Sustainable business model innovation and ethics: a conceptual review from the institutional theory addressing (un)sustainability

Abstract

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Being this a period when human activities and creations profoundly alter many geological conditions and processes, here we conceptualise how the sustainable innovation of business models acts as yet another lever for the dissemination of human misbehaviours against the planet and its ecosystems. Departing from the Institutional Theory approach to entrepreneurship and sustainability, we identified institutional and ethical standards and norms that allow a better understanding of the institutional logic behind sustainable business model (SBM) innovation, how it is formed and its consequences in terms of inequity, oppression and exclusion. We have linked those standards with 12 constructs that can guide further empirical analyses; incubators, trainers, investors and policy makers could use them to support entrepreneurs avoid planet challenges and enhance human and non-human ecosystems.