To Grow or not to Grow That is the Question: A Critical Assessment of Business Model Frameworks Beyond Growth

The objective of this research is to question the growth orthodoxy of the current economic system. To do so, this thesis makes use of an overarching vision within the planetary boundaries. Decisive growth factors are growth in material throughput, the profit maximization imperative, and our current understanding of prosperity. A business model framework beyond growth meets these growth factors on the organizational level. It synthesizes a review of existing frameworks from the degrowth, post-growth, sufficiency, and steady-state economy literature. The synthesized framework offers clear principles to assess and inspire organizations to act as change agents within the current economic system.