scholarly journals Circular Economy Business Models for the Tanzanian Coffee Sector: A Teaching Case Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (24) ◽  
pp. 13931
Author(s):  
Francesco Paolo Lagrasta ◽  
Pierpaolo Pontrandolfo ◽  
Barbara Scozzi

One of the major issues the agri-food supply chains is the considerable production of by-products, which are mostly discarded as wastes and dangerously landfilled. This problem is particularly acute in the coffee supply chain: coffee cultivation generates by-products and in quantities which are potentially dangerous for the environment. A circular economy business model aimed at the recovery of these by-products may represent an interesting solution in terms of environmental, social, and economic sustainability. The goal of this paper was to provide teachers and educators with case material on circular business models that can be used for problem-based learning and case-based learning activities. The proposed case was built to address a real-world problematic situation related to the coffee supply chain. From a theoretical point of view, this study contributes to the literature on circular economy business models by providing a case study developed in the context of a developing country. Furthermore, the research entails practical implications since it shows managers and startuppers how to map a circular business model in all its components under the guidance of a conceptual framework.

2015 ◽  
pp. 1140-1161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor Chang ◽  
Gary Wills

This chapter proposes a new Supply Chain Business Model in the Education domain and demonstrates how Education as a Service (EaaS) can be delivered. The implementation at the University of Greenwich (UoG) is used as a case study. Cloud computing business models are classified into eight Business Models; this classification is essential to the development of EaaS. A pair of the Hexagon Models are used to review Cloud projects against success criteria; one Hexagon Model focuses on Business Model and the other on IT Services. The UoG case study demonstrates the added value offered by Supply Chain software deployed by private Cloud, where an Oracle suite and SAP supply chain can demonstrate supply chain distribution and is useful for teaching. The evaluation shows that students feel more motivated and can understand their coursework better.


2018 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 5-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan Frishammar ◽  
Vinit Parida

To achieve positive economic, environmental, and social benefits, many incumbent manufacturing firms attempt to apply circular economy principles to their business practices. However, these firms often struggle to change their existing linear business models to circular models because the steps required for successful transformation are still poorly understood. Based on a multiple case study of eight business model transformation journeys, this article proposes a roadmap for circular business model transformation. It provides a step-by-step process to enable circular transition, allowing companies to meet environmental, social, and financial objectives and proactively address sustainability.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone Guercini ◽  
Andrea Runfola

Purpose This paper aims to deal with the issue of business model change in industrial markets. It considers the fast-fashion supply chain by addressing the following research questions: What are the paths of change of the supplier’s business model to match the business model of fast fashion customers? How can a supplier’s business model be adapted to customer’s requirements in these paths of change? Design/methodology/approach Empirically, the paper presents a multiple case study of 10 semi-finished textile suppliers, carried out through a long-term research programme in the Italian textile industrial district of Prato. Findings The multiple-case study shows some key drivers of change in the suppliers’ business models. Three main paths emerged from the interactions with fast fashion clients. Paradoxes in the supplier’s business model changes are identified and discussed. Research limitations/implications The paper proposes implications for suppliers interacting with fast fashion clients and discusses how the adaptation of business models may be interpreted. This study points out how matching the business model of the customers does not call for alignment of similar features. Originality/value The paper deals with an understudied topic within the literature: business models change in business to business markets, taking into consideration the perspective of the supplier. It considers buyers-seller relationships in industrial supply chains as being part of a chain of business models and the need for the supplier’s business model to adapt and match one of the clients. The paper proposes two potential interpretations of such adaptation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 16-27
Author(s):  
Dzintra Atstāja ◽  
Elīna Spāde

Introduction. This case study examines the economic justification for the implementation of a circular economy. The case study is structured in 2 parts. The first part describes the principles of circular economy and business models, covering the theoretical basis of this study. The theoretical basis includes a description of the principles of circular economy and the possible implementation of these principles in business operations. The second part evaluates the impact of the introduction of circular economy principles and business model on the company's financial performance and company value. The methods used are economic evaluation and investment decision methods and financial analysis, modeling and forecasting. The limitations are the research based on one company and the fact that the financial statement for 2019 was not submitted at the time of writing; however the results obtained are applicable to other companies and industries. The principles of circular economics and business models described in this case study can serve as a example for companies considering implementing the principles of circular economy in business operations. Aim and tasks. The purpose of the study is to determine what the principles of circular economy are, how to implement them in business and how their implementation affects business results and company value. Following tasks have been defined in order to achieve the aim: describe the principles of circular economy, business and financing models; to analyze the business models of the circular economy in Latvia and in the world and to evaluate the impact of the implementation of the principles of circular economy and business model on the company's financial indicators and the company's value. Results. Evaluating the investments made by the company AS “Cēsu Alus” and the planned investment projects related to the modernization of production equipment and improvement of efficiency, it can be concluded that the implementation of circular economy investment projects will be profitable. The company has opportunities to continue the investment project program; moreover, based on the experience of similar companies studied, AS “Cēsu Alus” can create additional revenue streams for the company when adopting circular economy principles. Conclusions. Investing the company's funds in investment projects designed to improve the company's efficiency, ensuring resource savings and efficient use, which in turn leads to financial savings, the company's value increases significantly, thus concluding that circular economy investment projects that save resources and improve the efficiency of the company will make the greatest contribution to increasing the value of the company.


