The notion of the circular economy has recently been posited as a vital strategy to mitigate climate change. At the industrial level, the circular economy envisions socio-industrial transformation to closed-loop material systems. Presently, however, discussions of the circular economy do not include an evolutionary view of how industrial transformations may give rise to the changes in institutions and industries, as well as technological innovation. In particular, the existing assumptions in the literature have lacked an understanding of the industrial transformation mechanisms at the value chain and supply chain levels. Moreover, the interplay between actors’ transition strategies and the circularity of material and economic value have mostly been overlooked in static analyses. To that end, I aim to achieve the following objectives in this thesis: (1) framing the transformation forces and opportunities that drive the industrial transition towards a circular economy; (2) providing an understanding of the challenges in managing the transformation mechanisms towards the circular economy and how they influence supply-chain-related decisions; and (3) examining the dynamics of the material and financial flows within evolving supply chain systems enabling or constraining the circular economy strategy of incumbents. Using a mixed-method research approach, in this thesis I expand the boundaries of the theoretical foundation of the circular economy by putting an evolutionary perspective at the center of the transition for both the ecological and industrial sides. The findings indicate that actors adopt different strategies to overcome the transition tensions and capture opportunities based on their perceptions of short- and long-term disruption impacts on their businesses. In addition, actors’ value chain positions influence the implications of transition tensions on their businesses and the complementarities required to overcome them (such as technologies, operational skills and business relationships). This means that actors experience different behavioral and transition dilemmas along the upstream and downstream of the value chain. Above all, the evolving external business environment plays a vital role in actors’ ability to adapt to structural changes and capture business opportunities. When firms adopt circular economy principles at the supply chain level, they constantly revise their assumptions about their financial performance and the possibility of reusing products based on the strategic decisions of other supply chain members. Thus, the circularity of material and financial flows reaches beyond the boundaries of individual firms, and the outcomes of interactions between actors’ circular economy strategies may not necessarily enhance and sustain the circularity of material and economic performance for all actors along the supply chain. This thesis contributes to the theoretical foundation of the circular economy by conceptually framing the industrial transformation towards a circular economy from a systemic and evolutionary perspective. Consequently, it contributes to the current circular economy discourse by expanding the ecological view to an evolutionary view of industrial transformation. Moreover, this study sheds light on the fact that the transformation to the circular economy at the supply chain level comes with dynamic changes in actor positions and roles over time. Transition at the supply chain level is more than just a static view of the optimization of material flows. The research provides implications for policymakers considering the impacts of the upcoming industrial transition to the circular economy at the sociotechnical system level, which requires dynamic business positioning by industrial actors. The results may serve to help actors understand that the interrelationships, misalignments and interplay of their strategies towards the circular economy reach beyond the linear approach of managing customer and supplier relationships.
La nozione di economia circolare è stata recentemente sviluppata come strategia vitale per mitigare il cambiamento climatico. A livello industriale, l'economia circolare prevede la trasformazione socio-industriale verso sistemi materiali a circuito chiuso. Tuttavia, nelle attuali discussioni sull'economia circolare non è presente una visione evolutiva su come le trasformazioni industriali possano dare origine all'evoluzione di istituzioni, industrie e innovazione tecnologica. In particolare, le teorie esistenti trascurano la comprensione dei meccanismi di trasformazione industriale a livello della catena del valore e della filiera. Inoltre, l'interazione tra le strategie di transizione degli attori e la circolarità del valore materiale ed economico è prevalentemente limitata all'analisi statica. A tal fine, questa tesi di dottorato si propone di raggiungere i seguenti obiettivi: 1) Identificare forze trasformative ed opportunità che guidano la transizione industriale verso un'economia circolare; 2) Comprendere le sfide nella gestione dei meccanismi di trasformazione verso l'economia circolare e di come queste influenzano le decisioni di filiera, e 3) Esaminare le dinamiche dei flussi materiali e monetari all'interno delle filiere in evoluzione che supportano o limitano la strategia di economia circolare degli attori incombenti. Attraverso