Investigating the benefits of sustainable business models for our societies is an important and timely topic. This Special Volume contributes to current research by exploring a variety of sustainable models in use around the world. The accepted articles provide an overview of the various organizational forms, management mechanisms, sustainability solutions, challenges, theoretical lenses and empirical evidence, i.e. fundamental elements in the study of sustainable business models. In this introductory paper, the thirty-seven articles included in this Special Volume are presented, organized in four approaches to sustainable business models: 1/the generalist approach, 2/the technology-based approach, 3/the entrepreneurship and innovation approach and 4/the behavioral approach. In conclusion, avenues for future research are formulated, with a call for solid theory building, more sophisticated research methods, focus on the interplay of sustainable with existing conventional business models, and systemic consideration of the role of governments in advancing sustainable business models.

为我们的社会研究可持续商业模式的收益是一个重要而及时的话题。该专刊探索了世界各地使用的各种可持续发展模型，为当前的研究做出了贡献。接受的文章概述了各种组织形式，管理机制，可持续性解决方案，挑战，理论视角和经验证据，即研究可持续商业模式的基本要素。在此介绍性论文中，介绍了本专刊中的三十七篇文章，它们以四种可持续商业模式的方法进行了组织：1 /通才方法，2 /基于技术的方法，3 /企业家精神和创新方法以及4 /行为方式。总之，为未来的研究制定了途径，