Business model innovation for eco-innovation: developing a boundary-spanning business model of an ecosystem integrator

Biogas production and its use as traffic fuel are discussed in this chapter as an example of a system eco-innovation that is struggling to become implemented in a focal municipality. The biogas producer and distributor as the owner of the “core technology” have the potential to become the integrator of a functioning ecosystem required for the innovation to succeed. The company’s business model, however, should be transformed to incorporate the radical and system nature of the eco-innovation as well as create a business solution that would make the technology profitable. The aim of this chapter is to demonstrate how an ecosystem integrator can develop a boundary-spanning business model that is capable of integrating the multitude of stakeholders into a working biogas-for-traffic solution, thereby achieving a system change. The chapter is based on the results of two research projects during which a sustainable local biogas-for-traffic solution and the business model of the ecosystem integrator were developed together with the major ecosystem stakeholders. The main principle of developing such a business model lies in considering business models of the relevant stakeholders and managing uncertainties pertinent to their integration into the biogas-for-traffic ecosystem.