The Adoption of Sufficiency Practices in Sustainability-Oriented Businesses: A Mixed-Methods Study of Enablers, Challenges, and Benefits

Sufficiency is increasingly seen as a necessary complement to efficiency and circularity strategies to help prevent the transgression of planetary boundaries. However, empirical evidence on their broader relevance in business remains limited. This study uses an exploratory mixed-methods design to assess the adoption of sufficiency practices, as well as their enablers, challenges, and benefits in sustainability-oriented companies in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Findings show that internal sufficiency practices focus on aligning organizational culture and leadership with sufficiency principles, alongside adjustments to production processes. Externally, companies emphasize customer engagement and contributions to systemic change. Adoption is driven by the commitment, knowledge, and values of organizational members, while challenges include resource constraints, profitability tensions, and limited political support. In addition, the study highlights strong normative and competitive benefits of sufficiency practices and provides practical insights for businesses and policymakers aiming to foster supportive conditions for advancing sufficiency in business.