How industrial symbiosis emerges through partnerships: actors, platforms, and stakeholder processes leading to collaborative business models in port industrial areas

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The present paper explores how industrial symbiosis emergence unfolds within port industrial areas. A multiple case study shows how industrial symbiosis emerges through partnering and stakeholder processes that take the form of collaborative business models. Focusing on actors, platforms for collaboration, and content of stakeholder processes, the study identifies drivers for industrial symbiosis emergence, including the importance of geographical proximity and agglomeration, which identify port industrial areas as natural habitats for industrial symbiosis. A defining characteristic of industrial symbiosis emergence within port industrial areas is the collective effort of actors to bridge economic, environmental, and social objectives across private and public sectors. Finally, the paper suggests that future research on industrial symbiosis and the emergence thereof within port industrial areas may benefit from insights into corporate social responsibility and the emerging field of servitisation.