Abstract
Despite the increasing attention on circular economy at the policy level, the implementation of circular business models in companies is still limited. Many companies are put off by the apparent complexity to translate the general concepts of a circular economy into their business practice. This paper presents the development and testing of a simulation board game that aimed to address this gap between theory and business practice. The board game, Risk&RACE, was developed with the purpose of enabling students and business executives to experiment with circular economy business models. The gameplay was tested with 120 users, and cognitive learning outcomes as well as learning dynamics were assessed using a survey. The results of the game workshops demonstrated that the game advanced the participants’ awareness of the need for a circular economy, their understanding of basic circular economy principles, and their insight in opportunities and challenges of circular business models at the company level. When reflecting on the game as a learning tool, players highlighted its engaging and realistic nature and praised how it stimulated strategic thinking. Complementing the gameplay with a debriefing discussion afterwards encouraged players to reflect upon their newly gained insights, deepening their learning experience.
Highlights
Over the past few years, the concept of circular economy has become an important ambition in European policy strategies, with the objective to keep resource consumption and environmental impacts within planetary boundaries [1] while boosting industrial competitiveness and job creation [2,3,4]
We explored how the strategic, operational, and financial opportunities and challenges of circular economy strategies and circular business models can be conveyed to students and business executives by means of a business simulation game
A review of existing games in the field of circular economy and sustainability [28,37] suggests that these games predominantly focus on the overall resource challenges and sustainability issues that prompt the need for a circular economy, lacking any attention to the operational and financial implications of adopting circular strategies and circular business models at a company level [38]
Summary
Over the past few years, the concept of circular economy has become an important ambition in European policy strategies, with the objective to keep resource consumption and environmental impacts within planetary boundaries [1] while boosting industrial competitiveness and job creation [2,3,4]. While a multitude of successful case studies are reported on inspirational platforms [7,8,9], the implementation of circular business models in practice remains low [10,11]. Circular economy is merely regarded as an approach to improve waste management, focused on increased recycling [12,13,14], while the implementation of more ‘radical’ forms such as reuse, product-service systems, or remanufacturing remains low in practice [15]. Case study research has proven that circular business models help companies to mitigate risks (e.g., reduce resource supply dependence, protect against price volatility), enhance competitiveness (e.g., by differentiating offerings, strengthening customer relations), and accelerate growth (e.g., reducing operating costs and creating additional revenues) [16]
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