Economy Business Models Research Articles

Taxation issues for sharing economic business models

In recent years, the sharing economy has risen rapidly, infiltrating into many fields such as travel, accommodation, medical care, and finance, and has injected new development momentum into these industries. In the shared economy, the sharing of resources not only promotes the flow of social wealth, but also enables idle items to continue to use value and improve resource utilization. The rapid development of the sharing economy brings many benefits, but at the same time, some traditional business models are dying. In China, there is no relevant policy to integrate the economic business model into the scope of tax collection and management. This phenomenon has caused China's tax source. Loss. In response to this problem, this paper studies the taxation of the shared economic business model. Using big data analysis technology as a basic tool, through the analysis of domestic shared economic data, the research on the shared economic business model was completed. Based on the analysis of the status quo of the taxation system of the shared economic business model, the suggestions for perfecting the taxation system of the shared economic business model in China are given, so that the tax collection and management system such as the tax collection concept and the collection and management system can be better adapted. Sharing new requirements for economic development.

A model for the economic assessment of disassembly-line integration in traditional manufacturing processes

Abstract Managing End-of-Life (EoL) products and reintroducing materials and components within the production loop become crucial for guaranteeing the Circular Economy business model. In such a way, the proper management of disassembly process for recovering components and materials from returned EoL products is essential as well as strategic: disassembly is the main gateway of information and can ensure economic returns. This paper aims to provide a model for the economic assessment of the introduction of a manual disassembly line in a traditional and already operating assembly line of manufacturing industries. Therefore, recovered components and materials could directly feed the assembly lines and the recycling processes. The model takes in input probabilistic factors, as products’ characteristics, and provides the operating times and component recovery indicators, as well as allows the sizing of the right number of operators needed in the new disassembly line through the optimisation of the industrial cost. An interesting natural evolution of this study is the development of a model-based simulator, with the aim of providing a user-friendly tool to industrial practitioners to estimate the economic feasibility and convenience of introducing a disassembly line.

Platform economics in logistics

The article works analytically-argumentatively on the question of whether a servitization through the platform economy is looming for logistics. This would be of strategic relevance for companies and public policy because of the enormous importance of the sector for the economy and consumption. The analysis shows that platform economy business models can be interpreted as a new development stage of logistics services. However, it is relevant that the decades-long innovation symbiosis between the IT sector and the logistics sector is dissolving and entering into a competitive relationship. A contest has already begun in which either the established logistics sector can build up the necessary IT competence faster, or the IT sector can build up the necessary logistics competence faster. Strategic decisions by companies and public policy should focus on this contest.

COVID-19 Impact on the Sharing Economy Post-Pandemic

In December 2019, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) was identified and within a month its outbreak was seen across the world, with more than 180 countries being affected. This outbreak resulted in lockdowns and some major precautionary steps to contain the pandemic in various countries. To analyse its effect on the sharing economy model, we will study the two major companies in ride-sharing business and hospitality business – Airbnb and Uber. The approach is to have a comparative study on how the shared economy services helped in the internet community, and its prospects post-pandemic. The study will use the discussions and analyses of interviews collected from various shared economy industrial experts and customers. The paper will also assess the importance of the institutional and government regulation framework to improve the sharing economy business model. The research paper also provides a detailed comparison of companies’ customer responses post-pandemic on the basis of a few parameters, and the frequency of usage of these services.

Концептуальна модель суб’єкту циркулярної економіки в контексті сталого розвитку

The article deals with certain issues of the introduction and functioning of the circular economy, the introduction of which allows you to obtain positive environmental, economic and social effects. It is noted that it is characterized by the emergence of synergistic effects in the conditions of development of ecological and economic systems, which create conditions for their advancement towards a state of sustainable development. A model of the subject of a circular economy in the context of sustainable development, which reflects the transformative essence, wave nature and cyclical nature of economic processes within the framework of the wave-particle concept of the formation of economic behavior, is proposed and analyzed. The model is formulated in accordance with the methodological principles of describing material flows, which are based on the phenomenological assumption that their kinetics is isomorphic to the dynamics of a continuous medium. The presented construct was named “economic dipole”. The model is built in the state space, the coordinates of which characterize the quantitative and qualitative indicators of the studied subject. The model reflects the self-organizing nature of the management of a circular economy entity, the balance between production and consumption and cyclical movement within the framework of such a circular economy business model as resource recovery. It minimizes the cost of resources by increasing the efficiency of production through reverse flows. The adequacy and information content of the model was checked by analyzing the fields of speed and motivation, the connection of which in the context of sustainable development is represented by the equation of maintaining overall motivation, which consists of a motivating and compensating component. It is shown that the subject of the circular economy is more motivated for sustainable development and overcoming the negative consequences of production than for maintaining the existing state, which reflects the key positive effects of introducing a circular economy.

