Abstract
Currently, the European Union is promoting the circular economy, a change that involves moving the foundations of actual economies toward the most sustainable production and consumption periods, in which the reuse of resources predominates, mainly through recycling, reuse, and reduction, among other strategies. This study, through the application of institutional theory, analyzes the role that institutional pressure has in the diffusion and adoption of the circular economy from the state to the regions inside through coercive, normative, and mimetic pressures. A matrix of institutional positioning was developed that analyzes the number and diversity of circular economy initiatives. The results show that coercive pressure followed by mimetic pressure are the most relevant in explaining the development of the circular economy in Spain in relation to the closest other European countries in Southern Europe, while there is low normative pressure. The results obtained provide relevant information on how to accelerate the development of the circular economy throughout the European Union through the adequate exercise of different types of institutional pressure.
Highlights
There is no doubt that the circular economy (CE) is becoming a new economic model that will gradually displace the traditional model of linear economy based on the extraction of raw materials, manufacturing—with the necessary use of energy factors, consumption of goods produced, and disposal of materials that have become obsolete or that have lost properties or capacity for use
This study explores the dimensions of institutional pressure—coercive pressures, normative pressures and mimetic pressures—and their influence on the circular economy in geographical areas, which enriches the literature on the preconditions of the circular economy and offers a holistic view of the drivers of the circular economy that prior studies have failed to obtain
Following the recommendations issued by the European Commission and the directives of the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union (EU) relating to the CE, Spain has assumed its commitment to the development of the CE and based on a joint function between several ministries
Summary
There is no doubt that the circular economy (CE) is becoming a new economic model that will gradually displace the traditional model of linear economy based on the extraction of raw materials, manufacturing—with the necessary use of energy factors, consumption of goods produced, and disposal of materials that have become obsolete or that have lost properties or capacity for use. This topic is quite recent; the first article was published in 2006. In Europe the research is primarily focused on Northern and Central Europe with very scarce research on Southern Europe [1].
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