scholarly journals From Barriers to Enablers: The Role of Organizational Learning in Transitioning SMEs into the Circular Economy

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1021
Author(s):  
Sara Scipioni ◽  
Meir Russ ◽  
Federico Niccolini
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Learning ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Contextual Elements ◽  
Transfer And Retention ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Medium Enterprises

To contribute to small and medium enterprises’ (SMEs) sustainable transition into the circular economy, the study proposes the activation of organizational learning (OL) processes—denoted here as multi-level knowledge creation, transfer, and retention processes—as a key phase in introducing circular business models (CBMs) at SME and supply chain (SC) level. The research employs a mixed-method approach, using the focus group methodology to identify contextual elements impacting on CBM-related OL processes, and a survey-based evaluation to single out the most frequently used OL processes inside Italian construction SMEs. As a main result, a CBM-oriented OL multi-level model offers a fine-grained understanding of contextual elements acting mutually as barriers and drivers for OL processes, as possible OL dynamics among them. The multi-level culture construct—composed of external stakeholders’, SC stakeholders’, and organizational culture—identify the key element to activate CBM-oriented OL processes. Main implications are related to the identification of cultural, structural, regulatory, and process contextual elements across the external, SC, and organizational levels, and their interrelation with applicable intraorganizational and interorganizational learning processes. The proposed model would contribute to an improved implementation of transitioning into the circular economy utilizing sustainable business models in the construction SMEs.

scholarly journals From Barriers to Enablers: The Role of Organizational Learning in Transitioning SMEs into the Circular Economy

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Scipioni ◽  
Meir Russ ◽  
Federico Niccolini
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Learning ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Contextual Elements ◽  
Transfer And Retention ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Medium Enterprises

To contribute to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) sustainable transition into the circular economy, the study proposes the activation of organizational learning (OL) processes – denoted here as multi-level knowledge creation, transfer, and retention processes – as a key phase in introducing circular business models (CBMs) at SME and supply chain (SC) level. The research employs a mixed-method approach, using the focus group methodology to identify contextual elements impacting on CBM-related OL processes, and a survey-based evaluation to single out the most frequently used OL processes inside Italian construction SMEs. As main result, a CBM-oriented OL multi-level model offers a fine-grained understanding of contextual elements acting mutually as barriers and drivers for OL processes, as possible OL dynamics among them. The multi-level culture construct – composed of external stakeholders’, SC stakeholders’, and organizational culture – identify the key element to activate CBM-oriented OL processes. Main implications are related to the identification of cultural, structural, regulatory, and process contextual elements across the external, SC, and organizational levels, and their interrelation with applicable intraorganizational and interorganizational learning processes. The proposed model would contribute to an improved implementation of transitioning into the circular economy utilizing sustainable business models in the construction SMEs.

scholarly journals Transformation towards Sustainable Business Models in Production

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 224-231
Author(s):  
Shahban Ali Shah ◽  
Philipp Url ◽  
Wolfgang Vorraber ◽  
Thomas Janics ◽  
Matthias Katschnig
Keyword(s):  
Business Models ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Transformation Process ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Sustainable Value ◽  
Sustainable Business Models ◽  
Medium Enterprises

A global transformation from Industry 4.0 towards Industry 5.0 will soon take place. Such transformations are intrinsic to human and sustainable value creation. An increasing number of companies, recognising this imminent trend, will need to transform their current classical, solely profit-oriented business models into sustainable business models that also target human, social, and environmental aspects. Various frameworks already exist that support the design of sustainable business models. Practical applications of these frameworks and research on the transformation process in the production domain, which places a special focus on small and medium enterprises, is still scarce. This paper presents the first results from a sustainable business model transformation project on a European SME, which produces 3D printers. The research method applies a single case study design. The study was based on publicly available information and qualitative data, obtained through interviews and workshops carried out on an executive management level.

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

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.

scholarly journals The Long-Term Effectiveness of Advertising Driven Sales for E-Commerce SMEs

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 1180-1191
Author(s):  
Marta Christina Suciu ◽  
Christian Năsulea ◽  
Diana Florentina Năsulea
Keyword(s):  
Business Model ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Medium Size ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Advertising Budget ◽  
New Business ◽  
Medium Enterprises ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The digital transformation allowed for new business models to emerge. As e-commerce seems to be the future of retail, an increased number of entrepreneurs are trying to better leverage advertising in a way that leads to a sustainable business model on medium to long-term. Retail enterprises are spending huge amounts of money on search engine and social media paid advertising in order to make their products visible and thus, become more profitable. However, the academic literature suggests contradictory findings on the effectiveness of paid advertising. While it seems that for already established companies like e-Bay, shutting off paid campaigns doesn’t proportionally decrease the website’s traffic, for other large companies with more competitors the findings show the opposite, meaning that most of the traffic goes down when paid-campaigns are shut off. The aim of our paper is to assess the impact of paid campaigns on the long-term revenues of small and medium enterprises activating in e-commerce. Is investing in paid advertising at the beginning enough to build a business model that can sustain itself or does less advertising translate directly in less sales? We conduct a study for a number of Romanian e-commerce businesses in order to determine the effectiveness of paid advertising and its impact on the long-term revenue stream. Our findings contribute to the existing research through valuable data on small and medium size enterprises and can help business managers make more informed decisions when it comes to their paid advertising budget and strategy.

