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Value creation for sustainability transitions: reframing the impacts of firms on sociotechnical transitions
Venter, K. H. 2025. Value Creation for Sustainability Transitions: Reframing the Impacts of Firms on Sociotechnical Transitions. Unpublished masters thesis. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University [online]. Available: https://scholar.sun.ac.za/items/dbceb74a-8237-4eb7-b0fa-84de90aa28d9
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Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2025
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Venter, Karen Hesse |
| author2 | De Kock, Imke |
| author_browse | De Kock, Imke Venter, Karen Hesse |
| author_facet | De Kock, Imke Venter, Karen Hesse |
| author_sort | Venter, Karen Hesse |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Venter, K. H. 2025. Value Creation for Sustainability Transitions: Reframing the Impacts of Firms on Sociotechnical Transitions. Unpublished masters thesis. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University [online]. Available: https://scholar.sun.ac.za/items/dbceb74a-8237-4eb7-b0fa-84de90aa28d9 |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/132296 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:46:35.101Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/132296 Value creation for sustainability transitions: reframing the impacts of firms on sociotechnical transitions Venter, Karen Hesse De Kock, Imke Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Industrial Engineering. Sustainable development Social change Social responsibility of business UCTD Venter, K. H. 2025. Value Creation for Sustainability Transitions: Reframing the Impacts of Firms on Sociotechnical Transitions. Unpublished masters thesis. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University [online]. Available: https://scholar.sun.ac.za/items/dbceb74a-8237-4eb7-b0fa-84de90aa28d9 Thesis (MEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2025. ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The need to accelerate societal transformation to more sustainable modes of operation is more acute than ever. The pervasiveness of current sustainability challenges, the ever-increasing calls for businesses to make a bigger effort towards addressing these, and the substantial business risks of failing to do so, lend a distinct urgency to the development of artefacts that can inform and facilitate business strategies that take into consideration a firm’s impacts on, and reactions to, sustainability transitions. This project undertook to design an artefact – building on available literature in the fields of business models, sustainable business models, transition studies, and business model innovation for sustainability transition – that would allow the user to firstly, understand and evaluate the position of the firm in relation to ongoing sustainability transitions, and secondly, to identify opportunities within the transition for mutually beneficial innovation. The envisioned solution is the Value Innovation for Sustainability Transitions Approach (VISTA), which forms the primary output of this research project. A combination of semi-structured, narrative, and integrative literature reviews was conducted to identify the most prominent contributions in the novel research field of business models for sustainability transitions (BM4ST) that bridge the gap between firms and sustainability transitions. Also reviewed were the frameworks, concepts, and theories from transition studies and business model theory on which these bridging constructs are founded. The emerging themes from BM4ST and foundational contributions from transition studies and business model theory were combined into theoretical foundations that make up VISTA’s knowledge base. These foundations were further synthesised into the guiding principles that underwrite VISTA as a conceptual approach. VISTA positions the transition process a stakeholder of the firm from a business model perspective, suggesting the existence of bi-directional value flows, and subsequently opportunities for value innovation, between the firm and sustainability transition process. This approach reframes ‘contributing to sustainability transitions’ in the value-centred language of business model design, thereby making the notion more accessible to business practitioners. ‘Value creation for the transition’ is defined as activities, initiatives, or strategies that positively impact the transition’s resilience by, for instance: driving transition progress; removing resistance to transitions; improving process stability and system resilience; enhancing the system-in-transition’s adaptive capacity; or attempting to dismantle sociotechnical lock-ins. The framework developed to facilitate the identification and evaluation of value flows between the firm and transition, namely the VISTA-framework, consists of a structured, step-wise approach as well as a set of supporting canvases and guiding questions to support the application of the VISTA-framework. VISTA, as a conceptual approach and framework, builds on and contributes to the field of BM4ST through the development of a framework that helps bridge the gap, at a conceptual level, between societal shifts to more sustainable modes of operation, and the firms that have the financial and intellectual resources to positively impact this shift. The visual nature of the VISTA-framework and its supporting canvases suggests its ability to facilitate different use cases, such as guiding exploratory thinking in strategy workshop settings, or educating others on the most pertinent factors in sociotechnical transitions, systems in transitions, transition processes, or firms as actors in specific sociotechnical contexts. Opportunities for future work include: 1) validating the use of VISTA in different contexts and transitions to further refine the set of frameworks, as well as build and establish its credibility; 2) exploring the usefulness of VISTA as an educational instrument, workshopping and brainstorming tool, or tool that facilitates storytelling and establishing new narratives for firms to contribute positively to sustainability transitions; and 3) refining and improving the usability of the VISTA-framework to enable its use by the business practitioners who are positioned in their respective firms as catalysts for positive change. