IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v125y2021icp672-683.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Business model innovation as a window into adaptive tensions: Five paths on the B Corp journey

Author

Listed:
  • Moroz, Peter W.
  • Gamble, Edward N.

Abstract

The B Corporation (B Corp) audit and certification acts as a third-party signal of social purpose business model innovation. It is argued that B Corp certification helps organizations to capture value above economic gains, from activities with ethical, sustainable or moral objectives. However, the varying journeys and certification motivations of B Corps are poorly understood. In this paper we use theory related to the process of organizational design (Zott & Amit, 2010) to unpack these variations. Starting from a longitudinal data set, we employ a deductive case analysis approach of 47 B Corps to identify five certification paths: brand wagoners, reprioritizers, evangelists, inertial benchmarkers and reconfigurers. Our findings help to identify and describe distinct B Corp journeys over time. We conclude with a discussion of how these findings contribute to current theory on social purpose business model innovation, firm value characteristics and how B Corps manage competing tensions among identity and action.

Suggested Citation

  • Moroz, Peter W. & Gamble, Edward N., 2021. "Business model innovation as a window into adaptive tensions: Five paths on the B Corp journey," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 672-683.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:125:y:2021:i:c:p:672-683
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.01.046
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296320300588
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.01.046?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Antony Bugg-Levine & Jed Emerson, 2011. "Impact Investing: Transforming How We Make Money while Making a Difference," Innovations: Technology, Governance, Globalization, MIT Press, vol. 6(3), pages 9-18, July.
    2. Dentoni, Domenico & Pascucci, Stefano & Poldner, Kim & Gartner, William B., 2018. "Learning “who we are” by doing: Processes of co-constructing prosocial identities in community-based enterprises," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 603-622.
    3. Neva Bojovic & Corine Genet & Valerie Sabatier, 2018. "Learning, signaling, and convincing: The role of experimentation in the business modeling process," Post-Print hal-01591698, HAL.
    4. Morris, Michael & Schindehutte, Minet & Allen, Jeffrey, 2005. "The entrepreneur's business model: toward a unified perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 58(6), pages 726-735, June.
    5. Bertrand Moingeon & Muhammad Yunus & Laurence Lehmann-Ortega, 2010. "Building Social Business Models: Lessons from the Grameen Experience," Post-Print hal-00528385, HAL.
    6. Branzei, Oana & Parker, Simon C. & Moroz, Peter W. & Gamble, Edward, 2018. "Going pro-social: Extending the individual-venture nexus to the collective level," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 551-565.
    7. Castka, Pavel & Corbett, Charles J., 2015. "Management Systems Standards: Diffusion, Impact and Governance of ISO 9000, ISO 14000, and Other Management Standards," Foundations and Trends(R) in Technology, Information and Operations Management, now publishers, vol. 7(3-4), pages 161-379, May.
    8. Peter W. Moroz & Kevin Hindle, 2012. "Entrepreneurship as a Process: Toward Harmonizing Multiple Perspectives," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 36(4), pages 781-818, July.
    9. Todd W. Moss & Donald O. Neubaum & Moriah Meyskens, 2015. "The Effect of Virtuous and Entrepreneurial Orientations on Microfinance Lending and Repayment: A Signaling Theory Perspective," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 39(1), pages 27-52, January.
    10. Moroz, Peter W. & Branzei, Oana & Parker, Simon C. & Gamble, Edward N., 2018. "Imprinting with purpose: Prosocial opportunities and B Corp certification," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 117-129.
    11. Saeidi, Sayedeh Parastoo & Sofian, Saudah & Saeidi, Parvaneh & Saeidi, Sayyedeh Parisa & Saaeidi, Seyyed Alireza, 2015. "How does corporate social responsibility contribute to firm financial performance? The mediating role of competitive advantage, reputation, and customer satisfaction," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(2), pages 341-350.
