scholarly journals Circular Economy Business Models: a Repertoire of Theoretical Relationships and a Research Agenda

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberta De Angelis
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Social Sustainability ◽  
Sustainability Transitions ◽  
Management Research ◽  
Systemic Nature ◽  
Sustainability Challenges ◽  
Theoretical Foundations ◽  
Distinct Field

AbstractThe shift towards a more resource efficient circular economy has become a necessity in the wake of current ecological, economic and social sustainability challenges. Mirroring circular-related developments in policy and business quarters, the circular economy literature is growing as a distinct field of academic enquiry. Yet, the conceptual and theoretical foundations of circular economy thinking need consolidation. Drawing from strategic management, sustainability transitions and systems theories, this article establishes some theoretical anchoring for circular economy business models. It finds that circular business models contribute to an understanding of both competitive advantage and the systemic nature of business. It also develops a future agenda for management research at the interface between the circular economy and business models.

Designing business models in circular economy: A systematic literature review and research agenda

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 1734-1749 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piera Centobelli ◽  
Roberto Cerchione ◽  
Davide Chiaroni ◽  
Pasquale Del Vecchio ◽  
Andrea Urbinati
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Systematic Literature Review ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Business Models

Strategic Sustainability Marketing and Social Responsibility in the Textile Industry

2019 ◽  
pp. 213-246
Author(s):  
Katja Schneider ◽  
Marlen Gabriele Arnold
Keyword(s):  
Community Involvement ◽  
Textile Industry ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Social Sustainability ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Iso 26000 ◽  
Corporate Strategies ◽  
Labor Practices ◽  
Alternative Approach ◽  
Sustainability Challenges

The global social, economic, and ecological sustainability challenges are immense, particularly in Africa. Given the continent's specific characteristics, there is a strong need to either shape “traditional” business models or to consider alternative corporate strategies. Those should in particular foster social change and progress through economic development. Social entrepreneurship is regarded as such an alternative approach. In addition, stronger aligning firms' business models to CSR dimensions as laid out in international standards such as ISO 26000 might be a valuable trajectory. By using an exploratory comparative case design and qualitatively analyzing the websites of four African textile companies, this chapter illustrates how social sustainability is being pursued. The findings suggest that sustainability-oriented textile companies strongly emphasize social sustainability, in particular labor practices, community involvement, and development. This enables further research on drivers and implications for sustainability marketing strategies in global textile value chains.

scholarly journals How Do Companies Collaborate for Circular Oriented Innovation?

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1648 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phil Brown ◽  
Nancy Bocken ◽  
Ruud Balkenende
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Open Innovation ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Incremental Innovation ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Case Research ◽  
Collaborative Innovation ◽  
Systemic Innovation ◽  
Systemic Nature ◽  
Business To Business

Collaborative innovation is necessary to explore and implement circular economy strategies. Yet, empirical investigations into such collaborations are scarce. It is unclear whether the circular context creates differences or represents adaptions within how collaborative innovation is conducted. We draw upon strategic management and open innovation literature to highlight what is known about collaborative innovation and the types of innovation conducted. We use these insights to investigate explorative qualitative case research into how practitioners in the Netherlands have conducted collaborative circular oriented innovation. Our findings show that open innovation criteria can aid our understanding and analysis. Key managerial considerations relate to the incremental or systemic nature of the innovation pursued, which induce different collaborative projects and knowledge management structures. For incremental innovation, we observe phases of collaboration, whereas for more systemic innovation, we observe a more collaborative portfolio and layered approach. Furthermore, the more radical innovation pursuits that explore slowing or recovery strategies, especially beyond business-to-business arrangements, challenge companies. A crucial challenge remains related to how to develop and assess collaborative and system-oriented business models in the transition towards a circular economy. Finally, future research is needed to assess whether the current modes of collaborative innovation are sufficient to deliver a circular economy transition.