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die behoefte om samelewingstransformasies na meer volhoubare werkswyses te versnel, is meer belangrik as ooit. Huidige volhoubaarheidsuitdagings, toenemende druk op besighede om hierdie uitdagings aan te spreek, en die aansienlike besigheidsrisiko's van niks doen nie, verleen 'n dringendheid aan die ontwikkeling van artefakte en raamwerke wat besigheidsstrategieë kan inlig van die firma se impak en reaksies op volhoubaarheidsoorgange (‘sustainability transitions’). Hierdie projek het onderneem om 'n konseptuele raamwerk te ontwerp wat voortbou op beskikbare literatuur in die velde van besigheidsmodelle, volhoubare besigheidsmodelle, oorgangstudies en besigheidsmodelinnovasie vir volhoubaarheidsoorgange. Die raamwerk is gemik om die gebruiker in staat te stel om eerstens, die posisie van die firma te verstaan en te evalueer met betrekking tot volhoubaarheidsoorgange; en tweedens, om geleenthede binne die oorgang vir wedersyds voordelige innovasie te identifiseer. Die beoogde oplossing wat in hierdie projek voorgestel word, is die ‘Value Innovation for Sustainability Transitions Approach’ (VISTA). Die raamwerksontwikkelingsproses skop af met 'n kombinasie van literatuurstudies wat uitgevoer is om die mees prominente bydraes te identifiseer wat die figuurlike gaping tussen firmas en volhoubaarheidsoorgange probeer oorbrug. Die raamwerke, konsepte en teorieë uit besigheidsmodelteorie en oorgangstudies waarop hierdie oorbruggingsraamwerke gebaseer is, is ook ondersoek. Die opkomende temas van bestaande oorbruggingsraamwerke en grondliggende bydraes van oorgangstudies en besigheidsmodelteorie is gekombineer om die teoretiese grondslae wat VISTA se fondasie uitmaak, te vorm. Hierdie grondslae is verder gesintetiseer in die gids-beginsels wat VISTA as 'n konseptuele benadering onderskryf. VISTA, as 'n konseptuele benadering, posisioneer die oorgangsproses as 'n belanghebbende (‘stakeholder’) van die firma vanuit 'n besigheidsmodel-perspektief. Hierdie kospskuif stel voor dat daar tweerigtingwaardevloeie, en gevolglik geleenthede vir waarde-innovasie, tussen die firma- en volhoubaarheidsoorgangsproses bestaan. Hierdie benadering verwoord die frase 'volhoubaarheidsoorgange aanspreek' in terme van waarde, soortgelyk aan die taal wat besigheidsmodelontwerp karakteriseer. Hierdie maak sodoende die idee van bydra volhoubaarheidsoorgange meer toeganklik vir besighede. Waardeskepping vir die oorgang word gedefinieer as aktiwiteite, inisiatiewe of strategieë wat die spoed, stabiliteit of aanpasbaarheid van die oorgangsproses positief beïnvloed. Die raamwerk wat ontwikkel is om die identifisering en evaluering van tweerigtingwaardevloeie tussen die firma en oorgang te fasiliteer, die VISTA-raamwerk, bestaan uit vier stappe sowel as 'n stel ondersteunende raamwerke (‘canvases’) om die toepassing van die VISTA-raamwerk te ondersteun. VISTA as 'n konseptuele benadering en raamwerk, bou voort op en dra by tot die veld van BM4ST deur die ontwikkeling van 'n raamwerk wat poog om die gaping tussen besigheidsmodelteorie en oorgangstudies te oorbrug. Die visuele aard van die VISTA-raamwerk dui daarop dat dit verskeie gebruiksgevalle sal kan fasiliteer, in werkswinkel-omgewings, byvoorbeeld. Geleenthede vir verdere navorsing sluit in: 1) om VISTA in verskillende kontekste en oorgange te ondersoek om die stel raamwerke verder te verfyn, asook om die geloofwaardigheid daarvan te bou en te vestig; 2) om die bruikbaarheid van VISTA te ondersoek as 'n opvoedkundige hulpmiddel of werkswinkelinstrument wat kan bydra tot die vestiging van nuwe narratiewe en verduidelikings vir die rol van firmas in volhoubaarheidsoorgange; en 3) om die raamwerke se bruikbaarheid en toeganklik te verbeter om onafhanklike gebruik van die raamwerk deur minder akademiese geörienteerde verbruikers te vergemaklik. Masters 2025-06-03T07:08:44Z 2025-06-03T07:08:44Z 2025-03 Thesis https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/132296 en Stellenbosch University xiii, 236 pages : illustrations application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Sustainable development Social change Social responsibility of business UCTD Venter, Karen Hesse Value creation for sustainability transitions: reframing the impacts of firms on sociotechnical transitions |
| title | Value creation for sustainability transitions: reframing the impacts of firms on sociotechnical transitions |
| title_full | Value creation for sustainability transitions: reframing the impacts of firms on sociotechnical transitions |
| title_fullStr | Value creation for sustainability transitions: reframing the impacts of firms on sociotechnical transitions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Value creation for sustainability transitions: reframing the impacts of firms on sociotechnical transitions |
| title_short | Value creation for sustainability transitions: reframing the impacts of firms on sociotechnical transitions |
| title_sort | value creation for sustainability transitions reframing the impacts of firms on sociotechnical transitions |
| topic | Sustainable development Social change Social responsibility of business UCTD |
| url | https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/132296 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT venterkarenhesse valuecreationforsustainabilitytransitionsreframingtheimpactsoffirmsonsociotechnicaltransitions |