An integrated life cycle assessment approach for denim fabric production using recycled cotton fibers and combined heat and power plant

Due to the increase in consumption and awareness of environmental impacts, switching to new business models has become mandatory in the textile industry. The aim of this study is to investigate the contribution of using mechanically recycled cotton fiber instead of virgin cotton fiber, which is one of the most important raw materials in textiles and grown using a high amount of water and pesticides, and combined heat and power (CHP) plant instead of grid energy in terms of the environmental impacts, cost, and quality of denim fabric product via 8 scenarios using an integrated sustainability assessment approach. The scenarios were identified according to the use of the CHP plant in the manufacturing process and the ratio of recycled cotton fiber used in the product. Environmental impacts were analyzed using the life cycle assessment approach (LCA). Besides the environmental impact analyses, product quality and cost-savings of all scenarios were also examined using TODIM (an acronym in Portuguese for Interactive and Multicriteria Decision Making) method to apply an integrated approach for sustainable denim fabric production. Global warming potential (GWP), acidification potential(AP), eutrophication potential(EP), water use, and cumulative energy demand(CED) were investigated as environmental impact categories in the production of denim fabric. In addition to environmental impact categories washed weight, tear, tensile, and cost-saving were determined as the attributes of TODIM. According to the LCA results, the highest environmental impact improvements were obtained as 98% water use, 90% EP, 74% AP, 63% CED, and 54% GWP for scenario 8 with 100% recycled cotton and CHP plant use. Besides, the use of the CHP plant offered 4% GWP and 0.42% water usage saving regardless of the recycled cotton ratio. In addition, scenario 8 also showed the best performance for the integrated sustainability assessment by TODIM. It is obviously demonstrated that the use of the mechanically recycled cotton as a raw material and CHP plant as an energy source through the manufacturing processes of denim production will facilitate the transfer of traditional linear economy business models of companies to the circular economy.

Understanding the Implementation of Airbnb in Urban Contexts: Towards a Categorization of European Cities

The sharing economy has experienced exponential growth in recent years, especially in the short-term rentals (STRs) tourist accommodation sector. This growth has caused disruptive effects in rural and urban contexts, especially in highly touristic cities. These effects can be both positive and negative, revitalizing certain areas and bringing about tension in the socioeconomic fabric. Today, Airbnb is considered the paradigm of this sharing economy model and the STR industry leader. However, as this study suggests, on many occasions the implementation of Airbnb exhibits more of a traditional economic business model than a collaborative economic business model. Through hierarchical cluster analysis, this study identifies different groups of European cities according to the degree of professionalization of Airbnb implementation in their territory. The goal is to find similar patterns in the Airbnbisation process in major European cities, as the social, economic, and spatial impacts of various typologies are very different and even contrary. By understanding and identifying such different models implemented in each territory, better policies can be informed, and more adapted strategies can be pursued by local governments and the tourism industry.

Circular economy business model innovation: Sectorial patterns within manufacturing companies

The market penetration of business models for circular economy is limited in most manufacturing sectors due to shortcomings in capabilities of companies to execute circular economy business model innovation. Available approaches are still generic and provide limited help for contextualised solutions within sectorial challenges. This paper introduces sectorial business model patterns to support manufacturing companies to reduce complexity and uncertainty within circular economy business model innovation. Based on a multidimensional scaling analysis of more than 180 cases of companies that implemented circular economy business models, a number of sectorial patterns were consolidated for six selected sectors. The patterns prescribe a combination of business models configuration options and architectures for tackling specific sources of structural waste. Testing with manufacturing companies revealed the potential of the sectorial patterns to support: (1) visualisation of viability and feasibility of circular economy business models, which strengthens motivation and arguments for their implementation; and (2) reduction of uncertainties and complexity, which facilitates the exploration of business models with higher impact for circular economy. In addition to providing insights about pattern variations across sectors, a procedure for the development of business model patterns is put forward, which can be expanded to other sectors and/or emerging cases.

