IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i10p8212-d1149980.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Transition to a Circular Economy in Europe through New Business Models: Barriers, Drivers, and Policy Making

Author

Listed:
  • Gabi Försterling

    (Boozt, 215 37 Malmö, Sweden)

  • Ronald Orth

    (Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology IPK, 10587 Berlin, Germany)

  • Benjamin Gellert

    (Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology IPK, 10587 Berlin, Germany)

Abstract

In recent years, because of global challenges resulting from increased resource shortages and the climate crisis, interest in and the commitment to transition to a more sustainable economic system, especially a circular economy, has increased among scientists, politicians, and practitioners in Europe. To create a system that maintains the value of products as long as possible and minimizes waste, new business models, so-called circular business models (CBMs), are required. So far, as a result of far-reaching barriers, no breakthrough regarding CBMs has been observed and there are a lack of comprehensive analyses on the barriers and drivers of CBMs. Using a systematic literature analysis, this gap was filled and 637 barriers and 394 drivers were extracted from 76 publications, which were categorized into eight areas and synthesized in a comprehensive framework. The results show that an undifferentiated analysis of CBMs could result in incorrect assumptions, as the barriers between them differ. Overall, however, the most significant effect on all CBMs is from external barriers at a macro level. In this paper, drivers, in the form of success factors and political measures, were assigned to concrete barriers, indicating that policy interventions are needed in Europe in order to overcome these barriers and accelerate systematic change. The article provides research, policy, and practice with a theoretically grounded basis for analyzing these barriers and overcoming them.

