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    Turn Energy Efficiency Into Strategic Advantage
    (MIT Sloan School of Management, 2026-09-30)
    Sebastian, Ina
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    Haskamp, Thomas
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    Falcke, Lukas
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    Woerner, Stephanie
    Rising fossil fuel costs are squeezing corporate margins. Researchers have found that companies can lower costs, hedge against price volatility, and create new value for customers by making energy consumption visible across operations, redesigning processes to cut waste, and embedding efficiency into their products.
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    Open Innovation for Circular Business Models: Addressing the Right Challenge at the Right Time
    (Wiley, 2025-09-27) ; ;
    Manuel Ritter
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    Shaun West
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    ABSTRACT Academic Summary In response to escalating societal challenges, such as climate change and resource constraints, this article examines the transition from linear toward circular business models (CBMs). It explores the challenges of CBM transitions and how to tackle them through open innovation. We leverage 68 interviews with 45 firms, including 12 focal manufacturers and their open innovation partners. We identify 13 challenges and their relevant time horizons. They concern the product and service portfolio, data governance, life cycle valuation, circular strategy, and the legal environment. By iterating our inductive analysis with insights from the literature, we develop a framework that explains the link between open innovation and CBMs. We develop three mechanisms: (1) capture value by coupling internal innovation and data sharing to incentivize life cycle valuation, (2) technology co‐development with supply chain partners for an improved circular product and service portfolio aligned with data governance to create value, and (3) orchestrate complementary partners to promote circular strategies and resources for the legal environment to deliver value. Our framework contributes to the literature on CBMs and open innovation by explaining when and how different forms of open innovation can help in the transition from linear toward CBMs. Practitioner Summary In response to growing environmental pressures, this study explores how firms can transition from linear toward circular business models (CBMs) by leveraging open innovation. Drawing on 68 interviews with 45 firms, including 12 manufacturers and their innovation partners, we identify 13 key challenges grouped into five strategic themes: product and service portfolio, data governance, life cycle valuation, circular strategy, and the legal environment. Our findings emphasize that CBM transition is an iterative process, rather than a one‐time shift, that comes with many challenges. Our study proposes open innovation as a strategic option to address these challenges. Firms need to deploy varied approaches over time: internal innovation and data sharing in the short term to drive circular value capture; supply chain co‐development in the mid term to enhance circular value creation; and the orchestration of complementary partners in the long term to improve value delivery and system‐wide circularity. We offer a practical framework and a temporal innovation roadmap to help managers structure their CBM efforts. This roadmap provides clear guidance on when and how to apply open innovation strategies, enabling decision‐makers to address challenges, align internal and external partners, and transition their linear business models toward circularity.
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    Scopus© Citations 11
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    Structuring Private Sustainability Governance: Combining Rule-Based and Goal-Based Mechanisms
    (2025-05-19) ;
    Niklas Letmathe
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    Marin Jovanovic
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    This study investigates the structuring of private sustainability governance as a critical mechanism for facilitating sustainability transitions. Drawing on 33 semi-structured interviews with manufacturing firms, regulatory bodies, policy associations, auditing firms, and management consultancies, the study examines how firms navigate increasing external governance pressures, including regulatory ambiguity, compliance demands, market expectations, and stakeholder accountability, while simultaneously managing internal governance through organizational restructuring, sustainable performance measurement, data management, human resources, and incentive structures. The findings highlight the importance of integrating rule-based and goal-based private sustainability governance through two key mechanisms: shaping external governance by aligning with and influencing regulatory standards, and adapting internal governance to embed sustainability into core business operations. This study develops a hybrid governance framework that demonstrates how firms leverage both mechanisms in parallel, revealing the tensions inherent in balancing regulatory compliance with strategic sustainability ambitions. We make a further contribution by underscoring the role of ethical change management in fostering transparency, accountability, and proactive sustainability commitments. By examining governance structures in combination with ethical considerations, the study advances the discourse on private sustainability governance, offering both theoretical insights and practical implications for firms navigating the transition toward sustainable systems.
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    Scopus© Citations 6