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Public administration and organization management features numerous references to the development and maturation of individuals within organizations not only as a means of self‐fulfillment but also as a primary component of meeting the larger goals of the organization. Successful articulation of individual needs, theory, practice, and programmatic objectives requires the maturation of the organization as a “competent” entity capable of providing enhanced opportunities for the development of individual potential as well as stakeholder and client satisfaction. Organizations building competence seek to synthesize effective management theory and quality of service delivery within a procedural framework which interrelates unsublimated needs satisfaction, management practice and agency mission. An organizational competency model constructed through the use of critical theory offers greater employee and client satisfaction, more effective and efficient service delivery through improved agency self‐actualization and performance, and expanded community involvement through a redefined public interest.

Raises the initial problem of what is meant by the term critical theory and discusses some common misconceptions that have arisen about the meaning of this term. The dialectic logic that was championed by the group of scholars collectively known as the Frankfurt School is outlined and it is noted how dialectics transcends binary oppositional thinking. It is argued that the body of work of these scholars has a strong contemporary relevance to issues in the management of change in organizations. The other papers in the issue are introduced.

The wide uptake of green building is hindered by factors such as limited market demand and high up-front cost despite substantial policy incentives. Successful business models (BMs) help facilitate the diffusion of sustainable innovation and have attracted increasing attention. However, little attention has been paid to examining the adoption of green building from the perspective of BM. This paper aims to identify the characteristics of BM that companies adopted to deliver green building projects and examine the evolution path of BM for green buildings.

A total of 744 interdisciplinary bibliographic records related to BM and green buildings from the Web of Science Core Collection database have been identified from the Web of Science Core Collection and analyzed through co-author analysis, co-word analysis and co-citation analysis.

BM research mainly focuses on five subjects, namely, environmental science, engineering, business, economics, science and technology. Keywords “strategy”, “capability”, “perspective” and “design” receive the highest centrality index, which suggests that the strategy design and corporate capability are indispensable elements when designing or innovating a company's BM. “BM canvas” and “resource based view” received the burst citations in the recent decade. Twelve research clusters are identified, including performance evaluation, waste management, energy efficiency, BM, project business, professional capital, leadership and product innovation. These topics highlight three evolution direction for green building projects, i.e. life cycle-oriented value proposition, collaborative value delivery and innovative cost and revenue structure.

The findings contribute to a systematic understanding of the underlying mechanisms of BM for green buildings and illuminate the development trend of business strategies for sustainability.