Business model innovation for sustainability through localism

Abstract

This chapter explores localism as a strategy for business model innovation for sustainability through a case study of four small Norwegian fashion companies that try to establish a local value chain in Norway. The study shows that their localism pursuit leads to step-by-step changes in how the companies create, deliver, and capture value which over time leads to considerable business model redesign. As a strategy, localism can generate shared value of various forms. The geographic proximity seems to enable reconnections between resources, people, place, community, and environment that correlate with sustainability. However, this entails that the company has a sensitivity to place and a broad range of stakeholders.