The purpose of this paper is to investigate and present the way in which a food start-up can develop business model innovations, taking into account the importance of social and environmental issues.
The authors studied an Italian pizzeria, implementing the illustrative single-case study methodology, to answer the research question: “how can food start-ups develop a sustainable business model innovation?”
The study highlights sustainable elements for each component of the business model configuration provided by Osterwalder to provide a deeper view of the sustainable business model concept.
The study contributes to the extant research introducing the concept of sustainable innovation within the business model literature. It concludes that, within the food industry, especially for start-ups, the development of sustainable business model innovation is particularly important because the industry is itself linked with nature and human respect. Moreover, it suggests a methodological analysis of the business model configuration, which will help to develop clearer and more accurate and influential research.
