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The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of the digitalization phenomenon in the development of innovative business models that are sustainability oriented. Thus, the authors aim to understand whether the presence of digitalization forces companies to create, capture and deliver value in new ways, focusing on their social impact.

Through the analysis of a case study in the automotive sector, the authors provide evidence that both digitalization and sustainability need to be considered to adequately innovate business models. Moreover, these two dimensions are interrelated, and therefore digitalization sustains sustainability and vice versa.

By inductively investigating the evolutionary path along which companies tend to adapt their business models to digitalization and sustainability trends, the authors found that this innovative transformation needs to be as sustainable as possible in order to offer benefits to organizations, customers and society at large. Furthermore, the authors revealed that, at least in the automotive sector, companies and customers are aware of the remarkable consequences of digitalization; however, they are still uncertain regarding the actual adoption of new technologies.

The literature on business model innovation is quite extensive. However, the role of digitalization in developing sustainable business models to achieve a competitive advantage has been overlooked. This study suggests that, within a specific context, forging a value network of stakeholders is helpful when innovating a business model with a sustainability orientation.

This article focuses on Brazil’s migration to digital television. It shows how, in the case of Brazil, unicasting solely reflected the interests of commercial broadcasters. Comparing Brazil to France and the United Kingdom, it explains why the European choice for multicasting is one of the reasons for the success of digital television penetration in these two countries.

By analyzing viewing shares and the financial relevance of the public broadcasters, BBC, and France Televisions, to the national broadcasting spaces, the study concludes that these European traditional broadcasters profited from digital television, despite their exposure to a more competitive environment.

As I will discuss, the model chosen in Brazil continues to hamper Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) and national audiovisual industries’ developments, as well as slowing digital take-up. In Brazil, public broadcasting continued to play a marginal role in the national broadcasting space and the audiovisual market, concentrated in a few local companies.

The findings of this comparative study, developed from a political economy perspective, provide important insights into both Brazilian and European telecommunications policy.