The manuscript describes a straightforward and atom-efficient method for the synthesis of α-alkylidene-β-lactams using sorbyl tosylate and imines/1-azadienes at high temperature (80 °C). The Density functional theory calculations have shown the prevalence of the first order kinetics in these [2+2] cycloadditions to produce mixture of 3-butadienyl-azetidin-2ones and 3-but-2-enylidene-azetidin-2-ones in good yields. The 3-but-2-enylidene-azetidin-2-ones have also shown antimicrobial activity against the E. coli, S. aureus, P. aeruginosa, B. cereus and B. subtilis.