1,721,036 research outputs found
A strategic niche management perspective on transitions to eco-industrial park development: A systematic review of case studies
Full text linkIn recent decades, industrial park (IP) development has been an important practice for regional economic development for various geographies. Eco-industrial park (EIP) development, on the other hand, has been proposed as an alternative, considering environmental problems raised from the high number of agglomerated industries in IPs. Although there are some quite progressive EIP experiences that are globally distributed, IP development remains the mainstream industrial agglomeration model and has not yet experienced a transition into EIP development. The purpose of this article is both to understand and shed some light on how such a transition can be achieved through lessons from the EIP cases in the existing state of the art and to establish a research agenda that would elaborate on sustainability transitions into EIP development. To achieve these aims, a systematic literature review involving a case survey is conducted. A theoretical framework with an evolutionary perspective is developed drawing on EIP literature and strategic niche management (SNM) framework from sustainability transitions research. This connects two streams of research that have not been closely associated in the past. While synthesising 104 EIP cases from 24 countries, three analytical processes of SNM are considered: (i) articulation of expectations and visions, (ii) building of social networks, and (iii) learning activities. This article also discusses the development of local EIP experiments and EIP niche formation at different geographies. Based on this synthesis, policy implications are suggested and research implications are provided, stressing critical and interesting issues that have not yet had an explicit focus in the literature. This article enables cross-fertilisation across globally distributed EIP cases while adding to the critical mass in leveraging EIP development
Managerial practices for designing circular economy business models: The case of an Italian SME in the office supply industry
Full text linkPurpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the managerial practices that companies can implement in order to design a circular economy business model and how companies can create and capture value from a circular economy business model. Design/methodology/approach: The paper adopts a single case study methodology with semi-structured interviews and company, supplier, and manufacturing site visits, conducted in a small-to-medium-size Italian company operating in the office supply industry. Findings: The theoretical setting maps a set of managerial practices for a circular economy business model and sets the research gaps and questions in a research framework designed along three main dimensions: value network, customer value proposition and interface, and managerial commitment. Then, through an empirical analysis, the findings reveal that the proposed dimensions are interdependent and reinforce each other. Moreover, the managerial commitment as moderating factor between the value network and the customer value proposition and interface dimensions is identified as essential for reaching the intended goals of circular economy business models. Research limitations/implications: This study maximizes the depth of the phenomenon under investigation by leveraging a single case study methodology, which ideally helps in a theory-testing approach as in the present case. Future research opportunities could be found in qualitative and quantitative studies to increase the generalizability of the findings of this paper. Practical implications: The paper presents a set of relevant managerial practices for circular economy business models that can be used by managers who have the will to embrace in practice circular economy principles to support the design, change, or upgrade of the business model of companies within which they operate. Originality/value: An interdisciplinary approach that integrates the research streams of circular economy, social psychology, organizational behavior, and business model design has been pursued to test the theoretical setting and the research framework for circular economy business models in a real-world context
The emergence of regional industrial ecosystem niches: A conceptual framework and a case study
Full text linkThe objective of this paper is to understand how industrial symbiosis initiatives can contribute to the emergence of regional industrial ecosystems for sustainability transitions of local industrial production systems. We offer a conceptual framework that integrates industrial ecology literature and strategic niche management perspective from the sustainability transitions research field. The framework provides a conceptual foundation for analysing the individual industrial symbiosis initiatives and their aggregated contribution to the emergence of regional industrial ecosystems. Analytically, we conceptualise two different heuristic levels – the local industrial symbiosis experiments level and the regional industrial ecosystems niche level – which are interlinked through three niche processes. We represent the merits of our conceptualisation through a case study in an empirical setting where we selected a highly industrialised and rarely explored region; namely, the Autonomous Region of Catalonia in Spain. We identify and analyse eight industrial symbiosis initiatives that evolved during 18 years in the region. In the light of our conceptual framework, the results show that interlinked initiatives from the region have been gradually adding up to emerging regional industrial ecosystems. However, the region is still missing a broad regional network with articulated expectations and visions and shared cognitive, formal and normative rules. If emerging regional network provides support and protection for new initiatives, a regional culture change can be realised to achieve sustainability transition of local industrial production systems employing closed industrial production loops. The theoretical contribution of this paper is that we combine two different research streams that have not often learned from each other and we also develop a novel conceptual approach for ex-post evaluation of regional industrial ecosystem development. Moreover, our conceptual framework can be extended as a prescriptive management tool for planning and implementation of industrial symbiosis initiatives in Catalonia as well as in other regions
Enablers and Barriers for Circular Business Models: an empirical analysis in the Italian automotive industry
No full textResearch stream on Circular Business Models has recently emerged within the management research to address the concept of Circular Economy from a business model perspective. Several studies in this stream have identified and analyzed a set of managerial practices that can be adopted by companies to design Circular Business Models. However, current research still falls short to provide a systematic view of the enablers and barriers for the design of Circular Business Models and the adoption of related managerial practices. The paper addresses this research gap in two ways. First, it provides a reference framework of enablers, barriers, and contextual factors affecting the design of Circular Business Models. Second, it presents the results of a survey involving 66 companies operating in the Italian automotive industry, bringing into light the relative importance of the identified enablers, barriers, and contextual factors in this industry. Finally, our research provides practical suggestions and recommendations for properly approaching the design of Circular Business Models in the automotive industry
Investigating the interplay between Circular Economy measurement and Life Cycle Assessment: an explorative analysis
No full textIntegrating Circular Economy Metrics and Life Cycle Assessment: seeking a potential catalyst in corporate practices
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