SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH BUSINESS MODEL AND SUPPLY CHAIN INNOVATION: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY ON INCLUSIVE BUSINESS MODELS IN TURKEY

Inclusive business, which is a concept that is attracting increasing attention, aims to provide goods, services or livelihoods in a scalable way by enabling people living at the bottom of the economic pyramid to take part in the value chain of the company's core business. This study aims to investigate private sector’s level of engagement in inclusive business, the changes put forward in the supply chains of the companies which implemented these models and the relationship between inclusiveness and business model innovation. According to the results of the survey research, there is still a lack of interest and/or awareness regarding inclusive business among Turkish companies, particularly in terms of including the low income producers in the supply chain as suppliers. On the other hand, the research also shows that there is a strong relationship between supply chain innovativeness and inclusiveness, as well as company’s future intentions to engage in inclusive business. Considering these findings, this study argues that developing the innovativeness capabilities of companies not only in terms of their products and services, but also their business models has the potential to increase companies’ adoption of inclusive business.

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