scholarly journals Innovative Circular Business Models: A Case from the Italian Fashion Industry

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Tortora ◽  
Giuseppe Tortora
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Fashion Industry ◽  
Agenda 2030 ◽  
Global Movement ◽  
Energy And Material Flows

Transition to a sustainable economy signed by a circular vision and culture asks firms for huge investments to innovate their own management, strategies, business models, products, and marketing approaches. The Agenda 2030 and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) are an important framework for businesses to change their approach and contribute positively to the global movement to fight climate change. The question is what and how micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMES) can contribute to reduce their impacts while creating more value for them and their stakeholders. This paper aims to answer to this question presenting a case study from Italy where an artisan small firm is innovating to create more positive impacts in circular terms. The focus will be on circular economy and the firms’ material and energy strategies. In doing so, the paper will try to answer the following questions: how easy is for micro and small firms to apply circular economy strategies to contribute to reduce their environmental impacts? Does their strategy coherently compose energy and material flows? The case study will refer to the fashion system in Italy.

scholarly journals Drivers to implement the circular economy in born-sustainable business models: a case study in the fashion industry

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina M. Ostermann ◽  
Leandro da Silva Nascimento ◽  
Fernanda Kalil Steinbruch ◽  
Daniela Callegaro-de-Menezes
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Fashion Industry ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Theoretical Scheme ◽  
Available Technology ◽  
Internal Drivers

PurposeThis study aims to identify the drivers for adopting the circular economy (CE) in a born-sustainable business of the fashion sector.Design/methodology/approachAn exploratory case study was carried out with a unique and relevant case: the only Brazilian company implementing circularity practices defined through a sectoral commitment, the 2020 Circular Fashion System Commitment.FindingsFrom an analysis of the literature, a theoretical scheme composed of internal and external drivers is proposed. In the case studied, there is a prevalence of internal drivers that led the company to implement the CE. Most of the internal drivers described by the literature were identified in this research, except for two: profitability and available technology. Regarding the external drivers, of the 12 listed, only laws and regulations were identified. Thus, the results suggest that internal drivers are more numerous and may be more prominent than external ones for CE adoption in the born-sustainable business.Research limitations/implicationsDue to its exploratory design and unique case study, the research does not allow generalizations, suggesting replication with a larger number of companies and carrying out quantitative research with born-sustainable companies and incumbent companies, for comparison. Considering that there is a difference between companies that decide for sustainable practices and companies that were already born sustainable, it can be questioned if the drivers for implementing CE for both companies are also different.Originality/valueThis study proposes a theoretical scheme that indicates the main internal and external drivers for companies' CE implementation. Developed from a literature review and applied in an empirical case, this scheme is comprehensive and can be adopted to analyze companies of different sizes and industries. Hence, this paper generates new perspectives for CE literature.

scholarly journals The enablers in the relationship between entrepreneurial ecosystems and the circular economy: the case of circularity.com

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone Pizzi ◽  
Rossella Leopizzi ◽  
Andrea Caputo
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Theoretical Development ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Entrepreneurial Ecosystems ◽  
Holistic Understanding

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the evolutionary pathways adopted by a digital platform to favor the development of an entrepreneurial ecosystem inspired by circular economy behaviors, becoming an enabler in the development of a coevolutionary relationship between entrepreneurial ecosystems and circular economy.Design/methodology/approachAn in-depth single-case study method has been applied, investigating the case of circularity.com, the first and only circular economy industrial symbiosis platform in Italy.FindingsThe paper shows how digital platforms can transition towards circular business models, particularly for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Moreover, the findings show how sustainable platforms' need to revise their business models to effectively engage with stakeholders. The analysis also shows the central role covered by entrepreneurial ecosystems in the transition towards a more circular and sustainable business models.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to theoretical development by offering new and insightful explanations of firms' behavior and coevolution, moving beyond the classic interpretation of industry dynamics and analyzing a unique case study. This study has implications for both practice and research, as it offers a better and more holistic understanding of the enabling role of digital platforms for a circular economy.

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 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.

“Enabling circular business models in the fashion industry: the role of digital innovation”

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Phuc Hong Huynh
Keyword(s):  
Business Model ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Chain Model ◽  
Fashion Industry ◽  
Digital Innovation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Radical Innovations

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.

CIRCULAR ECONOMY DRIVEN INNOVATIONS WITHIN BUSINESS MODELS OF RURAL SMEs

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 520 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inga Uvarova ◽  
Dzintra Atstaja ◽  
Alise Vitola
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Data Gathering ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Efficient Production ◽  
Theory Approach ◽  
New Business ◽  
Limited Scale ◽  
Grounded Theory Approach

The competitiveness of rural SMEs is low due to economic inefficiency and the lack of innovations. The main challenges faced by rural SMEs are the limited scale, the distance form larger sales markets, R&D and business support institutions, and the lack of innovative spirit. The circular and bio-economies are shaping the rural SMEs towards the environmentally friendly and eco-efficient production, the minimization of the generation of waste and less use of natural resources. This potential of the adoption of new business models within rural SMEs is not fully observed.The aim of this research is to analyse the opportunities of rural SMEs in introducing the innovative business models driven by the circular economy. This research explores the innovative business models of rural SMEs that transform the environmental challenges in business opportunities and keep a balance with the growing consumption needs. The results of the research are of both theoretical and practical value, providing recommendations for facilitation of innovative business models within rural SMEs. The research methods: desk research, statistical analysis, a grounded theory approach, case study, primary data gathering through seven focus groups with more than 200 stakeholders from six European countries.  

scholarly journals Fashion Technology and the Development of New Business Models

2017 ◽  
pp. 174-210
Author(s):  
Raphayela Belém Schluep
Keyword(s):  
Technological Innovation ◽  
Business Models ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Business Model Innovation ◽  
Fashion Industry ◽  
New Business ◽  
Multiple Case ◽  
Complex Extension ◽  
New Business Models

This chapter explores the concept and components of business models and particularly, the technological innovation of predominant business models in the fashion industry associated with the phenomenon of convergence. The main inquiry revolves around how business models in the fashion industry are handling the ongoing challenges and changes of new technologies. This multiple-case study validates that technological convergence is the key to accomplishing business model innovation in the fashion industry. Limitations and further research are considered relevant because of the dynamic and complex extension of this topic and the current lack of published material.

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