ABSTRACT
Unsustainable consumption patterns are at the heart of our sustainability crisis. There is an underexplored yet key role for companies to play to drive sustainable consumption patterns through new business models. Sustainable entrepreneurship has been recognised as a key driver for sustainable products, processes and business models. How are sustainable entrepreneurs stimulating sustainable consumption through new business models? Through illustrative cases of car sharing and clothing reuse this question is explored. The individual, social and wider influencing tactics are analysed as well as the business model strategies and potential for achieving mass-market success. It was found that strategies of sharing instead of ownership; moderating sales and promotion; extending product life; direct reuse and full life cycle sufficiency are pursued. New business models diffuse through scalability, replicability, integrability, imitability; and synergies, co-existence and compatibility. Value propositions include multiple customer benefits appealing to a wider customer group beyond ‘green consumers’.
