Sustainable Business Models in Hybrids: A Conceptual Framework for Community Pharmacies’ Business Owners

Abstract

Community pharmacies have recently been asked to contribute to sustainable healthcare systems through active participation in an integrated model of care and by playing a major educational role for environmental conservation. Therefore, dramatic changes in their institutional context have led to increasing competition in the drugs retail sector and a shift toward a service-oriented business. These factors urge rethinking of the business model of these hybrid organizations, which combine a profit-oriented, social, and more recently addressed, environmental identity. This paper aims at discussing a sustainable business model (SBM) that could allow community pharmacies to contribute to public health through pharmacists’ current role and development of that role. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic suggest that human health should be at the center of the sustainable development agenda; the pandemic raises questions about the traditional role of community pharmacies, such as extending patient-oriented services. The SBM for community pharmacies represents an opportunity to enhance their role among the healthcare workforce, especially in a time of global pandemics. In addition, the SBM can support community pharmacies to integrate sustainability in day-to-day pharmacy practice, although it should be customized based on the contextual characteristics of the business and on differences between countries, such as health policies and regulations.

Sustainable Business Models: A Bibliometric Performance Analysis

“…All in all, challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic may result in the need to reconceptualize current theories and frameworks related to sustainable business models, e.g., concerning drivers and barriers to business models for sustainability [66]. Recent studies on the relationship between sustainable business models and pandemics have already begun to emerge, for example [67,68]. In the current perspective of changes evoked by COVID-19 pandemic, it may become even more significant and worth further analyses.…”

Application of Scoring and Decision Models to Evaluate Procurement Determinants in Community Pharmacy Practice in Nigeria

“…This loss of revenue impacts the sustainability of local operations and cash flow. This is compensated for by the reliance on operational efficiency in timely delivery and credit facility to help improve turnaround time for practice owners 33,34 . Furthermore, the least ranked factor-'Value-added service by suppliers (ranked 10 th ) reflects another aspect of expectations by community pharmacists from their suppliers.…”

Path Analysis of Determinant Factors Influencing Purchasing Decisions among Community Pharmacists in Nigeria using Structural Equation Modeling

“…This study suggests that both models of business-retail and wholesale carry valuable merits that support operating a hybrid model of business. [26]…”