IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i8p3191-d1373627.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Building a Hierarchical Enablers Framework for Service Business Model Innovation for Sustainable Performance: Evidence from Ghana’s Electricity Sector

Author

Listed:
  • Jason Kobina Arku

    (School of Management and Economics, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
    Centre for West African Studies, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China)

  • Yunfei Shao

    (School of Management and Economics, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China)

  • Shadrach Twumasi Ankrah

    (School of Management and Economics, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China)

Abstract

Selecting an appropriate business model innovation for sustainable performance is a complex decision that requires a decision support tool. However, despite the importance of business model innovation (BMI) for sustainable performance, there has been limited investigation into how a hierarchical enabler framework grounded in service-dominant logic contributes to the sustainability of service firms. This study examines the critical enablers of service business model innovation (SBMI) for sustainable performance within the utility sector, particularly the electricity supply sector in Ghana. Using the best–worst method (BWM), this study identifies and prioritizes three main enablers and eleven sub-enablers, addressing a notable gap in understanding their impact on sustainable performance. The findings reveal that service value creation innovation is the most critical primary enabler, with human capital, technological platforms, and value-based pricing constituting the top three sub-enablers for sustainability performance. This study contributes to the service-dominant logic and BMI discourse by providing a novel hierarchical framework that aids managerial decision making in service-oriented firms, particularly in developing economies. The results underscore the need for utility companies to prioritize investments in key areas, such as human capital, technological advancements, and customer-centric approaches, to drive sustainable business practices and improve overall performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Jason Kobina Arku & Yunfei Shao & Shadrach Twumasi Ankrah, 2024. "Building a Hierarchical Enablers Framework for Service Business Model Innovation for Sustainable Performance: Evidence from Ghana’s Electricity Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-23, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:8:p:3191-:d:1373627
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/8/3191/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/8/3191/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lazar Gitelman & Mikhail Kozhevnikov & Yana Visotskaya, 2023. "Diversification as a Method of Ensuring the Sustainability of Energy Supply within the Energy Transition," Resources, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-19, February.
    2. Yuanzhu Zhan & Kim Hua Tan & Yina Li & Ying Kei Tse, 2018. "Unlocking the power of big data in new product development," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 270(1), pages 577-595, November.
    3. Carla Gonçalves Machado & Mats Peter Winroth & Elias Hans Dener Ribeiro da Silva, 2020. "Sustainable manufacturing in Industry 4.0: an emerging research agenda," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(5), pages 1462-1484, March.
    4. Edurne A. Inigo & Laura Albareda & Paavo Ritala, 2017. "Business model innovation for sustainability: exploring evolutionary and radical approaches through dynamic capabilities," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(5), pages 515-542, July.
    5. Haoran Zhao & Huiru Zhao & Sen Guo, 2018. "Comprehensive Performance Evaluation of Electricity Grid Corporations Employing a Novel MCDM Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-23, June.
    6. Gupta, Himanshu & Barua, Mukesh Kumar, 2016. "Identifying enablers of technological innovation for Indian MSMEs using best–worst multi criteria decision making method," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 69-79.
    7. Mehdi Rajabi Asadabadi & Hadi Badri Ahmadi & Himanshu Gupta & James J. H. Liou, 2023. "Supplier selection to support environmental sustainability: the stratified BWM TOPSIS method," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 322(1), pages 321-344, March.
    8. Davide Luzzini & Emma Brandon-Jones & Alistair Brandon-Jones & Gianluca Spina, 2015. "From sustainability commitment to performance: The role of intra-and inter-firm collaborative capabilities in the upstream supply chain," Post-Print hal-01289178, HAL.
    9. Steve Evans & Doroteya Vladimirova & Maria Holgado & Kirsten Van Fossen & Miying Yang & Elisabete A. Silva & Claire Y. Barlow, 2017. "Business Model Innovation for Sustainability: Towards a Unified Perspective for Creation of Sustainable Business Models," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(5), pages 597-608, July.
    10. Lazar Gitelman & Mikhail Kozhevnikov, 2023. "New Business Models in the Energy Sector in the Context of Revolutionary Transformations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-21, February.
    11. Gabija Simaite & Greta Keliuotyte-Staniuleniene, 2023. "Financial sustainability and derivatives: a theoretical approach," Technium Social Sciences Journal, Technium Science, vol. 39(1), pages 370-376, January.
    12. Rezaei, Jafar, 2016. "Best-worst multi-criteria decision-making method: Some properties and a linear model," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 126-130.
    13. Sarah Cheah & Yuen-Ping Ho & Shiyu Li, 2018. "Business Model Innovation for Sustainable Performance in Retail and Hospitality Industries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-14, October.
    14. Kun-Huang Huarng & Amparo Cervera & Francisco Mas-Verdu, 2018. "Innovation and service-dominant logic," Service Business, Springer;Pan-Pacific Business Association, vol. 12(3), pages 453-456, September.
