Drivers and barriers of circular economy business models: Where we are now, and where we are heading

Hina, Maryam; Chauhan, Chetna; Kaur, Puneet; Kraus, Sascha; Dhir, Amandeep

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.130049

Cited by 185 publications

(160 citation statements)

References 145 publications

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“…(Hina et al, 2022, p. 8). Internal drivers can be divided into organisational, resource availability and optimisation, financial, product design and process development drivers (Hina et al, 2022).…”

Section: Theoretical Background: From Circular Economy To Circular Bu...mentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of internal company dynamics on sustainable circular business development: Insights from circular startups

2022

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The circular economy is commonly acknowledged as a solution to ecological problems such as resource depletion and waste emissions. New economic opportunities emerge by transitioning from a linear to a circular economy and innovative business models are needed to translate these opportunities into business reality. In recent years, researchers have investigated a variety of approaches to circular business models, but few studies have been conducted associating internal company dynamics with sustainable circular business approaches. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to investigate the internal dynamics of young and small-scale companies in Germany that adopt a sustainable circular business model. This study focuses on internal barriers, enablers, competences and drivers to sustainable circular business model implementation. A case-based research design was applied, drawing on semi-structured interviews with 12 founders of businesses and organisations with a sustainable circular business model. The study develops four strategies to overcome barriers to sustainable circular business model adoption in young and small-scale companies: (1) humancenteredness in all activities affected by circular business model adoption, (2) high commitment for circularity on the managerial level, (3) requirement of special skills and competences and (4) consideration of cultural aspects inside and outside the company. Further empirical research about established and international incumbents with a sustainable circular business model is needed to be able to compare the internal dynamics of big and small companies in international contexts.

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Section: Theoretical Background: From Circular Economy To Circular Bu...mentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of internal company dynamics on sustainable circular business development: Insights from circular startups

2022

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“…Research within CE scope has received increasing attention from scholars, as evidenced by reviews addressing different perspectives in recent years. These reviews comprise studies analysing CE and issues as CE concept (Homrich et al, 2018; Kirchherr et al, 2017; Prieto‐Sandoval, Jaca, & Ormazabal, 2018), business models (Centobelli et al, 2021; Hina et al, 2021; Pieroni et al, 2019a), innovation (de Jesus et al, 2019; de Jesus & Mendonça, 2018; Suchek et al, 2021), industry 4.0 (Agrawal et al, 2021; Awan et al, 2021; Dantas et al, 2021; Rosa et al, 2020), supply chains (MahmoumGonbadi et al, 2021; Masi et al, 2017), and others. However, Hofstetter et al (2021) noted that CE research is still fragmented, and a particular challenge in researching CE from a business or economic perspective is that circular economies are largely nonexistent, although there are examples of regional industrial symbiosis or internal company configurations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of entrepreneurship and circular economy research: State of the art and future directions

2022

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The circular economy (CE) emerged as an alternative model to the linear system to foster sustainable development. Entrepreneurship represents a key factor in capturing new circular business opportunities. Research on circular entrepreneurship remains at an early phase and is correspondingly somewhat dispersed. Thus, the research objective here is to bring entrepreneurship into the focus of discussions on CE through a systematic literature review. In the absence of any systematic review on this theme, this work aims to map the relevant research and identify the themes discussed in the literature straddling entrepreneurship and the CE currently dispersed across the existing literature. Based on a sample of 102 articles collected from the Scopus and Web of Science databases, this approach identified four thematic groups: growing circular SMEs, born circular firms and start-ups, social entrepreneurship in CE, and support ecosystem for circular entrepreneurship. A greater emphasis on the study of growing circular SMEs to the detriment of other groups is observed. Also, research in the field is mainly focused on European countries. We then propose a future research agenda and a conceptual model for the entrepreneurial process in CE as a point of departure for further developing and deepening the literature on circular entrepreneurship.

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“…In this way, it is representative of a new logic and improved steps in circular thinking. The analysis of 126 studies on thematic research areas of circular economy by Hina et al indicated that “time, manager’s interest, information and employees’ awareness have been recognized as resources for Circular Economy Business Model implementation” ([ 83 ], p. 11), a gap in knowledge about which the authors recommended be addressed. Based on the findings from our study, we suggest that the application and utilization of the CDMT in practice might be one answer to address this gap by increasing information exchange, aligning values, and raising awareness about the highest-quality contributions to a circular economy.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Circular Decision-Making Tree: an Operational Framework

2022

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Because of the need to limit extraction of raw materials and reduce amounts and impacts of waste, countries and businesses are challenged to transition to a circular economy: an economic system in which the materials are reduced, reused, or recycled, but not wasted. Yet, transitioning from a linear to a circular economy implies societal-level, structural changes that have deep implications for existing business models and practices–and the current economic system is still largely organized around virgin material extraction and linear modes of production and consumption. Despite stated ambitions at various geographical scales to become more or fully circular, the outcomes still fall short of such visions. One important reason why the transition towards a circular economy is not proceeding as quickly as hoped can be found in the decision processes used by companies, investors, and policy makers. Suitable frameworks that support decision-making could thus be a key enabler of this transition, if based upon a circular and transformative, rather than a linear optimization logic. In this paper, we therefore explore a different decision-making logic that is developed based on circularity. This provides the basis for an operational framework designed to help decision-makers such as policymakers, investors, and entrepreneurs navigate tradeoffs and take decisions considering the quality of innovation circularity and its respective diffusion potential. To develop, test, and refine our framework—the “Circular Decision-Making Tree”—we synthesized insights from existing frameworks and conceptually integrated these with our understanding of transition theory and the circular economy. We then verified the internal logics and applicability of the framework in a series of usability workshops across four application contexts (Netherlands, Brazil, UK, and South Africa) with feedback from a total of n = 50 stakeholders from policy, practice, and academia. We critically discuss the application potential as well as the limitations and describe implications for future research to further validate the framework’s logics and operationalization.

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Drivers and barriers of circular economy business models: Where we are now, and where we are heading

Cited by 185 publications

References 145 publications

The impact of internal company dynamics on sustainable circular business development: Insights from circular startups

The impact of internal company dynamics on sustainable circular business development: Insights from circular startups

A review of entrepreneurship and circular economy research: State of the art and future directions

The Circular Decision-Making Tree: an Operational Framework

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