Data quality as an antecedent for commercial viability of circular economy business models: a case study

Introduction - The aim of this paper is to explore data quality as an antecedent of commercially viable business models within the circular economy. Australian state governments are developing policies to enable a circular economy. However, in the building industry most data systems rely on self-reporting, which has compromised the accuracy, objectivity, transparency and integrity of data reported on raw materials within components and products. Method - This paper uses a case study to demonstrate how digital data systems that independently track, trace and verify the provenance of inputs of raw materials, components and products, can accurately inform the value of circularity in the built environment. Interviews were conducted with an office furniture supplier who developed a digital system to inform circularity. Also interviewed was a sustainability consultant who assisted, and has since prototyped a digital system designed to accurately enable circular value to be identified in the built environment. Feedback on the design and protype of this proposed system was provided by building industry value-chain stakeholders though a series of seminars and design thinking workshops. Results - Commercial viability of a circular economy model was reliant on a framework of data quality that recorded raw materials, traceability and verification to establish trust: 1) data capturing raw materials within components of products (e.g. metals, melamine and plastics), 2) data tracking of products throughout their life-cycle, and 3) data verifying the authenticity of raw materials and products. This framework of data quality was critical to delivering circularity outcomes for reuse of products, repurposing components, recycling and minimising landfill. Conclusion - This study proposes that data quality is integral to the commercial viability of circular economy business models in the built environment. Data quality in a circular economy means having the digital capability to objectively track, trace and verify the integrity and composition of building materials, products and assemblies throughout their lifecycle.

Circular Economy Business Models with a Focus on Servitization

During the fourth industrial revolution, based on information and communication technology (ICT), service-led growth has been an increasingly important development area. This paper focuses on service-led growth as an innovative business model in the circular economy and offers the ‘product as service model’. A business model needs to be flexibly adjustable for changes in the market in response to changes in technology, the economy, and the environment. For firms facing increasing scarcity of resources, the right business model for using resources is becoming crucial for their growth. In a circular economy, a new method of business modelling is essential. This paper introduces the ‘product as a service model’ using a conceptualized and case study methodology. We illustrate this innovative circular business model through product servitization at the Hyundai Automotive Enterprise in Korea. This business model can be effective because of emerging new ‘smart connected products’ such as the ‘internet of things’ and ‘fifth generation’ network technologies. Cost, convenience, and the circular economy for firms, consumers, and the environment are critical factors in this new business model.

Digital technologies catalyzing business model innovation for circular economy—Multiple case study

Digital technologies have been increasingly argued to enable circular economy business models. However, the extant research is based on conceptual and review studies, leading to a lack of understanding of how digital technologies enable individual firms in real-life settings to improve their resource flows and value creation and capture and thereby enable business model innovation to emerge. In this study, we conducted a multiple case study with interviews and document data from four Northern Europe-based forerunner firms with circular economy business models enabled by digital technologies, providing two key contributions to the extant literature. First, we generate an empirical evidence -based synthesis of improvements of resource flows and value creation and capture in firms’ businesses across industries, highlighting the critical role of knowledge generation. Second, we develop a model of four key types of business model innovation for circular economy catalyzed by digital technologies, varying on incremental and radical improvement to both the resource flows and value creation and capture, providing theoretical insights to both business model innovation and digital technologies in circular economy. For managers, we suggest suitable digital technologies for the key types, highlighting the importance of radical business model innovation catalyzed by data integration and analysis technologies.

Investments to Develop Business Models and Projects in the Circular Economy

The development of a sustainable economy and the efficient use of resources are now playing an increasingly important role in the circular economy. Unlike the linear economy, the economy contributes to keeping the value of products, materials, and resources in the economy as long as possible, while at the same time reducing both waste volume and raw material consumption and their environmental impact. The topicality of the research is illustrated by the limited amount of natural resources, climate change and sustainable economic growth, which is pursued by both countries and companies. It is in the economic interest of society as a whole to use existing resources in the best possible way. In addition, the introduction of the circular economy is expected to open up broad opportunities for economic growth for both businesses and consumers. The transition to a circular economic business model requires investment. Funding can be raised through different types of projects, but there is little or no information available in the public area about where and how to obtain financing for circular economy–related projects and what are the general benefits for the company from environmentally–friendly activities.