    12. O'Neil, Isobel & Ucbasaran, Deniz, 2016. "Balancing “what matters to me” with “what matters to them”: Exploring the legitimation process of environmental entrepreneurs," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 133-152.
    13. Weerawardena, Jay & McDonald, Robert E. & Mort, Gillian Sullivan, 2010. "Sustainability of nonprofit organizations: An empirical investigation," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 45(4), pages 346-356, October.
    14. Yuri Mishina & Emily S. Block & Michael J. Mannor, 2012. "The path dependence of organizational reputation: how social judgment influences assessments of capability and character," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(5), pages 459-477, May.
    15. Mathias, Blake D. & Williams, David W. & Smith, Adam R., 2015. "Entrepreneurial inception: The role of imprinting in entrepreneurial action," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 11-28.
    16. Benjamin Saunders & Julius Sim & Tom Kingstone & Shula Baker & Jackie Waterfield & Bernadette Bartlam & Heather Burroughs & Clare Jinks, 2018. "Saturation in qualitative research: exploring its conceptualization and operationalization," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 52(4), pages 1893-1907, July.
    17. Conger, Michael & McMullen, Jeffery S. & Bergman, Brian J. & York, Jeffrey G., 2018. "Category membership, identity control, and the reevaluation of prosocial opportunities," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 179-206.
    18. van der Have, Robert P. & Rubalcaba, Luis, 2016. "Social innovation research: An emerging area of innovation studies?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(9), pages 1923-1935.
    19. Ivan Montiel & Petra Christmann & Trevor Zink, 2019. "The Effect of Sustainability Standard Uncertainty on Certification Decisions of Firms in Emerging Economies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 154(3), pages 667-681, February.
    20. Muñoz, Pablo & Cacciotti, Gabriella & Cohen, Boyd, 2018. "The double-edged sword of purpose-driven behavior in sustainable venturing," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 149-178.
    21. Kathryn Bowler & Pavel Castka & Michaela Balzarova, 2017. "Understanding Firms’ Approaches to Voluntary Certification: Evidence from Multiple Case Studies in FSC Certification," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 145(2), pages 441-456, October.
    22. Romme, A. Georges L. & Reymen, Isabelle M.M.J., 2018. "Entrepreneurship at the interface of design and science: Toward an inclusive framework," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 10(C), pages 1-1.
    23. Neva Bojovic & Corine Genet & Valerie Sabatier, 2018. "Learning, signaling, and convincing: The role of experimentation in the business modeling process," Grenoble Ecole de Management (Post-Print) hal-01591698, HAL.
    24. Benoît Demil & Xavier Lecocq & Joan E. Ricart & Christoph Zott, 2015. "Introduction to theSEJSpecial Issue on Business Models: Business Models within the Domain of Strategic Entrepreneurship," Post-Print hal-01563054, HAL.
    25. Smith, Wendy K. & Gonin, Michael & Besharov, Marya L., 2013. "Managing Social-Business Tensions: A Review and Research Agenda for Social Enterprise," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 23(3), pages 407-442, July.
    26. Raphael Amit & Christoph Zott, 2001. "Value creation in E‐business," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(6‐7), pages 493-520, June.
    27. Theodore A. Khoury & Marc Junkunc & David L. Deeds, 2013. "The Social Construction of Legitimacy through Signaling Social Capital: Exploring the Conditional Value of Alliances and Underwriters at IPO," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 37(3), pages 569-601, May.
    28. Nicholls, Alex, 2009. "'We do good things, don't we?': 'Blended Value Accounting' in social entrepreneurship," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(6-7), pages 755-769, August.
    29. Jeffrey G. York & Isobel O'Neil & Saras D. Sarasvathy, 2016. "Exploring Environmental Entrepreneurship: Identity Coupling, Venture Goals, and Stakeholder Incentives," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(5), pages 695-737, July.
