Impact and recurring factors of Business Model Canvas in B Corp Certification

Abstract

B Corporations are business where the creation of profit goes hand in hand with the generation of benefits that have a positive impact on the society as a whole and such business have been gaining attention during the last decade. This thesis focuses on B Corporations and in particular on the extent to which the elements required to become B Corp are present into a company’s Business Model. The aim is to establish a relationship between the Business Model Canvas – customer segments, values proposition, channels, customer relationships, revenue streams, key resources, key activities, key partnerships, cost structure - and the factors on which B Corporation are evaluated in order to acquire the B certification – environment, community, workers, governance, customers-; this is used in order to show to companies, who want to obtain such certification, on which aspects of the business model is important to focus and which mistakes to avoid in this process. In addition it can be useful also for management and sustainability studies.

Hence the central topic can be summarized around a simple question: “Which aspects of the Business Model Canvas are touched/influenced the most and how by B Corp certification?” At the end of the analysis that will be carried out through this work, it will be possible to understand the importance of the above-mentioned association. We will understand why factors as customer relationships, key resources and value proposition are more influenced with respect to others.

The development of the arguments supporting the main idea are based on an in depth analysis, conducted through reports, articles, books, analysis and presentation of real life examples and interviews already present online. In addition the business model used to support the research is the traditional Business Model Canvas and not on the Triple Layered one, since the latter is created for already sustainable companies, while the traditional model can be applied to any company.