Regulatory Developments in the Gig Economy: A Literature Review

The emergence of the gig economy and its rapid growth was anticipated to play a big part in its economy. Despite the enormous benefits, the gig economy business model had also attracted numerous issues in many countries and regions. The research utilized a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) methodology by Snyder for analyzing regulation issues in the gig economy, which was divided into six steps, those were defining the central question, determining databases, using search string to find relevant keywords, extracting data, filtering data, and analyzing the findings to answer to the main question. The SLR results show licensing and misclassifications are the most dominant factors in gig economy, while regulatory issues such as safety, tax, externalities, wage, benefit, privacy, and discrimination area are other factors in it. The most popular platform types that attract regulators are work on demand, asset rental, and crowd-work.

Sharing Economy and Communities Attitudes after COVID-19 Pandemic - Review of Possible Socio-Economic Opportunities

The COVID-19 pandemic and its spillovers have managed to create new types of communities’ attitudes all over the world. This paper explores the pandemic influence on community-focused sharing economy business models. The possible socio-economic opportunities of this outbreak and how it enhances the capacity for communal problems solving through sharing are exploited. The research studies the type of sharing economy models needed from both the experience of the most successful start-ups and the inspiration economy models created using the same mindset. The author then proposes a hybrid socio-economic model that could compensate for the current sharing economy business models that are based mainly on apps and platforms, by more generic one that addresses the new world requirement Post-COVID-19 pandemic and as we enter the new normal. The implication of this research is that it builds new analogy for the opportunities of the variety of cross-cultural contexts that could disrupt many communities status quo and speed up the transformation for a better collaborative world.

‘Do not talk to strangers’: A study on trust in Brazilian ridesharing apps

The emergence of digital platforms based on network algorithms can mediate relationships of trust, boosting sharing economy business models. This study aims to identify the motivations and trust elements of ridesharing apps and analyze the weight of motivation variables in the explanation of trust in the platform service. The survey method was applied to a sample of 485 Brazilian users of a ridesharing app were addressed. Five factors were analyzed to users’ motivation: Perceived sustainability, Security risks, Enjoyment, Platform quality, and Economic reward. Results show that 50.6% of respondents use the service until three times per month (n = 246), while 12,6% use more than four times per week. This study contributes by showing that: (i) five key user motives and two types of trusts are empirically measured and examined for the Brazilian ridesharing market; (ii) the most significant variable that explains trust in platform is “Information providing”, following by platform safety and platform security; (iii) pleasant participation, enjoyment, and cheaper alternative were also significant for the trust in the platform; and (iv) trust in platform is higher than trust in drivers. These contributions could enhance applied solutions for sharing economy platforms and guide academic research on the topic.

Managing intellectual capital for sustainability: Evidence from a Re-municipalized, publicly owned waste management firm

In response to the call for new studies on the so-called fifth stage of intellectual capital (IC), this study has two main goals. First, it aims to explore how IC affects sustainability in a triple bottom line perspective, namely, the joint and synergic achievement of economic, social, and environmental results in the waste management sector. Second, this study aims to understand how (private vs. public) ownership affects the IC–sustainability relationship. After carrying out a qualitative study on an Italian waste management firm with a strong sustainability orientation and a circular economy business model, we find first, that, IC contributes to the triple bottom line performance to the extent that the commitment to sustainability is integrated into the full range of governance and managerial processes, including those involving IC. Second, we find that stakeholders’ proactive involvement in IC processes is crucial to develop, exploit, and then replicate and scale sustainable business models. Third, we conclude that public ownership is more suitable than private ownership for directing IC processes toward sustainable performance, owing to lower pressure on profits and dividends, willingness to invest with delayed returns, and stronger relationships with the community.

Circular Economy Business Model Practices: A Multi-Tiered Supply Chain Perspective

The growing awareness of circular economy (CE) and circular economy business model (CEBM) has pushed scholars to consider its organizational role in the field of supply chain management. Implementing CEBMs requires a paradigm shift when moving from a traditional supply chain to a sustainable supply chain. Although studies have unearthed important aspects of CE applications, they have limited suggestions about CE’s applicability, more specifically, how it works in a multi-tiered supply chain. Hence, this study aims to address this glaring gap in literature about firms’ rationale and involved complexities of implementing CEBM in a multi-tier and multi-industry supply chain using qualitative multi-case approach. Data were collected primarily by interviewing officers (i.e., sustainability managers, plant managers, purchasing managers and supply chain managers) of the participating firms. Findings suggest that firms’ practice CEBMs as “core business” and “part of sub-systems”. Further, the rationale and complexities of CEBM practices vary based on their positions in the supply chain.