    30. Nicole Darnall & Hyunjung Ji & Diego A. Vázquez-Brust, 2018. "Third-Party Certification, Sponsorship, and Consumers’ Ecolabel Use," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(4), pages 953-969, July.
    31. Lauren Lanahan & Daniel Armanios, 2018. "Does More Certification Always Benefit a Venture?," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 29(5), pages 931-947, October.
    32. Charles J. Corbett & María J. Montes-Sancho & David A. Kirsch, 2005. "The Financial Impact of ISO 9000 Certification in the United States: An Empirical Analysis," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 51(7), pages 1046-1059, July.
    33. Grimes, Matthew G. & Gehman, Joel & Cao, Ke, 2018. "Positively deviant: Identity work through B Corporation certification," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 130-148.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Chen, Minju & Wang, Chengbin, 2024. "How business model innovation facilitates microcredit in balancing social mission with commercial performance - evidence from local commercial banks," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 202(C).
    2. Fabien Martinez, 2022. "Organizational change in response to environmental complexity: Insights from the business model innovation literature," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 2299-2314, July.
    3. Alberto Ruozzi & Jose Antonio Vicente, 2021. "Entrepreneurial Framework Conditions and Impact Scores of Small-Size Certified Benefit Corporations (CBCs). A Configurational Analysis of 17 Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-17, June.
    4. Yeuseung Kim, 2021. "Certified corporate social responsibility? The current state of certified and decertified B Corps," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(6), pages 1760-1768, November.
    5. Irene Marcuzzi & Matteo Podrecca & Marco Sartor & Guido Nassimbeni, 2023. "Out of social accountability: Reasons and alternative paths for SA8000 decertification," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(6), pages 3140-3158, November.
    6. Silvia Cantele & Chiara Leardini & Luca Piubello Orsini, 2023. "Impactful B Corps: A configurational approach of organizational factors leading to high sustainability performance," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(3), pages 1104-1120, May.
    7. Valerie Paelman & Philippe Van Cauwenberge & Heidi Vander Bauwhede, 2021. "The Impact of B Corp Certification on Growth," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-16, June.
    8. Elsa Diez-Busto & Lidia Sanchez-Ruiz & Ana Fernandez-Laviada, 2021. "The B Corp Movement: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-17, February.
    9. Gasparin, Marta & Quinn, Martin & Green, William & Saren, Michael & Conway, Steve, 2022. "Stories of value: Business model innovation adding value propositions articulated by Slow Storytelling," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 101-111.
    10. Bruna Carvalho & Arnim Wiek & Barry Ness, 2022. "Can B Corp certification anchor sustainability in SMEs?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(1), pages 293-304, January.
    11. Manveer Mann & Sang-Eun Byun & Whitney Ginder, 2021. "B Corps’ Social Media Communications during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Through the Lens of the Triple Bottom Line," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-21, August.
    12. Patrizia Gazzola & Audrey Paterson & Stefano Amelio & Matteo Ferioli, 2022. "Certified B Corporations and Innovation: Crowdfunding as a Tool for Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-15, December.
    13. Mion, Giorgio & Loza Adaui, Cristian R. & Bonfanti, Angelo & De Crescenzo, Veronica, 2023. "Mission statements and financial and sustainability performance: An exploratory study of Benefit Corporations certified as B Corps," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    14. Roberto Hernández-Chea & Akriti Jain & Nancy M. P. Bocken & Anjula Gurtoo, 2021. "The Business Model in Sustainability Transitions: A Conceptualization," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-25, May.
    15. Rosaria Ferlito & Rosario Faraci, 2022. "Sustainable Hybrid Business Model of Benefit Corporation: The Case of an Italian Film Production Company," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-17, May.
    16. Mara Del Baldo & Federica Palazzi, 2023. "High-Growth Benefit Corporations: Leveraging on Intangibles—Insights from Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-20, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Moroz, Peter W. & Branzei, Oana & Parker, Simon C. & Gamble, Edward N., 2018. "Imprinting with purpose: Prosocial opportunities and B Corp certification," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 117-129.