scholarly journals Circular Business Models and Circular Agriculture: Perceptions and Practices of Dutch Farmers

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1282
Author(s):  
Hans Dagevos ◽  
Carolien de Lauwere
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Food System ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Business Management ◽  
Dutch Government ◽  
Business Operations ◽  
Production Practices ◽  
Medium Enterprises ◽  
The Impact

Although it is not clear yet what a full-grown circular economy (CE) is going to look like, it is clear that the challenges of transitioning to a CE are both impressive and urgent. The Dutch government has expressed the ambition to establish a CE in the Netherlands in 2050. In the wake of this, the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality laid down a vision on circular agriculture (CA). A key question with respect to both CE and CA is if and to what extent this means business as unusual: How distinct is circular business from normal business operations? The ways in which the notions of CE and circular business models (CBMs) are often introduced suggest a big difference. However, closer scrutiny also reveals that in practice the impact of circularity is less obvious. Against the backdrop of such opposite observations, this paper examines how Dutch farmers perceive circularity and what implications this has for their production practices. Interviews (n = 13) with Dutch farmers show that circular business is adapted in normal business management by some and regarded as a genuine alternative to the conventional food system by others. By taking Dutch farmers as an example, this paper aims to contribute to our understanding of how CE is interpreted in small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

scholarly journals A Systematic Literature Review on Sustainability in Family Firms

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 3824
Author(s):  
Carla Curado ◽  
António Mota
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Futures Studies ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Bottom Line ◽  
Medium Enterprises ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Market Pressures

In this study, we explore the research published from 2015 to 2020 on the importance of family firms (FFs) to sustainability. Our results come from a content analysis of 28 studies on this topic. Further, they deal with small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the construction industry in Italy and Spain. These studies mainly follow a quantitative approach with data from a survey. This study’s main contribution regards the identification of three sorts of aspects associated to sustainability in FFs which match the three pillars of the triple bottom line approach that supports sustainable business development: social inclusion, economic development, and environmental protection. Our findings show that the family’s religiosity, reputation, and image play relevant roles in the FFs’ adoption of sustainable practices. Moreover, the CEO and their successor’s choices also have consequences for sustainability. These studies demonstrate how the family’s control, its values, and the industry influence the adoption of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices. FFs go green by adopting eco-innovation to adapt to the constantly changing environment and market pressures. We acknowledge the limitations of the study. We offer advice to colleagues when developing future futures studies to address the influence of cultural differences between FFs and non-FFs and suggest they perform comparative analyses. This research could lead to further investigation of the effects of other variables that may influence sustainability in the context of FFs.

scholarly journals Success Drivers for Implementing Circular Economy: A Case Study from the Building Sector in Colombia

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1350
Author(s):  
Luz Elba Torres-Guevara ◽  
Vanessa Prieto-Sandoval ◽  
Andres Mejia-Villa
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Implementation Process ◽  
Construction Sector ◽  
Direct Communication ◽  
Management Commitment ◽  
Medium Enterprises ◽  
Large Building ◽  
Do So

This paper contributes to the circular economy (CE) literature by investigating the drivers of success of the CE implementation in the construction sector and how those drivers can complement any implementation process in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). To do so, we analyzed the case of TECMO Estructuras Metálicas, using the methodology proposed by Jaca and colleagues to implement the CE in SMEs. It is a Colombian company with more than five decades of experience in the manufacture and installation of steel and aluminum structures for small and large building and infrastructure projects. The data were collected between August 2019 and November 2020 through direct communication with the company via workshops, meetings, and company reports. This research found that five drivers are relevant for implementing CE in the construction sector: fertile ecosystem, management commitment, identification of valuable materials, green teams, and CE intermediaries. Moreover, this study also contributes to teaching the implementation of the CE in companies, since it shows that through the methodology presented, implementation projects can be developed in postgraduate classes.

scholarly journals Sustainable Business Models of SMEs: Challenges in Yacht Tourism Sector

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 3437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cinzia Battistella ◽  
Maria Cagnina ◽  
Lucia Cicero ◽  
Nadia Preghenella
Keyword(s):  
Business Model ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Service Industry ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Case Study Research ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Bottom Line ◽  
Sustainable Business Models ◽  
Sustainability Challenges

Despite the high number of active small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in all sectors, current studies have barely developed investigations on the sustainability of their business models so far. The aim of this study was thus to bridge the gap between sustainable business models of SMEs in the service industry, to uncover the challenges that SMEs face when seeking business model reconfiguration toward sustainability. More specifically, the empirical investigation adopted a case study research design in the context of yacht tourism, as one business form among many within the tourism industry and thus within the broader category of the service industry. Interviews were conducted with seven European SMEs, whose business models were analyzed through the lens of the triple bottom line and sustainability challenges in their business models. The results display a varied typology of case studies, where business model components reveal diverse expressions of facing sustainability challenges. The work discusses reported findings with a cross-case comparison among detected business models and outlines a list of propositions for sustainable business models of SMEs. The paper contributes in continuing the discourse on sustainable business models, adopting the perspective of the challenges for SMEs and offers food for thought for managers of SMEs in comparing their own business with the identified business model types.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document