How sustainable are sustainable enterprises? Examining sustainability and economic value trade-offs in a Danish coffee company

Abstract: Starting a sustainable business is challenging because growth decisions need to balance sustainability impact and economic feasibility. This thesis seeks to examine what trade-offs sustainable enterprises face and how they balance decision making when faced with these dual logics. We conduct a case study analysis of CleverCoffee, a Danish B-Corp certified coffee roastery, using qualitative data collection and analysis methods. We analysed our in-depth semi-structured interviews with a grounded theory approach. This enabled us to extract first order concepts and second order themes, to be synthesized into key aggregate factors shaping the decision-making processes of the company. Our findings identified three main trade-offs: (1) growth versus values, (2) conflicting relationships with stakeholders, and (3) impact versus cost. Our findings align with the framework introduced by Fischer, Brettel & Mauer (2020), identifying the impact of entrepreneurial preference, market opportunity, and stakeholder interactions on the initial prioritization of sustainability dimensions within a sustainable enterprise. Our findings further extend this framework by identifying three key tactics on how enterprises retain their sustainability dimensions when faced with these trade-offs. Namely these tactics include: (1) market positioning, (2) engrained mission and vision, and (3) transparency. Overall, the implications of our analysis provide sustainable enterprises with more comprehensive insights into what trade-offs they might face. The findings also suggest tactics they can utilize to unlock the formula of how these trade-offs can be balanced through their operations to ensure sustainable development alongside economic growth.