    2. Wry, Tyler & Haugh, Helen, 2018. "Brace for impact: Uniting our diverse voices through a social impact frame," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 566-574.
    3. Siebold, Nicole, 2021. "Reference points for business model innovation in social purpose organizations: A stakeholder perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 710-719.
    4. Elsa Diez-Busto & Lidia Sanchez-Ruiz & Ana Fernandez-Laviada, 2021. "The B Corp Movement: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-17, February.
    5. Wagenschwanz, Anna M. & Grimes, Matthew G., 2021. "Navigating compromise: How founder authenticity affects venture identification amidst organizational hybridity," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 36(2).
    6. Lien De Cuyper & Bart Clarysse & Nelson Phillips, 2020. "Imprinting Beyond the Founding Phase: How Sedimented Imprints Develop over Time," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 31(6), pages 1579-1600, November.
    7. Belussi, Fiorenza & Orsi, Luigi & Savarese, Maria, 2019. "Mapping Business Model Research: A Document Bibliometric Analysis," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 35(3).
    8. Weerawardena, Jay & Salunke, Sandeep & Haigh, Nardia & Sullivan Mort, Gillian, 2021. "Business model innovation in social purpose organizations: Conceptualizing dual social-economic value creation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 762-771.
    9. McDonald, Robert E. & Masselli, John J. & Chanda, Bob, 2021. "Nonprofit business model innovation as a response to existential environmental threats: Performing arts in the United States," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 750-761.
    10. Malu Villela & Sergio Bulgacov & Glenn Morgan, 2021. "B Corp Certification and Its Impact on Organizations Over Time," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 170(2), pages 343-357, May.
    11. Ronald Weber Kirst & Miriam Borchardt & Maurício Nunes Macedo de Carvalho & Giancarlo Medeiros Pereira, 2021. "Best of the world or better for the world? A systematic literature review on benefit corporations and certified B corporations contribution to sustainable development," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(6), pages 1822-1839, November.
    12. Pankaj C. Patel & C. S. Richard Chan, 2022. "Non-economic Performance of Benefit Corporations: A Variance Decomposition Approach," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 178(2), pages 355-376, June.
    13. Ine Paeleman & Nadja Guenster & Tom Vanacker & Ana Cristina O. Siqueira, 2024. "The Consequences of Financial Leverage: Certified B Corporations’ Advantages Compared to Common Commercial Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 189(3), pages 507-523, January.
    14. Yang, Shu & Kher, Romi & Newbert, Scott L., 2020. "What signals matter for social startups? It depends: The influence of gender role congruity on social impact accelerator selection decisions," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 35(2).
    15. Branzei, Oana & Parker, Simon C. & Moroz, Peter W. & Gamble, Edward, 2018. "Going pro-social: Extending the individual-venture nexus to the collective level," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 551-565.
    16. Koehne, Florian & Woodward, Richard & Honig, Benson, 2022. "The potentials and perils of prosocial power: Transnational social entrepreneurship dynamics in vulnerable places," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(4).
    17. Sebastian Schroedel, 2023. "The Sustainable Business Model Database: 92 Patterns That Enable Sustainability in Business Model Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-27, May.
    18. Maria Rosa De Giacomo & Raimund Bleischwitz, 2020. "Business models for environmental sustainability: Contemporary shortcomings and some perspectives," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(8), pages 3352-3369, December.
    19. Fabio La Rosa & Sergio Paternostro & Francesca Bernini, 2023. "Corporate and regional governance antecedents of the Legality Rating of private Italian companies," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 27(1), pages 297-329, March.
    20. Iheanachor, Nkemdilim & David-West, Yinka & Umukoro, Immanuel Ovemeso, 2021. "Business model innovation at the bottom of the pyramid – A case of mobile money agents," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 96-107.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:125:y:2021:i:c:p:672-683. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusres .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.