Author(s):  
Victor Chang ◽  
Gary Wills

This chapter proposes a new Supply Chain Business Model in the Education domain and demonstrates how Education as a Service (EaaS) can be delivered. The implementation at the University of Greenwich (UoG) is used as a case study. Cloud computing business models are classified into eight Business Models; this classification is essential to the development of EaaS. A pair of the Hexagon Models are used to review Cloud projects against success criteria; one Hexagon Model focuses on Business Model and the other on IT Services. The UoG case study demonstrates the added value offered by Supply Chain software deployed by private Cloud, where an Oracle suite and SAP supply chain can demonstrate supply chain distribution and is useful for teaching. The evaluation shows that students feel more motivated and can understand their coursework better.


Author(s):  
María del Mar Alonso-Almeida ◽  
José Miguel Rodriguez-Anton

Today, companies are trying to move from an existing linear business model of production to a circular one. This transition is not easy and demands contextual changes beyond the control of the company. Circular economy (CE) pursues closing material flows in productive systems to maximize the utilization of available resources. Thus, different circles to reduce, reuse, recycle, re-manufacture, recover, and recycle are produced along supply chain during the cycle of life of a product. Despite an innovative apparel, little is known about the companies with disruptive business models and supply chain structures that have emerged in the recent years.


2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 995-1017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yogesh Kumar Sharma ◽  
Sachin Kumar Mangla ◽  
Pravin P. Patil ◽  
Shaofeng Liu

Purpose The food organisations are pushing to adopt circular economy initiatives to enhance economic–ecological–social sustainability of supply chains. The adoption of circular economy and sustainability aspects is complex from the point of view of developing nations compared to the developed nations. In this sense, the purpose of this paper is to develop a model of the challenges for implementing the successful circular economy-led sustainability concepts in food supply chains in emerging economies, especially in the Indian context. Design/methodology/approach The authors recognised 11 circular economy-led sustainability-related challenges and analysed appropriate interactions among the identified challenges. The Delphi method was used for the confirmation of identified challenges. The challenges were identified initially with the help of literature. Interpretive structural modelling method was used for modelling the challenges. In addition, MICMAC analysis was used for classifying the challenges based on their dependence and driving power. A case study of diary food processing company in India was conducted. Findings According to the findings, poor government policies, lack of technology and techniques and lack of farmers’ knowledge and awareness come under the driving challenges. Practical implications Understanding of circular economy-led sustainability-related challenges would help managers and policy makers in the sustainable management of natural resources in food value chains. Originality/value This is one of the initial works conducted on identifying and evaluating the challenges to circular economy-based sustainability aspects in food value chains.


Author(s):  
Beniamino Di Martino ◽  
Dario Branco ◽  
Luigi Colucci Cante ◽  
Salvatore Venticinque ◽  
Reinhard Scholten ◽  
...  

AbstractThis paper proposes a semantic framework for Business Model evaluation and its application to a real case study in the context of smart energy and sustainable mobility. It presents an ontology based representation of an original business model and examples of inferential rules for knowledge extraction and automatic population of the ontology. The real case study belongs to the GreenCharge European Project, that in these last years is proposing some original business models to promote sustainable e-mobility plans. An original OWL Ontology contains all relevant Business Model concepts referring to GreenCharge’s domain, including a semantic description of TestCards, survey results and inferential rules.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Phuc Hong Huynh

PurposeDigital innovation and circular business model innovation are two critical enablers of a circular economy. A wide variety of digital technologies such as blockchain, 3D printing, cyber-physical systems, or big data also diverges the applications of digital technologies in circular business models. Given heterogeneous attributes of circular business models and digital technologies, the selections of digital technologies and circular business models might be highly distinctive within and between sectorial contexts. This paper examines digital circular business models in the context of the fashion industry and its multiple actors. This industry as the world’s second polluting industry requires an urgent circular economy (CE) transition with less resource consumption, lower waste emissions and a more stable economy.Design/methodology/approachAn inductive, exploratory multiple-case study method is employed to investigate the ten cases of different sized fashion companies (i.e. large, small medium-sized firm (SME) and startup firms). The comparison across cases is conducted to understand fashion firms' distinct behaviours in adopting various digital circular economy strategies.FindingsThe paper presents three archetypes of digital-based circular business models in the fashion industry: the blockchain-based supply chain model, the service-based model and the pull demand-driven model. Besides incremental innovations, the radical business model and digital innovations as presented in the pull demand-driven model may be crucial to the fashion circular economy transition. The pull demand–driven model may shift the economy from scales to scopes, change the whole process of how the fashion items are forecasted, produced, and used, and reform consumer behaviours. The paths of adopting digital fashion circular business models are also different among large, SMEs and startup fashion firms.Practical implicationsThe study provides business managers with empirical insights on how circular business models (CBMs) should be chosen according to intrinsic business capacities, technological competences and CE strategies. The emerging trends of new fashion markets (e.g. rental, subscription) and consumers' sustainable awareness should be not be neglected. Moreover, besides adopting recycling and reuse strategies, large fashion incumbents consider collaborating with other technology suppliers and startup companies to incubate more radical innovations.Social implicationsAppropriate policies and regulations should be enacted to enable the digital CE transition. Market patterns and consumer acceptances are considered highly challenging to these digital fashion models. A balanced policy on both the demand and supply sides are suggested. The one-side policy may fail CBMs that entail an upside-down collaboration of both producers and consumers. Moreover, it is perhaps time to rethink how to reduce unnecessary new demand rather than repeatedly producing and recycling.Originality/valueThe pace of CE research is lagging far behind the accelerating environmental contamination by the fashion industry. The study aims to narrow the gap between theory and practice to harmonise fashion firms' orchestration and accelerate the transition of the fashion industry towards the CE. This study examines diverse types of digital technologies in different circular business models in a homogeneous context of the fashion industry with heterogeneous firm types.


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