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ABSTRACT
The last decades have witnessed a significant increase in concern in the business world, in politics, in the media and in the public at large related to climate change and its impact on various fields of activity. Serious environmental issues have led to important changes in the attitudes and behaviors of both people and organizations. Enduring companies have more and more shown a strong connection between their superior financial performance and the delivery of higher value for society and therefore, a sustainability-oriented business philosophy. In this respect, the design, development and supply of green products and/or services constitute a good example of deepening an eco-friendly corporate behavior. In the case of the automotive industry there is an increasing demand for electric vehicles as electric mobility has rapidly spread worldwide. As most automakers have agreed that the automotive industry of the future will be dominated by the electric vehicles, they have started to design and implement new business models based on innovation and sustainability in the Fourth Industrial Revolution such as the green business models. The paper aims to define the concept of green business model and to exemplify its use in the case of a famous German automaker. To such ends, the authors employed a quantitative research method and a case study. The results of the research showed that the German automaker focused on a green strategy with four main pillars: connectivity (fully networked vehicles), electrification (environmental change), autonomous driving (sensors, IoT), and shared mobility (share of products, services).
KEYWORDS
Business model, green business model, company, Volkswagen, automotive industry
INTRODUCTION
The last decades have witnessed a significant increase in concern in the business world, in politics, in the media and in the public at large related to climate change and its impact on various fields of activity. Serious environmental issues have led to important changes in the attitudes and behaviors of both people and organizations. Consequently, the topics global climate change, environmental risks, green economy, sustainability, sustainable businesses and green businesses have more and more become a priority for researchers and business people around the world. In order to respond to such critical issues numerous studies, articles, reports and books have been published in recent years (Bell and Morse, 2008; Dresner, 2008; Olson,...