Business models for industrial symbiosis: A taxonomy focused on the form of governance

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to propose a taxonomy of industrial symbiosis (IS) business models. Rather than to adopt a firm perspective, we take a system perspective and focus on the governance of the system made up of the firms implementing IS, being the latter considered an important factor influencing firm's competitive advantage. Four extreme IS business models are identified, characterized on the basis of two governance features: (1) need for coordination and (2) centralization of control. For each model, the main characteristics are presented and the main factors influencing firm value creation and value capture discussed. In doing so, our study contributes to clarify how and why firms applying IS practice can gain competitive advantage, a major gap in the current literature. Consequently, we contribute to the practical development of IS, which appears to be still not fully exploited by firms, despite its relevance.

Circular economy business models: The state of research and avenues ahead

“…The governance of the system made up of the firms implementing industrial symbiosis business models; the influence of need for coordination and centralization of control in how firms create and capture value (Fraccascia, Giannoccaro, & Albino, 2019).…”

“…The role of cultural control and long-range planning for communicating circular values (Svensson & Funck, 2019). The governance of the system made up of the firms implementing industrial symbiosis business models; the influence of need for coordination and centralization of control in how firms create and capture value (Fraccascia, Giannoccaro, & Albino, 2019). Redefinition of the components of the business model canvas in the circular economy context (Lewandowski, 2016).…”

Shortcomings of Transforming a Local Circular Economy System through Industrial Symbiosis: A Case Study in Spanish SMEs

“…It should be noted that although they were not asked about the problems of the IP, 43% of the The third group of responses clustered as "resource management" points out a low synchronisation in developing guidelines or procedures for managing resources as well as a high centralisation in logistics, which makes it difficult to support the initiation process for resource partnerships in a potential local circular system [108]. In that regard, finding partners to create value will largely depend on the ability of companies to operate under a model of high coordination and low centralization to overcome this challenge [115].…”

“…Furthermore, participating in inter-organizational relationships between firm units would allow companies to allocate resources for the CE in order to coordinate and encourage cooperation [18,98]. This high need for coordination coupled with a decentralized control of waste to resource exchanges might help in creating value in symbiotic relations to connect all types of organisations to trade wastes and by-products between each other to accelerate the transition towards CE [107,115]. It might appear that a new approach with managerial implications that adopt new organisational designs could help to tackle these challenges [114].…”

A Case Study of Industrial Symbiosis in the Humber Region Using the EPOS Methodology

“…Fraccassia et al and later Magnusson et al [103,104] adopted a firm perspective and proposed archetypes of business models according to who is using the resource (internal, external) and treating it (internal, external), and the possibility to create new products. Fraccassia et al went a step further [105] and proposed a categorisation at the level of the system by considering two parameters: the levels of coordination and the centralisation of control. This systemic approach is suitable for describing IS ecosystems [106], but it remains mainly focused on economic values and does not provide any guidance to help the stakeholders integrating IS aspects in their current business model.…”