sustainability Article Trust as a Key Factor in Shaping the Social Business Model of Water Supply Companies Adam Jabło ´nski 1,* and Marek Jabło ´nski 2 1 Scientific Institute of Management, Faculty in Chorzów, WSB University in Pozna´n,Sportowa 29, 41-506 Chorzów, Poland 2 Scientific Institute of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Faculty in Chorzów, WSB University in Pozna´n, Sportowa 29, 41-506 Chorzów, Poland;
[email protected] * Correspondence:
[email protected] Received: 23 August 2019; Accepted: 16 October 2019; Published: 18 October 2019 Abstract: The current principles of doing business differ radically from those that were applied a few years ago. Global economic crises have shown that business must have a more social character. This gave rise to the creation of management solutions that would guarantee the satisfaction of a wide range of corporate stakeholders. In this context, ideas based on social potential began to emerge. As a consequence, the concept of social business models was born, accompanied by an attempt to search for the best business models possible in order to build the appropriate configuration of their components. According to the authors, an attribute of trust may be such a component based on which effective social business models can be built. As water supply companies are social enterprises, they have become the object of scientific research in this case. The purpose of the article is to determine the position of trust in the construction and application of social business models of water supply companies. The scope of the article includes scientific research into water supply companies in the most industrial region of Poland, Upper Silesia, with the most extensive and dense water supply network in the country.