RAIN - A Living Lab Concept for Circular Economy, Cooperation and Innovation in Rural Regions

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaus Wagner
Keyword(s):  
Business Model ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Open Innovation ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Social Sustainability ◽  
Rural Regions ◽  
Federal Institute ◽  
Living Lab

<p>Klaus Wagner, Sigrid Egartner, Heidelinde Grüneis, Karin Heinschink, Julia Niedermayr</p><p>Federal Institute of Agricultural Economics, Rural and Mountain Research</p><p>Dietrichgasse 27, 1030 Vienna, Austria</p><p>Tel: +43 1 71100 637426, Contact: [email protected], www.bab.gv.at</p><p> </p><p>“Living Lab Research Concept in Rural Areas” (LIVERUR) is an EU-H2020 programme funded project, running from 2018 to 2021. The LIVERUR consortium consists of 23 partners from 13 countries, coordinated by Universida Catolica de Murcia (Spain), see https://liverur.eu.</p><p> </p><p>The project aims at modernising small and medium rural businesses in the EU and its neighbouring countries by introducing the Rural Living Lab research methodology. It will identify, analyse and test various specific rural business model approaches. It drafts a new Regional Circular Living Lab Business Model Concept (RAIN) - integrating living lab-, circular economy- and multi-actor approaches as well as open innovation, ecologic, economic and social sustainability with support of innovative ICT solutions. The RAIN concept helps enterprises and organisations to design their sustainable, innovative and contemporary business models.</p><p> </p><p>Based on theoretical and empirical analyses the RAIN concept is structured according to three different layers:</p><ul><li>The <strong>Core Elements</strong> describe the business model with respect to the topics vision/business idea, people, resources, implementation/development, management/organization, financial aspects, product/service/process, research/innovation, marketing/distribution;</li> <li>In order to enrich the business model the so called <strong>RAIN Principles</strong> (Ecologic, economic and social sustainability, circular economy, open innovation, stakeholder involvement, openness, ICT) should be taken into consideration in each Core Element;</li> <li>Last but not least, external influences on the project or activity – the <strong>Real Life Setting</strong> – has to be reflected and included in the business model (environment and climate, economic and societal context, legal and institutional framework, technical and social infrastructure, food security and safety).</li> </ul><p> </p><p>In LIVERUR 20 projects in 13 pilot regions will be developed based on the RAIN concept. The topics are widespread but all are of high importance in rural regions, e.g. regional food sovereignty, utilization of organic waste, local online-marketing, agriculture-tourism cooperation, sustainable milk-production, energy-production.</p><p> </p><p>The contribution will focus on the development and description of the RAIN concept and its steps of application.</p><p> </p><p>LIVERUR has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement 773757</p>

Intellectual Capital: Who Counts, Controls?

2004 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Roslender ◽  
Robin Fincham
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Capital ◽  
Value Creation ◽  
Business Strategy ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Management Research ◽  
Successful Management

Intellectual capital and related topics including intangibles, innovation, and knowledge have rapidly climbed the management research agenda. Their significance lies in the contribution these assets make to sustained value creation, a central mantra within contemporary business strategy. A premium has been placed on the successful management of such assets, and within this program, the accountancy profession has found itself challenged to devise effective means of counting and controlling them. Driven by a distinctly managerial agenda, the majority of developments within intellectual capital accounting to date have exhibited the negative characteristics that critical accounting researchers associate with the extension of the prevailing accounting calculus into new fields. Nevertheless, in some recent contributions there are indications of how an alternative, more progressive approach, that of intellectual capital self-accounts, might be fashioned. As a consequence, the emergence of intellectual capital may yet provide an opportunity to return to the task of accounting for labor. This aspect of the critical accounting project has become less evident as researchers seeking to promote enabling accounting have directed their focus on a range of “other voices” to be encouraged to tell their own stories “from below.”

