The transformative potential of business cases for sustainable innovations in industrial contexts
| Business case (BC) | Core orientation | Dominant control levers | Transformative potential |
|---|---|---|---|
| BC1. Reactionary | Compliance-driven, meeting minimum regulatory requirements | Diagnostic and boundary levers (e.g. hierarchical rules, procedures, monitoring, sanctions) | Low: Reinforces business-as-usual |
| BC2. Reputational | Image- and legitimacy-driven improvements | Symbolic “beliefs” levers (e.g. performance targets, sustainability reporting, public events, branding) | Low → moderate: Improvements symbolic or peripheral |
| BC3. Responsible | Substantive efforts to reduce harm and improve sustainability performance | Diagnostic (targets, KPIs), interactive (team feedback, innovation spaces), boundary systems | Moderate → high: Supports substantive sustainability performance |
| BC4. Collaborative | Co-created, systemic sustainability solutions across the value chain | Beliefs and interactive levers in inter-organisational space dominate the balanced control system (including diagnostic and boundary controls): shared values, peer accountability, cross-sector collaboration | High: Enables systemic transformation |
| Business case ( | Core orientation | Dominant control levers | Transformative potential |
|---|---|---|---|
| BC1. Reactionary | Compliance-driven, meeting minimum regulatory requirements | Diagnostic and boundary levers (e.g. hierarchical rules, procedures, monitoring, sanctions) | Low: Reinforces business-as-usual |
| BC2. Reputational | Image- and legitimacy-driven improvements | Symbolic “beliefs” levers (e.g. performance targets, sustainability reporting, public events, branding) | Low → moderate: Improvements symbolic or peripheral |
| BC3. Responsible | Substantive efforts to reduce harm and improve sustainability performance | Diagnostic (targets, KPIs), interactive (team feedback, innovation spaces), boundary systems | Moderate → high: Supports substantive sustainability performance |
| BC4. Collaborative | Co-created, systemic sustainability solutions across the value chain | Beliefs and interactive levers in inter-organisational space dominate the balanced control system (including diagnostic and boundary controls): shared values, peer accountability, cross-sector collaboration | High: Enables systemic transformation |
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