Transforming Business Models for a Better Future: Investigating Effects of Sustainable Business Model Archetypes on Consumer Adoption Behavior

Abstract

Global challenges such as climate change, resource scarcity and ecological degradation demand that companies rethink how they create, deliver and capture value. Sustainable business model innovations (SBMIs) offer a promising pathway, yet empiri cal insights into how different SBMI archetypes affect consumer adoption behavior are scarce. We conducted a scenario- based experiment with 349 consumers, manipulating three SBMI archetypes (i.e., technological, social and organizational) and a non- sustainable control. The results reveal that technological and organizational archetypes significantly elevated adoption, while the impact of social archetypes is comparatively weak. Crucially, a higher perceived radicality of the SBMI magnified adoption across all archetypes, suggesting that consumers reward bold, transformative change signals. Theoretically, results substantiate the archetype lens for demand- sided research on SBMIs and clarify their differential persuasive power. Practically, they suggest two levers for managers: foreground concrete technological or organizational advances and communicate their radical nature to accelerate consumer adoption of SBMIs.