate the strengths of a sustainable business venture based on scientific insight and evidence. Evidence competence in identifying and exploiting novel business opportunities that generate significant social and environmental impact.Collaborate as a member of a mixed team and develop effective team dynamics to create a sustainable business venture.Evidence competence in mapping and navigating business ecosystems to position a sustainable venture through effective stakeholder and partnership strategies. The unit builds on a systems perspective of the process of business model innovation where sustainability is defined in relation to improved sustainability of broader socio-technical systems. The course combines entrepreneurial thinking with critical analysis of how business models exist within, interact with, and transform their surrounding ecosystems. The unit progresses through interconnected phases. Early sessions establish foundational concepts and equip students with business model design tools to identify entrepreneurial opportunities that address sustainability challenges. Topics from the paradox of entrepreneurship, designing sustainable business models, to identifying entrepreneurial opportunities are covered in this phase. The middle sessions cover topics such as the diversity and interaction of business models and embedding business models in systems transitions to specifically examine how sustainable ventures exist within ecologies of other business models, material systems, and institutional fields. Later sessions address the practical challenges of scaling sustainable ventures, delivering value genuinely, and measuring impact rigorously. The course concludes by integrating all perspectives and preparing students for critical analysis of sustainable ventures within their business model ecosystems. Throughout the unit, students develop and refine a sustainable venture concept through individual analysis of existing ventures, collaborative business model development, and critical reflection on how their venture interacts with the broader business environment. The unit will be delivered through weekly lectures and workshop components. The lecture component will introduce the students to the main theoretical ideas behind sustainable entrepreneurship and business model innovation and present inspirational cases of successful sustainable business ventures (start-ups).The workshop component aims to put the (theoretical) ideas, models, frameworks, and tools in practice by doing various exercises, case analyses, debates, and role-playing games to stimulate creativity to learn how to apply business model thinking to develop a sustainable business venture. Throughout the weeks, students will work on assignments that will build towards developing a business model for a real sustainable start-up. 0 Other 100% Group Assessment 30%Individual Assessment 70% In writing via Canvas within 15 working days of submission deadline MSc Sustainable Business  N Boons, F., & Lüdeke-Freund, F. (2014). Business models for sustainable innovation: State-of-the-art and steps towards a research agenda. Journal of Cleaner Production, 45, 9–19.Boons, F., & Bocken, N. (2018). Towards a sharing economy–Innovating ecologies of business models. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 137(C), 40-52.Bocken, N., Boons, F., & Baldassarre, B. (2019). Sustainable business model experimentation by understanding ecologies of business models. Journal of Cleaner Production, 208, 1498-1512.Bocken, N., Short, S., Rana, P., & Evans, S. (2014). A literature and practice review to develop sustainable business model archetypes. Journal of Cleaner Production, 65, 42–56.Patala, S., Jalkala, A., Keränen, J., Väisänen, S., Tuominen, V., & Soukka, R. (2016). Sustainable value propositions: Framework and implications for technology suppliers. Industrial Marketing Management, 59, 144–156.Bohnsack, R., & Pinkse, J. (2017). Value propositions for disruptive technologies: Reconfiguration tactics in the case of electric vehicles. California Management Review, 59(4), 79-96.Delmas, M. A., & Curuel Burbano, V. (2011). The Drivers of Greenwashing. California Management Review, 54(1), 64–87.Schaltegger, S., & Wagner, M. (2011). Sustainable entrepreneurship and sustainability innovation: Categories and interactions. Business Strategy and the Environment, 20(4), 222–237.Hockerts, K., & Wüstenhagen, R. (2010). Greening Goliaths versus emerging Davids—Theorizing about the role of incumbents and new entrants in sustainable entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Venturing, 25(5), 481–492.Pereira, G.I., Niesten, E., & Pinkse, J. (2022). Sustainable energy systems in the making: A study on business model adaptation in incumbent utilities. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 174, 121207.Pinkse, J., Lüdeke-Freund, F., Laasch, O., Snihur, Y., & Bohnsack, R. (2023). The Organizational Dynamics of Business Models for Sustainability: Discursive and Cognitive Pathways for Change. Organization & Environment, 36(2), 211–227.Roome, N., & Louche, C. (2016). Journeying toward business models for sustainability: A conceptual model found inside the black box of organisational transformation. Organization & Environment, 29(1), 11-35. Lectures 30 0 120