ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Sustain.
Sec. Circular Economy
Volume 6 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/frsus.2025.1665635
This article is part of the Research TopicGreen entrepreneurship and waste management: strategies and policies for future sustainable and circular economyView all 4 articles
Reinventing Rural Economies through Sustainable Business Models: A Triple-Layered Analysis
Provisionally accepted
- 1University of Shkoder "Luigj Gurakuqi", Shkoder, Albania
- 2Universiteti i Shkodres Luigj Gurakuqi, Shkodër, Albania
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Albania's transition from a centralized to a market economy has resulted in a fragmented and largely informal business landscape, where small enterprises dominate sustainability-oriented strategies remain underdeveloped. Yet, in the context of EU accession, Agenda 2030 commitments and global climate objectives, there is a growing urgency to align local business models with circular and inclusive practices. This study explores how sustainable business model frameworks can be meaningfully implemented in such emerging contexts by applying the Triple Layered Business Model Canvas (TLBMC) to Mrizi Zanave, a leading agrotourism enterprise in North Albania. The research employs a qualitative case study approach, combining two semi-structured interviews with founders/managers and desk research across multiple data sources, including National Business Center registry, company website and social media communication. Results show that Mrizi Zanave creates value across economic, social and environmental layers by embedding traditional knowledge, regional supply chains, and community-based employment. Quantitatively, the enterprise cooperates with 400 small-holder farmers, employes 105 staff1 and hosts approximately 90.000 visitors annually. However, formal measurement of environmental and social impacts remains limited, reflecting institutional and infrastructural constraints. By operationalizing the TLBMC in a context shaped by structural informality and historical marginalization, the study contributes to the international literature on business model innovation in post-socialist and emerging European contexts, particularly within the Western Balkans. It highlights both opportunities and challenges of place-based entrepreneurship for sustainable rural generation in the Western Balkans.
Keywords: sustainable business models, Triple Layered Business Model Canvas (TLBMC), Agrotourism, Circular economy, Western Balkans, emerging economies, place-based entrepreneurship
Received: 14 Jul 2025; Accepted: 15 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Dionizi and Dhora. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Brikene Dionizi, brikene.dionizi@unishk.edu.al
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.