Academy Research Fellow: Näyhä Annukka - Future-oriented collaborative business models as a remedy for the sustainability transition: Finnish forest-based sector as an empirical arena for the creation of a transition framework  (BuSuT)


Main funder

Funder's project number340756


Funds granted by main funder (€)

  • 447 650,00


Funding program


Project timetable

Project start date01/09/2021

Project end date31/08/2026


Summary

Firms and their business models have a key role in the sustainability transition. Instead of the prevailing organization-centric models focusing on firms’ economic value creation, meeting the sustainability challenges of society requires the adaptation of collaborative business models. In addition, there is a lack of corporate foresight – despite its proven advantages to firms – as well as a lack of participative foresight with stakeholder involvement. Both collaborative business models and participative foresight can facilitate the genesis of the shared understanding and value creation between firms and their stakeholders essential for societal transition.
This project responds to these challenges by answering the question of how sustainability transition could be facilitated by future-oriented collaborative business models. The goal is to create a transition framework based on future-oriented collaborative business models that can be utilized in firms’ strategic management and in their stakeholder dialogue as well as by the public sector.
The study builds on theoretical premises of business, foresight and transition fields by using the Finnish forest-based sector as an experimental arena. The elements for the framework are generated through interlinked tasks applying analyses of media and policy sources, along with interviews and workshops for firms and their stakeholders. The analysis includes a suitable combination of thematic, critical discourse, multi-actor perspective and social network analysis in the different tasks.
The study produces a transition framework based on future-oriented collaborative business models. It contributes to the emerging field of societal business models. It will also have an influence on corporate foresight studies, particularly participatory approaches. Moreover, the study contributes to a multi-level perspective of transition studies in the explorations of interactions between societal levels. Importantly, the project gathers stakeholders to a common discussion platform so that the formulation of shared views can be created and studied. Overall, the framework helps to structure and understand collaborative and participative elements of business models and foresight, along with their combined influence, in facilitating sustainability transition.


Principal Investigator


Primary responsible unit


Internal follow-up group

Profiling areaSchool of Wellbeing (University of Jyväskylä JYU) JYU.Well


Related publications and other outputs


Last updated on 2023-24-08 at 21:04