Sustainable Business Models in the Network Economy. Conceptual Framework

The presentation addresses conclusions from interviews conducted by the author with young Polish entrepreneurs who had built their business models on a social and/or environmental mission. These are pioneer businesses that operate at the verge of commercial and social activities, and are voluntary and actively involved in bringing real change in social and/or environmental issues. The objective of the presentation is to propose a conceptual framework that can be used to identify, describe and compare the basic assumptions and most important elements of the sustainable business models (primarily business proposition, the social/ecological problem targeted, proposed solution and value proposition). Moreover, the proposed framework indicates that the role of social media in the development of business models based on social and/or environmental mission in the network economy needs detailed analysis.