Value capture in business ecosystems for municipal solid waste management: Comparison between two local environments

Abstract

The increasing amount of global waste reflects the social, environmental, and economic trajectories of the local environment. This study addresses this multifaceted problem that requires a holistic view with an ecosystem-level perspective on waste. The research objective is to analyze how the waste business ecosystem enables value capture and creation. Thus, this study contributes to the literature by using a business ecosystem approach that acknowledges several stakeholders, value networks, and the social and environmental issues of the local environment. We qualitatively examine the structure and process of value capture in the waste business ecosystem in two different environments, Finland and Sao Paulo metropolitan area, Brazil. We identify the key stakeholders and their roles, as well as contrast the waste business ecosystem between a developing country and a developed country to unveil differences in value networks. The comparative qualitative case study described relies on the interview and observation of multiple stakeholders. Theoretically, this research builds on the business ecosystem literature, value capture and creation literature, and the extant literature on waste business management. As its key result, the study maps two different ecosystems and their value creation and value capture mechanisms. The findings show that notwithstanding the strong role of regulators in both local environments and their business ecosystems, some private companies engage in value capture. However, the process and structure of the value capture differ in the two case studies. We also found that the stakeholders and their roles in the value capture structure and process vary between these two local environments and with regard to collaboration for value creation. In Finland, ecosystem-level value creation is not rare, but in the Sao Paulo metropolitan area, business models are typically single-firm-centric in terms of value creation and capture. The results presented in this paper delineate and structure the waste business ecosystems in both local environments and provide implications for stakeholders by suggesting the value capture trajectories that can be reached. Finally, fruitful avenues for further research are discussed.