Sustainable business model innovation: A technology affordance perspective in the New Space Economy

Abstract

Despite the recent hype surrounding the transition from a publicly funded space industry to a commercially driven New Space Economy, the potential of space technology to address societal challenges remains largely underexplored. In response to recent calls to consider private firms as active contributors to addressing the grand challenges associated with the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, this study builds on previous research on sustainable business model innovation and adopts a technology affordance perspective to examine how firms can leverage space technology for sustainable innovation. Through a comparative multiple case study of 11 international entrepreneurial ventures in the New Space Economy, we identify three key space technology affordances that align the value mechanisms of their business models with their contributions to sustainability goals. Specifically, our findings illustrate how entrepreneurial ventures use space technology to overcome transaction obstacles in reaching and including previously excluded stakeholders, employing space technology as a sharpshooter, Trojan horse, or piggy bank in their pursuit of sustainable business model innovation. This study contributes to the literature on sustainable business models and the New Space Economy, offering valuable implications for management practice and policy.