ABSTRACT
The present research provides a different lens on business model innovations for sustainability by illustrating their salient characteristics in Base of the Pyramid contexts in sub-Saharan Africa from an integrative sustainability perspective. In doing so, it examines four social enterprises in the fashion sector in terms of how aspects relating to sustainability and general trajectories in the fashion industry are reflected in main business model components as verbally reported on corporate websites. By further comparing them with sustainability-oriented and traditional companies, the study’s particular interest is in delineating how business model innovations for sustainability contribute to addressing challenges with regard to social sustainability on the continent. The findings reveal that both sustainability-related aspects and fashion industry-related trends and drivers, which are explicitly concerned with the social dimension of sustainability, are comprehensively reflected in social enterprises and their main components of business model innovations. The results also suggest that the business model components “social value proposition” and “social profit equation” in social enterprises are particularly significant for further exploring the process of social value creation and its potential for an inclusive and sustainable growth of Africa’s fashion industry.
