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Green-Win is the proposal where that government, society, and business can all reap benefits while at the same time playing a vital role in the transition to sustainable development and lower carbon futures. We argue that, while the Green-Win proposition is central to many state and expert models of sustainability transitions, as a construction, it belies more complex trade-offs and cognitive models of sustainability and societal transitions. Cultural models are cognitive representations shared by a community which provide both models of the world, which aid in interpreting what is in the world, how it works, what is possible (or not) and why, and models for the world, which suggest how to act in it to bring about desired outcomes (cf. Geertz 1973). We surveyed 225 respondents in Shanghai, China, Istanbul, Turkey, and Beirut, Lebanon to assess their basic beliefs about sustainability, specifically whether it is possible to implement concrete practices that realize environmental sustainability goals in conjunction with economic development—the Green-Win proposition. We found important similarities and differences among urban stakeholders' cultural models of sustainable development. For example, Chinese and Lebanese respondents displayed a strong belief that economic growth and environmental sustainability are compatible, while Turkish respondents showed significant disagreement with this proposition. We argue that such basic notions about the possibility of Green-Win opportunities between environmental sustainability and economic development are important to understand in the context of mitigating and adapting to climate change in critical urban environments. Cultural models of and for green development may either enable or inhibit transformations in urban systems according to local conditions. Finally, we discuss the potential implications of cultural models' research for targeting communications and engendering collaborations among diverse stakeholders in order to align perspectives and overcome barriers that may otherwise limit successful visioning, planning, and implementation for transformation towards sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green businesses based on economic, social and technological innovations are engines of green growth and climate change adaptation across the world. However, without proper interactive mechanisms with the city, green businesses are particularly vulnerable in today's fast-changing socio-economic and political urban contexts. Existing research on climate change adaptation and low-carbon transitions have not explained the crucial components and mechanisms involved in realising sustainable transformations through green businesses in cities. Synthesizing the latest green innovation and urban transformation literature, the paper analyses four distinctive urban green business cases: free-floating bike sharing in Shanghai (Mobike), a renewable energy cooperative in Girona (Som Energia), urban agriculture in Venice and green building start-ups in Istanbul. Based on a comparative analysis, we theorize a 3-Co model to explain the city-green-business transformation process consisting of: first, co-creation of sustainable values between green business and the respective society; second, co-evolution between the business ecosystem and the city's visions and policies; and third, co-governance of sustainable trade-offs during the business development and implementation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most sharing economy business models implement win-win strategies to promote business viability on the one hand coupled with environmental and social sustainability on the other hand. To achieve this purpose, a lower cumulative consumption pattern is a critical benchmark for the effectiveness of such strategies in the sharing economy. In this paper, we define and model consumption patterns and behaviour changes from the perspective of perceived systemic risks (both scarcity and reciprocity risk) in the sharing economy and test our proposed model in the case of EVCARD, an electric vehicle (EV)-sharing system in Shanghai, China. Our analysis shows that the perceived scarcity risk of the EV-sharing significantly affects access-based consumption behaviour, collaborative consumption behaviour and substitutive behaviour intentions. We also show that the perceived reciprocity risk only has a significant effect on access-based consumption behaviour intentions. Moreover, the moderating effects of access variables are tested. We conclude that sharing businesses can achieve their win-win strategies by mitigating perceived systemic risks, influencing the consumer's desire and capability to substitute private ownership with access-based, collaborative consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]