Stuck in Transition: Boundary Work, Banking Business Models, and the Challenge of Mainstreaming Sustainability

Although awareness of sustainability’s impact on performance and survival is increasing, organizations face challenges integrating sustainability into their business models. This study examines sustainability pressures in the banking sector and their influence on banking business models. Using a multiple-case study of Danish banks, the research employs boundary work to investigate whether banks preserve, adjust, or transform their models in response to these pressures. Findings reveal three key challenges to banks’ sustainability work: regulatory compliance, changing customer relationships, and gaps in internal competencies and resources. These challenges leave banks primarily engaged in boundary work for preservation or adjustment, making incremental rather than transformative changes to their business models. This study contributes to boundary work literature with a nuanced typology of boundary work dynamics. Moreover, it contributes to the sustainable business model literature and to the discussion of sustainability mainstreaming by examining how sustainability pressures either hinder or drive change in banking business models toward mainstreaming sustainability.