Suggested Citation

  • Gabi Försterling & Ronald Orth & Benjamin Gellert, 2023. "Transition to a Circular Economy in Europe through New Business Models: Barriers, Drivers, and Policy Making," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-40, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:10:p:8212-:d:1149980
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/10/8212/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/10/8212/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Vasileios Rizos & Arno Behrens & Wytze Van der Gaast & Erwin Hofman & Anastasia Ioannou & Terri Kafyeke & Alexandros Flamos & Roberto Rinaldi & Sotiris Papadelis & Martin Hirschnitz-Garbers & Corrado , 2016. "Implementation of Circular Economy Business Models by Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs): Barriers and Enablers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(11), pages 1-18, November.
    2. Barnes, Stuart J. & Mattsson, Jan, 2016. "Understanding current and future issues in collaborative consumption: A four-stage Delphi study," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 200-211.
    3. Fenna Blomsma & Geraldine Brennan, 2017. "The Emergence of Circular Economy: A New Framing Around Prolonging Resource Productivity," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 21(3), pages 603-614, June.
    4. D'Amato, Dalia & Veijonaho, Simo & Toppinen, Anne, 2020. "Towards sustainability? Forest-based circular bioeconomy business models in Finnish SMEs," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    5. Aid, Graham & Eklund, Mats & Anderberg, Stefan & Baas, Leenard, 2017. "Expanding roles for the Swedish waste management sector in inter-organizational resource management," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 85-97.
    6. de Jesus, Ana & Mendonça, Sandro, 2018. "Lost in Transition? Drivers and Barriers in the Eco-innovation Road to the Circular Economy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 75-89.
    7. Kirchherr, Julian & Piscicelli, Laura & Bour, Ruben & Kostense-Smit, Erica & Muller, Jennifer & Huibrechtse-Truijens, Anne & Hekkert, Marko, 2018. "Barriers to the Circular Economy: Evidence From the European Union (EU)," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 264-272.
    8. Patricia van Loon & Luk N. Van Wassenhove, 2020. "Transition to the circular economy: the story of four case companies," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(11), pages 3415-3422, June.
    9. Alan Murray & Keith Skene & Kathryn Haynes, 2017. "The Circular Economy: An Interdisciplinary Exploration of the Concept and Application in a Global Context," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 140(3), pages 369-380, February.
    10. Silvia Cantele & Sara Moggi & Bettina Campedelli, 2020. "Spreading Sustainability Innovation through the Co-Evolution of Sustainable Business Models and Partnerships," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-19, February.
    11. Kirchherr, Julian & Reike, Denise & Hekkert, Marko, 2017. "Conceptualizing the circular economy: An analysis of 114 definitions," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 221-232.
    12. Wim Coreynen & Paul Matthyssens & Roel De Rijck & Ivo Dewit, 2018. "Internal levers for servitization: How product-oriented manufacturers can upscale product-service systems," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(6), pages 2184-2198, March.
    13. Marcus Linder & Mats Williander, 2017. "Circular Business Model Innovation: Inherent Uncertainties," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(2), pages 182-196, February.
    14. Mateusz Lewandowski, 2016. "Designing the Business Models for Circular Economy—Towards the Conceptual Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-28, January.
    15. Pejvak Oghazi & Rana Mostaghel, 2018. "Circular Business Model Challenges and Lessons Learned—An Industrial Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-19, March.
    16. Gianmarco Bressanelli & Marco Perona & Nicola Saccani, 2019. "Challenges in supply chain redesign for the Circular Economy: a literature review and a multiple case study," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(23), pages 7395-7422, December.
    17. Olga Fedotkina & Elena Gorbashko & Natalia Vatolkina, 2019. "Circular Economy in Russia: Drivers and Barriers for Waste Management Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-21, October.
    18. Patrick Schroeder & Kartika Anggraeni & Uwe Weber, 2019. "The Relevance of Circular Economy Practices to the Sustainable Development Goals," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 23(1), pages 77-95, February.
    19. Antonella Zucchella & Pietro Previtali, 2019. "Circular business models for sustainable development: A “waste is food” restorative ecosystem," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 274-285, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Garcia-del-Real, Jose & Alcaráz, Manuel, 2024. "Unlocking the future of space resource management through satellite remote sensing and AI integration," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yamoah, Fred A. & Sivarajah, Uthayasankar & Mahroof, Kamran & Peña, Iker González, 2022. "Demystifying corporate inertia towards transition to circular economy: A management frame of reference," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 244(C).
    2. Animesh Ghosh & Prabha Bhola & Uthayasankar Sivarajah, 2022. "Emerging Associates of the Circular Economy: Analysing Interactions and Trends by a Mixed Methods Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-41, August.
    3. Maryam Hina & Chetna Chauhan & Rajat Sharma & Amandeep Dhir, 2023. "Circular economy business models as pillars of sustainability: Where are we now, and where are we heading?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(8), pages 6182-6209, December.
    4. German Arana‐Landin & Waleska Sigüenza & Beñat Landeta‐Manzano & Iker Laskurain‐Iturbe, 2024. "Circular economy: On the road to ISO 59000 family of standards," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(3), pages 1977-2009, May.
    5. Gilbert Silvius & Aydan Ismayilova & Vicente Sales-Vivó & Micol Costi, 2021. "Exploring Barriers for Circularity in the EU Furniture Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-25, October.
    6. Chembessi Chedrak & Gohoungodji Paulin & Juste Rajaonson, 2023. "“A fine wine, better with age”: Circular economy historical roots and influential publications: A bibliometric analysis using Reference Publication Year Spectroscopy (RPYS)," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 27(6), pages 1593-1612, December.
    7. Nallapaneni Manoj Kumar & Shauhrat S. Chopra, 2022. "Leveraging Blockchain and Smart Contract Technologies to Overcome Circular Economy Implementation Challenges," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-18, August.
    8. Ipek Kazancoglu & Yigit Kazancoglu & Emel Yarimoglu & Aysun Kahraman, 2020. "A conceptual framework for barriers of circular supply chains for sustainability in the textile industry," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(5), pages 1477-1492, September.
    9. Hervé Corvellec & Alison F. Stowell & Nils Johansson, 2022. "Critiques of the circular economy," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 26(2), pages 421-432, April.
    10. Corinna Vera Hedwig Schmidt & Bastian Kindermann & Cassian Felix Behlau & Tessa Christina Flatten, 2021. "Understanding the effect of market orientation on circular economy practices: The mediating role of closed‐loop orientation in German SMEs," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(8), pages 4171-4187, December.
    11. Ingvild Reine Assmann & Francesco Rosati & Sandra Naomi Morioka, 2023. "Determinants of circular business model adoption—A systematic literature review," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(8), pages 6008-6028, December.
    12. Omar Alhawari & Usama Awan & M. Khurrum S. Bhutta & M. Ali Ülkü, 2021. "Insights from Circular Economy Literature: A Review of Extant Definitions and Unravelling Paths to Future Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-22, January.
    13. Pina Puntillo, 2023. "Circular economy business models: Towards achieving sustainable development goals in the waste management sector—Empirical evidence and theoretical implications," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(2), pages 941-954, March.
    14. D. D’Amato, 2021. "Sustainability Narratives as Transformative Solution Pathways: Zooming in on the Circular Economy," Circular Economy and Sustainability, Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 231-242, June.
    15. Antonella Zucchella & Pietro Previtali & Roger Strange, 2022. "Proactive and reactive views in the transition towards circular business models. A grounded study in the plastic packaging industry," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 1073-1102, September.
    16. Fabio A. Madau & Brunella Arru & Roberto Furesi & Pietro Pulina, 2020. "Insect Farming for Feed and Food Production from a Circular Business Model Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-15, July.
    17. Marcos Ferasso & Tatiana Beliaeva & Sascha Kraus & Thomas Clauss & Domingo Ribeiro‐Soriano, 2020. "Circular economy business models: The state of research and avenues ahead," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(8), pages 3006-3024, December.
    18. Concepción Garcés-Ayerbe & Pilar Rivera-Torres & Inés Suárez-Perales & Dante I. Leyva-de la Hiz, 2019. "Is It Possible to Change from a Linear to a Circular Economy? An Overview of Opportunities and Barriers for European Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Companies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-15, March.
    19. Yasanur Kayikci & Yigit Kazancoglu & Nazlican Gozacan‐Chase & Cisem Lafci, 2022. "Analyzing the drivers of smart sustainable circular supply chain for sustainable development goals through stakeholder theory," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(7), pages 3335-3353, November.
    20. Patrizia Ghisellini & Ivana Quinto & Renato Passaro & Sergio Ulgiati, 2024. "Exploring environmental and social performances of circular start‐ups: An orientation and certification assessment," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(4), pages 3222-3241, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:10:p:8212-:d:1149980. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.