Abstract
Widespread adoption of sustainable and circular business models is required to accelerate the transition to a more sustainable society, however, the literature supporting the process of Business Model Innovation for the Circular Economy - or Circular Business Model Innovation (CBMI) - is currently emerging. Several publications on this field have been published since 2014, nevertheless, there is still a lack of understanding on the process of CBMI, particularly for incumbent firms; and, as most of the literature is theoretical, further empirical insights are required. Furthermore, there is a need for an updated and comprehensive review of this fast-paced field, and a need to further integrate the CBMI field with the conventional Business Model Innovation (BMI) domain. The present research aims to first, map and frame the field of CBMI, building upon the structure of the conventional BMI field; second, to assess the current state of research of the field, proposing a future research agenda; and third, to explore the most relevant elements of the CBMI process in the practice. The article uses a combined literature and multiple case study approach. It begins by synthesizing a BMI framework, which is then combined with the findings of a systematic literature review (n=84) on the emergent CBMI field, to propose an original framework that structures the field. The review includes an assessment per article on the state-of-research. The framework is then illustrated through a multiple case study on ten incumbent firms that have implemented a substantial CBMI, revealing which topics are more relevant from a practice perspective and offering valuable empirical insights. We suggest that future research should prioritize those topics that are very important from the practice and still un- or under-researched in the CBMI field (i.e. organizational culture and structure as moderators of the CBMI change process, sustainability strategy as an antecedent of CBMI and top management role as key elements of the CBMI process) and to those identified as important though under-researched (i.e. organizational change management as a key element of the CBMI process; organizational inertia, ambidexterity and CBMI uncertainties as moderators of the CBMI process; and systemic change as an effect of the CBMI). The literature on Sustainable BMI is integrated to propose contributions to the identified gaps. This research contributes by framing and assessing the field of CBMI, proposing a future research agenda, providing a detailed literature state-of-research assessment and by further integrating CBMI with the conventional BMI field.
Highlights
Unsustainable patterns of production and consumption are pushing the economy beyond natural planetary boundaries (Steffen et al, 2015) risking the ability of future generations to sat-T
The contrast of literature and practice allowed to identify the topics that should be prioritized in future research, though acknowledging the close relation of Circular Business Model Innovation (CBMI) with Sustainable Business Model Innovation (SBMI) and conventional Business Model Innovation (BMI), in the discussion section we reflect on how the SBMI and BMI literature could aid in closing the initially identified CBMI research gaps, refining the research agenda proposal
Broader implementation of sustainable and circular business models is necessary for the transition towards a sustainable future, the literature on CBMI has recently emerged
Summary
Unsustainable patterns of production and consumption are pushing the economy beyond natural planetary boundaries (Steffen et al, 2015) risking the ability of future generations to sat-T. Unsustainable patterns of production and consumption are pushing the economy beyond natural planetary boundaries (Steffen et al, 2015) risking the ability of future generations to sat-. Circular Business Model Innovation (CBMI) is a particular type of SBMI, one which aligns with the principles of Circular Economy (CE) (Geissdoerfer et al, 2018b; Guldmann and Huulgaard, 2019). CBMI is a complex innovation challenge (Bocken et al, 2018b; Guldmann and Huulgaard, 2019), which requires firms to enter an unknown terrain that involves changing the key building blocks of their business and to navigate against dominant business paradigms (Bocken et al, 2019b), a process under-explored in the literature (Evans et al, 2017; Frishammar and Parida, 2018; Govindan and Hasanagic, 2018; Urbinati et al, 2017). A Please provide a general description of the CBMI initiative and how it is aligned with the principles of CE.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have