Emerging Industrial Revolution: Symbiosis of Industry 4.0 and Circular Economy: The Role of Universities

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 505-525 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seeram Ramakrishna ◽  
Alfred Ngowi ◽  
Henk De Jager ◽  
Bankole O. Awuzie
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Industry 4.0 ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Fourth Industrial Revolution ◽  
New Jobs

Growing consumerism and population worldwide raises concerns about society’s sustainability aspirations. This has led to calls for concerted efforts to shift from the linear economy to a circular economy (CE), which are gaining momentum globally. CE approaches lead to a zero-waste scenario of economic growth and sustainable development. These approaches are based on semi-scientific and empirical concepts with technologies enabling 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle) and 6Rs (reuse, recycle, redesign, remanufacture, reduce, recover). Studies estimate that the transition to a CE would save the world in excess of a trillion dollars annually while creating new jobs, business opportunities and economic growth. The emerging industrial revolution will enhance the symbiotic pursuit of new technologies and CE to transform extant production systems and business models for sustainability. This article examines the trends, availability and readiness of fourth industrial revolution (4IR or industry 4.0) technologies (for example, Internet of Things [IoT], artificial intelligence [AI] and nanotechnology) to support and promote CE transitions within the higher education institutional context. Furthermore, it elucidates the role of universities as living laboratories for experimenting the utility of industry 4.0 technologies in driving the shift towards CE futures. The article concludes that universities should play a pivotal role in engendering CE transitions.

scholarly journals Circular Bioeconomy Business Models to Overcome the Valley of Death. A Systematic Statistical Analysis of Studies and Projects in Emerging Bio-Based Technologies and Trends Linked to the SME Instrument Support

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1899
Author(s):  
Fabiana Gatto ◽  
Ilaria Re
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Future Perspective ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Strategic Orientations ◽  
Start Ups ◽  
Valley Of Death

Reducing the environmental pressure along the products life cycle, increasing efficiency in the consumption of resources and use of renewable raw materials, and shifting the economic system toward a circular and a climate-neutral model represent the heart of the current macro-trends of the European Union (EU) policy agendas. The circular economy and bioeconomy concepts introduced in the EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan and the Bioeconomy Strategy support innovation in rethinking economic systems focusing on market uptaking of greener solutions based on less-intensive resource consumption. In recent decades, industrial research has devoted enormous investments to demonstrate sustainable circular bio-based business models capable of overcoming the “Valley of Death” through alternative strategic orientations of “technological-push” and “market-pull”. The study highlights industrial research’s evolution on bio-based circular business model validation, trends, and topics with particular attention to the empowering capacity of start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to close the loops in renewable biological use and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. The research methodology involves a bibliographic search based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) approach and the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator Data Hub investigation to understand SMEs’ key success factors and start-ups of the circular bioeconomy sector. Eco and bio-based materials, nutraceuticals, and microalgae represent the most sustainable industry applications, leading to circular bioeconomy business models’ future perspective.

scholarly journals Making Resilient Decisions for Sustainable Circularity of Fashion

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Celinda Palm ◽  
Sarah E. Cornell ◽  
Tiina Häyhä
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Ecological System ◽  
Fashion Industry ◽  
State Response ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
Industry Value Chain ◽  
The Many ◽  
Sustainability Challenges

AbstractThe fashion and textiles industry, and policymakers at all levels, are showing an increased interest in the concept of circular economy as a way to decrease business risks and negative environmental impacts. However, focus is placed mainly on the material ‘stuff’ of textile fashion and its biophysical harms. The current material focus has several shortcomings, because fashion is a social-ecological system and cannot be understood merely by addressing its environmental dimensions. In this paper, we rethink the fashion system from a critical social-ecological perspective. The driver-state-response framework shows social drivers and ecological impacts as an adaptive social-ecological system, exposing how these interacting aspects need to be addressed for sustainable and resilient implementation of circular economy. We show how current responses to global sustainability challenges have so far fallen short. Our overall aim is to expand possibilities for reframing responses that better reflect the complex links between the global fashion system, culture and creativity and the dynamics of the living planet. We argue that reducing planetary pressure from the global fashion and textiles industry requires greater recognition of the system’s social drivers with more emphasis on the many cross-scale links between social and ecological dimensions. Resilient decisions aiming for sustainable circularity of the fashion industry must therefore pay attention to social activities beyond the industry value chain, not just material flows within it.

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