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Purpose -The purpose of this research is to present a model for values-based sustainable service business grounded in the concept of values-based service quality. Design/methodology/approach -Based on a literature review and interpretations of five narratives from a values-driven company, IKEA, the paper proposes a model of values-based service quality for sustainable service business. Findings -The study distinguishes four dimensions of values-based service quality and five dimensions of sustainability. These are all incorporated in the proposed model. Originality/value -This is a fundamental study of the role of values-based service quality in creating sustainable service business based on value-in-use for customers and the desirable values of corporate culture with which products and services are associated.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a deeper understanding of transcendence as business logic and to advance value co-creation and value network thinking. The authors are looking for business logic to have wider understanding of sustainable business. Understanding how value is “networked” and “co-created” by what the authors will call “transcendent business logic” in specific contextual settings is deemed essential in securing sustainable business, which social and environmental perspectives and governance issues are embedded. The authors lay the foundation for enriching the transcendence for business logics for a sustainable business based on sustainability, stakeholder-unifying perspective and value creation network theories. Design/methodology/approach – The study adopts a qualitative approach, using multiple case studies to undertake an analysis of the role of transcendence for business logics. Four case studies of private companies and parallel case studies of retail, health care and public organizations (regional public transport networks) are applied. The paper further asses a methodological approach goes beyond the positivistic paradigm in service research to understand the texts and analyze the research materials. This section presents the methodological approach based on transcendence beyond objectivism and relativism and the transformation process of transcendence business logic. Findings – The paper demonstrates that “different business logics” contributes to securing sustainable business embedded on social and environmental perspectives on governance issues. The authors have shown this based on the idea of transcendence, which can be used from a methodological point of view based on a deeper understanding beyond objectivism and relativism. The authors argued in this paper for a methodological path beyond functionalism. The authors are providing a deeper understanding of the business logic; co-creating value for people and developing sustainability for society. The study has also shown that values form the network, and co-creation is the basis for transcending the business logics. Originality/value – The paper makes original contribution to the exploring transcendence for business logics to be in lieu of guiding open source business models based on the need for understanding of the new logic in the new complex landscape. In service research, the main theoretical challenges of understand and integrating value co-creation and value networks to secure sustainable businesses are founded on the principles of steering and navigation. In this study the authors addressed the need for advancement of value co-creation network thinking and perusal for the business logic to have a wider understanding of sustainable business.

Following this introduction, this paper presents two conceptual and theoretical analyses-(i) CSR and its relation to profit and charity (ii) CSR as part of a service business model. The paper then illustrates these concepts using a comparative study of four service firms, with particular emphasis on their different CSR activities and how these affect the mission of each company. All four of the service companies are global actors with strong Service Brands (Edvardsson, Enquist and Hay, 2006) and a leading position in using CSR as a driving force for doing business: IKEA, Starbucks, H&M and the Body Shop. The paper then draws together the conceptual analysis and the case studies in a discussion of how CSR can be a proactive driver in the service business. Because of the limit space for a QMOD paper the focus is on the conceptual and theoretical analysis part and the empirical part and discussion/ conclusion has to be further developed.

The process of globalization over the past five decades has given impetus to driven sustainability and related thinking in business. It is also observed that there are unprecedented trends in corporate strategy towards sustainable thinking -the emergence of sustainability as corporate strategy and the concern of business for ecology and society. This forces companies to rethink their standard business models and increase their interest in innovating products and services based on the challenges of global sustainable development. The pressure from external stakeholders, mainly non-governmental organizations (NGOs), as drivers of change may also contribute strongly to this endeavour. This substantial change pressure clearly reflects companies' recognition of the mounting pressures for social responsibility and governance. The overall aim of this thesis is to describe and understand how social responsibility and value-creation of customers' influence the overall service quality of companies in developing a sustainable service business.The theoretical and conceptual frame of reference finds its stimulation from the research in sustainable development -corporate social responsibility, service research and quality management. In this way it attempts to bridge the gap between business and social responsibility. Theoretically and conceptually, the thesis amalgamates sustainability thinking and the service logic. Here, value creation and co-creation of Service Dominant Logic (S-D logic) approach expands to integrate the values based approach of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in management thinking and have created the prevailing business practices and service quality (SQ) improvement. This thesis is a compilation of five different papers that follow an interpretative case study approach. The empirical study developed from the cases of multinational companies, small and medium enterprises, smallholders and NGOs.