The importance of technological innovation in transforming the structure of the economy and economic development was emphasised in the work of Joseph Schumpeter (1939) [1]. He saw technological development in the change and imbalance resulting from innovation, which he understood as any possible change in the production and distribution of goods. However, process and product innovations alone are not sufficient to ensure sustainability and financial performance [2]. Creating new organisational forms and methods, particularly new business models, is just as important for companies and society as technological innovation [3], with innovation having to include business models and not just technology and R&D [4]. The aim of sustainable innovation in the context of sustainable development is to create new market opportunities that lead to the development of new business models oriented towards multifaceted customer value [5]. Sustainable innovation responds to the challenges of sustainability by integrating its social, economic, and environmental dimensions with the value and functionality of products for the customer and enables the creation of a new business model. A business model can be a form of innovation and lead to competitive advantage; however, it means much more than a new product or service offered by a company. It does not discover a new product, but redefines what an existing product is and how to deliver it to the customer [6]. Business model innovation is a process that deliberately changes the core elements of a company and its business logic [7], ultimately involving a new form of exchange at some point in the value chain [2]. Companies need to constantly monitor many factors from the external environment, as many things can change, and new economic conditions or innovations may quickly destroy a company’s comfortable and stable economic position. This makes it essential to develop new business approaches and offer customers value that responds to their changing needs. In Hamel’s perspective [8], an innovative business model should help companies respond to a changing environment rather than improve traditional models. It is to offer a new way of thinking and adapting in an uncertain, rapidly changing and unpredictable environment [9].

The concept of a business model is useful when developing strategy, planning, and adapting a company also in terms of sustainability. A sustainable organisation expresses its purpose in terms of social, environmental, and economic performance. Profits are a “means” to sustainable performance; therefore, sustainable organisations need to make profits to exist but do not exist just to make profits [10]. Organisations pay particular attention to the value that is generated for their customers through the business model in place, as only this can ensure sustainability. A business model emphasises the importance of thinking of the company as a system rather than a collection of separate parts. Consideration of the specific elements of a business model and their interrelationships is particularly important when social, economic, or environmental changes require a transformation in the logic of doing business rather than simply improving the way it is currently done [11]. However, for this to be possible, it is necessary to identify and understand the factors that are the rationale for making changes to the business.

In the literature, business model research has been classified into eight sub-domains, i.e., definitions, components, taxonomies, conceptual models, design models and tools, adoption factors, evaluation models, and methodology change. The sub-domain “adoption factors” includes research on factors influencing organisational adoption of business models, as well as research on the socio-economic implications of business model innovation [12]. The study we have conducted focuses precisely on the adoption factors of business models in the post-pandemic reality of the creative industries and their impact on model change, with particular attention being paid to linking these changes to the concept of sustainability. The subject of this research is the reasons for the changes in film distribution that are still taking place.

In the history of cinema, the three main periods and models related to film distribution in the world can be distinguished [13]. The first of these, known as the classical model, falls between the creation of cinema and film (1917) and 1948, characterised by cinema-centrism, i.e., the concentration of the entire film industry around the cinema. The business model adopted was to integrate all sectors of the film industry, i.e., production, distribution, and exhibition, and concentrate them in the hands of the major film studios. This means that the studios were essentially self-sufficient in the sense that they created the necessary content (films) on the one hand and then ensured its dissemination by controlling the cinemas. As Adamczak and Salamon [13] note, the control of distribution channels and cinemas by film studios provided a market for the films they produced. At the same time, production risks were very limited in this situation, as the main driver of the business was the operation of cinemas rather than film production itself. The classic model was also characterised by high barriers to entry; because of the control of cinemas, the major film studios restricted the entry of other operators, in particular, the distribution and exhibition of independent productions. The moment when the classical model was shattered was the 1948 court ruling that made cinemas independent of the studios [13]. The studios were, thus, forced to change their business model. Among other things, the changes implied greater attention to content, i.e., the quality of film production and the need to negotiate with cinemas. In addition to the change in the law, the development of technology and, above all, television also proved to be a factor in the change in the business model. The cinema was no longer the only option for broadcasting films, and television was becoming increasingly popular and accessible. Since the 1970s, new media delivery channels such as home video, video on demand, cable TV, and satellite TV have enabled viewers to watch films in places other than the cinema [14]. Film content and film broadcasting licences have become a resource that has grown in importance. Only by noticing changes in the environment early on and adopting a new business model could the studios have maintained their position.

Faced with the existing situation that was compounded by rising production costs and inflation, market players and, above all, the major studios began to search for a new business model. A model referred to in the literature as “global Hollywood” [15,16,17] relied on diversification of revenue generation. They began to look for opportunities to make money from film licences by using non-cinema distribution channels for their films, as well as by producing and selling gadgets and peri-film products based on the licence. The model also assumed an international dispersion of production, because of differences in production costs (including labour costs), financial and non-financial incentives and support offered by individual countries, or differences in exchange rates. “Global Hollywood” does not only mean the production, distribution, and consumption of Hollywood films around the world but also the money, people, companies, and places from around the world that were involved in film production with Hollywood partners [18].

The digital revolution and the subsequent rapid growth of streaming platforms is forcing further changes to the film distribution model. Changing audience habits and expectations, new technological possibilities in both film production and distribution, changing economic conditions, and legislation that does not keep pace with the changing environment mean that the current business model is becoming outdated and does not provide the expected revenues. As early as 2007, Miller [16] pointed out the threats to the existing Hollywood system, coming mainly from changing audiences, the spread of piracy, and the reduction of barriers to entry in distribution.