Research
The Centre for Sustainable Business does research on the behaviors, business models and technologies that promote sustainable business. The centre has three main research areas: Sustainable and Circular Business Models, Sustainable Consumption and Behavior, and Sustainability Management.
1. Sustainable and Circular Business
We investigate how innovative business models — such as access-based, waste-to-value, and multi-actor ecosystem models — enable the transition to a circular and low-carbon economy. Methods: Mixed methods; interviews, case studies, lab and field experiments
Key researchers: Jørgensen, Pedersen, Bocken, Coffay, Eitrem
2. Sustainable Consumption and Behavior
We study barriers and drivers of green behavior and design interventions to promote sustainable consumption across sectors, including retail, finance, and sports. Methods: Lab experiments, field studies, behavioral design
Key researchers: Skard, Martuza, Knudsen, Landsvik, Kohn
3. Sustainability Management and Reporting
We analyze how companies measure, manage, and report on sustainability performance — with a focus on ESG metrics, materiality assessments, and the role of sustainability managers. Methods: Qualitative and archival research
Key researchers: Pedersen, Eitrem, Meidell, Pelja
4. Corporate Responsibility and Accountability
We examine how firms behave in politically complex and corrupt environments, and assess the effectiveness of laws, regulations, and global standards. Methods: Normative ethics, observational and experimental data
Key researchers: Kolstad, Søreide, Berge (Joel), Lujala
Selected Publications
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When is Sustainability a Liability, and When Is It an Asset? Quality Inferences for Core and Peripheral Attributes |
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Does Wealth Matter for Responsible Investment? Experimental Evidence on the Weighing of Financial and Moral Arguments |
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Hussnain Bashir, Sveinung Jørgensen, Lars Jacob Tynes Pedersen and Siv Skard |
Experimenting with sustainable business models in fast moving consumer goods |
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RESTART Sustainable Business Model Innovation |
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Investing with Brain or Heart? A Field Experiment on Responsible Investment |
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Is Publicity Always Better than Advertising? The Role of Brand Reputation in Communicating Corporate Social Responsibility |
Research projects
#SUSTAINX: SUSTAINABLE BY DESIGN – EXPERIMENTATION FOR SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS
#sustainX: Experimentation for Sustainable Business is a three-year, 19 MNOK research project funded by the Norwegian Research Council, with three corporate partners and two research partners. It investigates how companies can conduct business model experimentation to design sustainable business models with lower footprints and higher positive impact, while facilitating green behavioral change on the part of consumers.
CIRCULAR BUSINESS MODELS AND GREEN CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
Circular Business Models and Green Consumer Behavior is a two-year research project funded by the Norwegian Retailers’ Environmental Fund. The project involves research on business models that can lead to more sustainable production and consumption, in particular as it relates to the plastic footprint of households and companies. The project also involves comprehensive knowledge dissemination through short videos on circular business models.
#RECOMX: CIRCULAR BUSINESS MODELS
The circular economy requires upcycling of resources within and between industries. Two large industries with comprehensive resource usage footprints are 1) the oil energy and maritime industry and 2) the construction industry. The research project #recomX aims to bridge these two industries by investigating how a circular-economic ecosystem can be designed by upcycling or recommissioning discarded oil and gas installations like oil rigs and large ships into new construction materials. This comprises the entire circular value chain from oil rigs and ships to building materials, and what kinds of business models and ecosystems can help companies create value in a circular-economic ecosystem (e.g. “...as a service”-models, etc.). The project includes the business partners Nordic Circles, Sparebanken Vest/Agenda Vestlandet, Vill, CCB, Hammervold Pind and Willder.