A Matter of Framing: Analyzing Value Communication in Sustainable Business Models

Abstract

Sustainable business models refocus value creation beyond customers only toward value creation for various other stakeholders and the natural environment as well. Extant literature acknowledges the importance of translating this stakeholder value into consumer value. However, the frames that could support this translation through different interpretations of stakeholder value are yet to be investigated. This article examines the frames that communicate the value created for other stakeholders as functional, emotional, social, and cost-related value to consumers. Based on the analysis of 17 cases, seven coexisting frames are synthesized based on the ways through which value is translated. These frames highlight the importance of emotional and social value in sustainable business models, contributing a richer understanding of value and how stakeholder value can be translated for consumers. In this regard, the article contributes a distinction between self-related and self-transcendent translations of stakeholder value into consumer value.