Integrating Intellectual Property and Sustainable Business Models: The SBM-IP Canvas

Roberto Hernández-Chea, Pratheeba Vimalnath, Nancy Bocken, Frank Tietze and Elisabeth Eppinger
Additional contact information
Roberto Hernández-Chea: The International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE), Business Management and Practice Research Group, Lund University, Tegnérsplatsen 4, P.O. Box 196, 22100 Lund, Sweden
Pratheeba Vimalnath: Centre for Technology Management, Institute for Manufacturing, Innovation and IP Management Laboratory, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0FS, UK
Nancy Bocken: The International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE), Business Management and Practice Research Group, Lund University, Tegnérsplatsen 4, P.O. Box 196, 22100 Lund, Sweden
Frank Tietze: Centre for Technology Management, Institute for Manufacturing, Innovation and IP Management Laboratory, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0FS, UK
Elisabeth Eppinger: Faculty Culture and Design, University of Applied Sciences for Technology and Economics (HTW) Berlin, 12459 Berlin, Germany

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 21, 1-30

Abstract: Companies attempt to address global sustainability challenges through innovating products, services, and business models. This paper focuses on sustainable business model (SBM) innovations as a way to systemically transform businesses towards sustainability. It has been widely recognized that strategic approaches to using intellectual property (IP) need to be aligned with business model innovation for commercial success. Here we suggest that IP, aligned with SBMs, can also be used to create not only commercial, but also societal and environmental impact. Knowledge about how to best align IP with SBMs to drive sustainability transitions remains limited. We address this gap by developing an SBM-IP canvas that integrates IP considerations into each of the SBM canvas building blocks. We do this by employing relevant theoretical concepts from three literature streams, namely the business model (including SBM), IP, and innovation literature. We use case examples to illustrate different IP considerations that are relevant for the SBM-IP building blocks. These examples show that different IP types (e.g., patents, trademarks) and ways of using them (e.g., more or less restrictive licensing) are applied by companies in relation to the different building blocks. While covering new theoretical ground, the proposed SBM-IP canvas can help decision makers understand how they can use different IP types strategically to propose, create, deliver, and capture sustainable value for society, environment, and the business.

Keywords: sustainable business models (SBMs); intellectual property (IP); sustainability transition; business model canvas; IP strategy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:21:p:8871-:d:434718

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