Artificial Intelligence for Business Model Innovation in Digital Sustainability Companies: Multiple Cases from the Netherlands, Mostafa Mohamad, Ali Balıkel, Dababrata Chowdhury, Christopher Russell, Sayed Mahmoud
Mostafa Mohamad
Zayed University, College of Interdisciplinary Studies, Abu Dhabi
UAE
ORCID: 0000-0001-7172-1110
Ali Eren Balıkel
Istanbul Kent University, Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences, Department of International Trade and Logistics, Istanbul
Turkey
ORCID: 0000-0002-9739-9729
Dababrata Chowdhury
Christ Church Business School in Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU), London
UK
ORCID: 0000-0002-3117-3997
Christopher Russell
Director of Canterbury Christ Church Business School, Christ Church University, London
UK
ORCID: 0000-0001-5826-3004
Sayed Mahmoud
Assistant Professor and Learning Resources Librarian at Zayed University, Dubai
UAE
ORCID: 0000-0002-2917-3488
Type of Paper: Research
Received: 11 December 2025 / Revised: 19 January 2026 / Accepted: 30 January 2026 / Published: 12 February 2026
DOI: 10.47556/J.WJEMSD.22.1-2.2026.5
Purpose: We explore how sustainability companies deliver Artificial Intelligence powered (AI-Powered) solutions for Business Model Innovation (BMI) and how they balance between ecological, economic, and social value across diverse industries and company sizes.
Design/Methodology/Approach: We adopt qualitative semi-structured interviews with the top 20 sustainability executives and founders in the Netherlands as a unique context of sustainability.
Findings: We found differences between large and small sustainability companies from the Technological, Organisational, and Environmental (TOE) perspectives. Technically AI is instrumental for operational efficiency, real-time environmental monitoring, and supply chain traceability. Organisationally, sustainability companies focus on design-led approaches, bottom-up innovation, and AI–strategy alignment. Environmentally, they face challenges such as supply chain collaboration resistance, the impact of regulation, and market readiness.
Originality/Value of the Paper: This study offers original multi-case evidence from the Netherlands, providing a systemic framework based on the TOE theory to reconceptualise AI not just as a facilitator but as a foundational input shaping sustainable BMI.
Practical Implications: It guides sustainability executives and SMEs’ founders to embed AI efficiently to align with client values.
Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Business Model Innovation; Technological, Organisational, and Environmental Theory; Digital Sustainability; Multiple Case Studies.
Citation: Mohamad, M., Balıkel, A. E., Chowdhury, D., Russell, C., and Mahmoud, S. (2026): Artificial Intelligence for Business Model Innovation in Digital Sustainability Companies: Multiple Cases from the Netherlands. World Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development (WJEMSD), Vol. 22, Nos 1-2, pp. 71-87.
