An analysis of operational behavioural factors and circular economy practices in SMEs: An emerging economy perspective

With increasing urbanisation, new approaches such as the Circular Economy (CE) are needed to reduce resource consumption. In Switzerland, Construction & Demolition (C&D) waste accounts for the largest portion of waste (84%). Beyond limiting the depletion of primary resources, implementing recycling strategies for C&D waste (such as using recycled aggregates to produce recycled concrete (RC)), can also decrease the amount of landfilled C&D waste. The use of RC still faces adoption barriers. In this research, we examined the factors driving the adoption of recycled products for a CE in the C&D sector by focusing on RC for structural applications. We developed a behavioural framework to understand the determinants of architects’ decisions to recommend RC. We collected and analysed survey data from 727 respondents. The analyses focused on architects’ a priori beliefs about RC, behavioural factors affecting their recommendations of RC, and project-specific contextual factors that might play a role in the recommendation of RC. Our results show that the factors that mainly facilitate the recommendation of RC by architects are: a senior position, a high level of RC knowledge and of the Minergie label, beliefs about the reduced environmental impact of RC, as well as favourable prescriptive social norms expressed by clients and other architects. We emphasise the importance of a holistic theoretical framework in approaching decision-making processes related to the adoption of innovation, and the importance of the agency of each involved actor for a transition towards a circular construction sector.

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Moving the circular economy forward in the mining industry: Challenges to closed-loop in an emerging economy

Resources Policy ◽

10.1016/j.resourpol.2021.102279 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 74 ◽

pp. 102279

Author(s):

Vidyadhar V. Gedam ◽

Rakesh D. Raut ◽

Ana Beatriz Lopes de Sousa Jabbour ◽

Nishant Agrawal

Keyword(s):

Circular Economy ◽

Closed Loop ◽

Mining Industry ◽

Emerging Economy

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Circular economy in the wine chain production: maturity, challenges, and lessons from an emerging economy perspective

Production Planning & Control ◽

10.1080/09537287.2019.1695914 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 31 (11-12) ◽

pp. 1014-1034

Author(s):

Simone Sehnem ◽

Nelson Oly Ndubisi ◽

Daniela Preschlak ◽

Rógis Juarez Bernardy ◽

Silvio Santos Junior

Keyword(s):

Circular Economy ◽

Emerging Economy

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A digitally enabled circular economy for mitigating food waste: Understanding innovative marketing strategies in the context of an emerging economy

Technological Forecasting and Social Change ◽

10.1016/j.techfore.2021.121062 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 173 ◽

pp. 121062

Author(s):

Michele de Souza ◽

Giancarlo Medeiros Pereira ◽

Ana Beatriz Lopes de Sousa Jabbour ◽

Charbel Jose Chiappetta Jabbour ◽

Luiz Reni Trento ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Food Waste ◽

Circular Economy ◽

Emerging Economy ◽

Marketing Strategies

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Stakeholders, innovative business models for the circular economy and sustainable performance of firms in an emerging economy facing institutional voids

Journal of Environmental Management ◽

10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110416 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 264 ◽

pp. 110416 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Charbel Jose Chiappetta Jabbour ◽

Stefan Seuring ◽

Ana Beatriz Lopes de Sousa Jabbour ◽

Daniel Jugend ◽

Paula De Camargo Fiorini ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Circular Economy ◽

Business Models ◽

Emerging Economy ◽

Institutional Voids ◽

Sustainable Performance

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Organizational and human factors related challenges to ISO 20000

International Journal of Manpower ◽

10.1108/ijm-08-2019-0374 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 41 (7) ◽

pp. 987-1004 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Nafis Ahmad ◽

Md Golam Rabbany ◽

Syed Mithun Ali

Keyword(s):

Environmental Sustainability ◽

Circular Economy ◽

Service Management ◽

Human Factor ◽

Emerging Economy ◽

Successful Implementation ◽

It Service Management ◽

Management Support ◽

Content Type ◽

It Service

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore organizational and human factor-related challenges to information technology (IT) service management standard ISO 20000 in an emerging economy context. Then, this research has proposed some implications of the challenges to implementing environmental sustainability and circular economy. Design/methodology/approach To fulfill the research purpose, an empirical study was undertaken. The data required for the current study, based on a Likert scale and using questionnaires, were collected through surveys, interviews, telephonic conversations and meetings with IT firm managers and staff. The ranking of challenges was obtained based on the mean and standard deviation calculated from the survey responses. Findings The results indicated that senior management support was the most significant challenge for the successful implementation of IT Service Management systems. Other significant challenges were the justification of significant investment, premium customer support, co-operation and co-ordination among IT support teams, proper documentation and effective process design. Practical implications The current research is expected to help IT managers implement ISO 20000 and to manage environmental sustainability and circular economy across their organizational networks. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the current study is the first attempt to explore the organizational and human factor-related challenges to ISO 2000 in an emerging economy context. Furthermore, the current study proposes implications to the challenges to environmental sustainability and circular economy.

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Learning from Failure and Success: The Challenges for Circular Economy Implementation in SMEs in an Emerging Economy

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13031529 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (3) ◽

pp. 1529

Author(s):

Andrea Cantú ◽

Eduardo Aguiñaga ◽

Carlos Scheel

Keyword(s):

Emerging Economies ◽

Circular Economy ◽

Business Strategy ◽

Business Models ◽

Small And Medium Enterprises ◽

Emerging Economy ◽

Implementation Barriers ◽

Developed Economies ◽

Multiple Case ◽

Medium Enterprises

While there is ample research on the barriers and enablers for implementing circular economy (CE) in large companies and developed economies, scant research exists concerning the factors impacting CE implementation in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in emerging economies. To address this gap, our research seeks to determine the internal and external barriers SMEs face when implementing CE initiatives in emerging economies and identify how they can leverage CE implementation through bottom-up approaches. We present a multiple-case study of five SMEs in Mexico. Our findings suggest that the lack of regional enabling conditions and unsuitability between the CE business strategy and the context can further exacerbate implementation barriers. In this sense, we found that in our study’s unsuccessful case, the company failed to align its business to the particularities of the markets where it operated. Contrary, successful initiatives adopted strategies that incorporated contextual attributes in their business models, such as available infrastructure, current regulations, or consumer characteristics. Our results provide lessons from both failing and successful CE initiatives implemented by SMEs in an emerging economy. This work intends to help practitioners, policymakers, and researchers to create the required enabling conditions to accelerate the transition toward a CE in these regions.

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