From theory to practice: systematising and testing business model archetypes for circular economy

A number of archetypes exist to describe potential business models for circular economy, but the majority of them lack validation in practice. Although diversity is natural for an emerging field such as circular economy, building consensus of terminology and archetypes is important to achieve a shared discourse, which is fundamental for the implementation of business models. By reviewing academic and practical literature, this article systematises twenty archetypes of business models for circular economy, according to a framework focused on downstream and upstream architecture, and the type of value delivered, created or captured. Additionally, it proposes a way to evaluate the application of the archetypes in practice, through a deck of cards to support companies in identifying opportunities, generating ideas, and prioritising business models for circular economy. The application of the archetype cards in six manufacturing companies resulted in four key findings: (i) existing archetypes hold a reductionist approach with limited attention to the downstream value logic; (ii) the archetypes’ application in practice requires sectorial contextualisation, harmonisation of the abstraction level and standardisation of archetypes’ structure; (iii) there was a lack of detailed guidelines for archetype selection and combination; and (iv) the action research approach enables the exploration of radical innovation for circular economy business models.

Reducing e-waste in China's mobile electronics industry: the application of the innovative circular business models

PurposeThe objectives of this research are to (1) fill the evidence gap of circular business activities and (2) enrich the knowledge base about the drivers of and barriers to circular economy business model (CEBM) that supports e-waste reduction in China’s mobile electronics industry. To answer the overarching research question of whether there are CEBMs emerging to address e-waste in China’ mobile electronics industry, we in this paper divided it into three sub-questions: (1) What CEBMs can support e-waste reduction? (2) Is there evidence for their implementation in China? and (3) What are the drivers of and barriers to these business model innovations?Design/methodology/approachWe started with setting the scene on the importance of better e-waste management and the scale of e-waste problem in China. Building on the oft-quoted ReSOLVE framework, developed by EMF (2015) and consolidated in Lewandowski (2016), we have refined from it 11 CEBMs to suit the context of e-waste reduction. These 11 models include regenerate, life cycle extension, take-back services, product sharing systems, optimise resource value, produce on demand, circular supplies, resource recovery, industrial symbiosis, product-as-a-service and transformative innovation. We have mapped these refined models against the evidence of circular business practices identified in the corporate sustainability reports of eight out of top 12 mobile electronics manufacturers in China.FindingsOur research findings show that six out of these 11 CEBMs are de facto practised in many of these companies. They include life cycle extension, collection services, optimise resource value, circular supplies, resource recovery and industrial symbiosis, although circular economy is still early-stage endeavours in the industry. As confirmed in our expert and company interviews, CEBM stems largely from profit and policy drivers. The key to building successful CEBMs to eliminate e-waste is, indeed, multi-stakeholder collaboration across the mobile electronics industry, which involves effective collection, reuse and recycling systems.Originality/valueThe lessons learnt can promote peer learning among EEE manufacturers and inform policymakers of effective strategies to create an enabling environment in which circular economy models can thrive.

Characterizing the stocks, flows, and carbon impact of dockless sharing bikes in China

The booming dockless sharing bikes (DSBs) in China, as a new sharing economy business model, have attracted increasing public and academic attention after 2015. The impact of DSBs development on the stocks and flows of bikes and the resource and climate consequences of short-lived DSBs, however, remain poorly understood. In this study, we characterized the stocks and flows of both DSBs and regular private bikes in China from 1950 to 2020 and evaluated the carbon cost and benefit of booming DSBs. We found China's bike consumption and stock decreased slightly after a fast development from the late 1970s and then a peak in the mid-1990s, resulting in a relatively low ownership of approximately 0.3 unit per person and 70% of production being exported in recent years. Despite a temporal boost, the unsustainable development of DSBs may affect the bike industry in the long term, because of its skyrocketing market share (from less than 1% to 80%) and short lifetime. Nevertheless, DSBs development still leads to an overall climate gain in China, due to its higher stock efficiency and potentials to substitute more carbon intensive trips. We suggest an urgent need for more empirical studies on the use (e.g., substitution ratio for other transportation models) of DSBs in China and a necessity for better management of DSB development with efforts of all relevant stakeholders.