    15. Zabihollah Rezaee, 2016. "Business sustainability research: A theoretical and integrated perspective," Journal of Accounting Literature, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 36(1), pages 48-64, June.
    16. Saeed Nosratabadi & Gergo Pinter & Amir Mosavi & Sandor Semperger, 2020. "Sustainable Banking; Evaluation of the European Business Models," Papers 2003.13423, arXiv.org.
    17. Wei Qi Lim & Devika Nadarajah & Sazali Abd Wahab, 2021. "Sustainable Manufacturing Practices and Sustainability Performance: A Conceptual Framework for Manufacturing SMEs," Business Management and Strategy, Macrothink Institute, vol. 12(1), pages 108-129, June.
    18. Maurizio Massaro & Carlo Bagnoli & Francesca Dal Mas, 2020. "The role of human sustainability in professional service firms. Evidence from Italy," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(6), pages 2668-2678, September.
    19. Laura Hosman & Marcela Georgina Gómez Zermeño & Lorena Alemán de la Garza, 2020. "SolarSPELL Assessment: Impact of a Solar-Powered Digital Library as a Teaching-Learning Resource on Climate Change," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-18, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mi, Xiaomei & Tang, Ming & Liao, Huchang & Shen, Wenjing & Lev, Benjamin, 2019. "The state-of-the-art survey on integrations and applications of the best worst method in decision making: Why, what, what for and what's next?," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 205-225.
    2. Wiebke Reim & David Sjödin & Vinit Parida, 2021. "Circular business model implementation: A capability development case study from the manufacturing industry," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(6), pages 2745-2757, September.
    3. Salimi, Negin & Rezaei, Jafar, 2018. "Evaluating firms’ R&D performance using best worst method," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 147-155.
    4. Maria Rosa De Giacomo & Raimund Bleischwitz, 2020. "Business models for environmental sustainability: Contemporary shortcomings and some perspectives," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(8), pages 3352-3369, December.
    5. Nadia Preghenella & Cinzia Battistella, 2021. "Exploring business models for sustainability: A bibliographic investigation of the literature and future research directions," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(5), pages 2505-2522, July.
    6. Yaffa Moskovich, 2020. "Business Sustainability Strategy in a Cooperative Kibbutz Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-23, November.
    7. Javid Nafari & Alireza Arab & Sina Ghaffari, 2017. "Through the Looking Glass: Analysis of Factors Influencing Iranian Student’s Study Abroad Motivations and Destination Choice," SAGE Open, , vol. 7(2), pages 21582440177, June.
    8. Omidipoor, Morteza & Jelokhani-Niaraki, Mohammadreza & Moeinmehr, Athena & Sadeghi-Niaraki, Abolghasem & Choi, Soo-Mi, 2019. "A GIS-based decision support system for facilitating participatory urban renewal process," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    9. Vinicius Minatogawa & Matheus Franco & Izabela Simon Rampasso & Maria Holgado & Diego Garrido & Hernan Pinto & Ruy Quadros, 2022. "Towards Systematic Sustainable Business Model Innovation: What Can We Learn from Business Model Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-35, March.
    10. Alexander Kuan Daiy & Kao-Yi Shen & Jim-Yuh Huang & Tom Meng-Yen Lin, 2021. "A Hybrid MCDM Model for Evaluating Open Banking Business Partners," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-19, March.
    11. Kusi-Sarpong, Simonov & Orji, Ifeyinwa Juliet & Gupta, Himanshu & Kunc, Martin, 2021. "Risks associated with the implementation of big data analytics in sustainable supply chains," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    12. van de Kaa, G. & Fens, T. & Rezaei, J. & Kaynak, D. & Hatun, Z. & Tsilimeni-Archangelidi, A., 2019. "Realizing smart meter connectivity: Analyzing the competing technologies Power line communication, mobile telephony, and radio frequency using the best worst method," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 320-327.
    13. Vineet Kaushik & Shobha Tewari, 2023. "Modeling Opportunity Indicators Fostering Social Entrepreneurship: A Hybrid Delphi and Best-Worst Approach," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 168(1), pages 667-698, August.
    14. Devika Kannan & Parvaneh Gholipour & Chunguang Bai, 2023. "Smart manufacturing as a strategic tool to mitigate sustainable manufacturing challenges: a case approach," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 331(1), pages 543-579, December.
    15. Geerten Van de Kaa & Daniel Scholten & Jafar Rezaei & Christine Milchram, 2017. "The Battle between Battery and Fuel Cell Powered Electric Vehicles: A BWM Approach," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-13, October.
    16. Winston Jerónimo Silvestre & Ana Fonseca & Sandra Naomi Morioka, 2022. "Strategic sustainability integration: Merging management tools to support business model decisions," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 2052-2067, July.
    17. Mališa Žižović & Dragan Pamučar & Goran Ćirović & Miodrag M. Žižović & Boža D. Miljković, 2020. "A Model for Determining Weight Coefficients by Forming a Non-Decreasing Series at Criteria Significance Levels (NDSL)," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 8(5), pages 1-18, May.
    18. Mu-Hsin Chang & James J. H. Liou & Huai-Wei Lo, 2019. "A Hybrid MCDM Model for Evaluating Strategic Alliance Partners in the Green Biopharmaceutical Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(15), pages 1-20, July.
    19. M. G. E. Velter & V. Bitzer & N. M. P. Bocken, 2022. "A Boundary Tool for Multi-stakeholder Sustainable Business Model Innovation," Circular Economy and Sustainability, Springer, vol. 2(2), pages 401-431, June.
    20. Sen Guo & Wenyue Zhang & Xiao Gao, 2020. "Business Risk Evaluation of Electricity Retail Company in China Using a Hybrid MCDM Method," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-21, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:8:p:3191-:d:1373627. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.