un approccio di ricerca con metodi misti, la tesi espande il fondamento teorico dell'economia circolare, mettendo una prospettiva evolutiva al centro della transizione circolare, sia sul lato ecologico che industriale. I risultati indicano che gli attori adottano strategie differenti per superare le tensioni relative alla transizione e coglierne le opportunità, in base alla loro percezione degli impatti di interruzione delle loro attività nel breve e lungo termine. Inoltre, la posizione della catena del valore degli attori ha influenzato le implicazioni delle tensioni di transizione sulle loro attività e le complementarità necessarie per superarle (ad esempio, tecnologie, capacità operative, relazioni commerciali). Questo significa che gli attori assumono comportamenti e dilemmi di transizione diversi a monte e a valle della catena del valore. In particolare, l'evoluzione del contesto imprenditoriale esterno svolge un ruolo fondamentale nella capacità degli attori di adattarsi ai cambiamenti strutturali e cogliere le opportunità commerciali. Quando le aziende adottano i principi dell'economia circolare a livello di filiera, modificano costantemente le loro ipotesi su performance finanziaria e possibilità di riutilizzare i prodotti sulla base delle decisioni strategiche di altri membri della filiera. Pertanto, la circolarità dei flussi materiali e monetari va oltre il perimetro di operazione delle singole imprese. Dunque, i risultati delle interazioni tra le strategie circolari degli attori potrebbero non necessariamente migliorare e sostenere la circolarità delle prestazioni materiali ed economiche per tutti gli attori lungo le filiere. La tesi contribuisce alla fondazione teorica dell'economia circolare inquadrando concettualmente la trasformazione industriale verso un'economia circolare da una prospettiva sistemica ed evolutiva. Di conseguenza, contribuisce all'attuale discorso sull'economia circolare espandendo la visione ecologica con una visione evolutiva della trasformazione industriale. Inoltre, la tesi mette in luce il fatto che la trasformazione verso l'economia circolare a livello di filiera comporta un cambiamento dinamico delle posizioni e dei ruoli degli attori nel tempo. La transizione a livello di filiera è più di una semplice visione statica dell'ottimizzazione dei flussi di materiale. La ricerca fornisce implicazioni affinché i policy makers considerino gli impatti dell'imminente transizione industriale verso l'economia circolare a livello del sistema sociotecnico, che richiede un posizionamento dinamico degli attori industriali. I risultati ottenuti possono aiutare i professionisti a capire che interrelazione, disallineamenti e interazione delle rispettive strategie verso l'economia circolare vanno oltre l'approccio lineare della gestione delle relazioni con clienti e fornitori.
The Industrial Transformation Towards the Circular Economy: Dynamics, Drivers and Constraints
Chizaryfard, Armaghan
2022/2023
Abstract
The notion of the circular economy has recently been posited as a vital strategy to mitigate climate change. At the industrial level, the circular economy envisions socio-industrial transformation to closed-loop material systems. Presently, however, discussions of the circular economy do not include an evolutionary view of how industrial transformations may give rise to the changes in institutions and industries, as well as technological innovation. In particular, the existing assumptions in the literature have lacked an understanding of the industrial transformation mechanisms at the value chain and supply chain levels. Moreover, the interplay between actors’ transition strategies and the circularity of material and economic value have mostly been overlooked in static analyses. To that end, I aim to achieve the following objectives in this thesis: (1) framing the transformation forces and opportunities that drive the industrial transition towards a circular economy; (2) providing an understanding of the challenges in managing the transformation mechanisms towards the circular economy and how they influence supply-chain-related decisions; and (3) examining the dynamics of the material and financial flows within evolving supply chain systems enabling or constraining the circular economy strategy of incumbents. Using a mixed-method research approach, in this thesis I expand the boundaries of the theoretical foundation of the circular economy by putting an evolutionary perspective at the center of the transition for both the ecological and industrial sides. The findings indicate that actors adopt different strategies to overcome the transition tensions and capture opportunities based on their perceptions of short- and long-term disruption impacts on their businesses. In addition, actors’ value chain positions influence the implications of transition tensions on their businesses and the complementarities required to overcome them (such as technologies, operational skills and business relationships). This means that actors experience different behavioral and transition dilemmas along the upstream and downstream of the value chain. Above all, the evolving external business environment plays a vital role in actors’ ability to adapt to structural changes and capture business opportunities. When firms adopt circular economy principles at the supply chain level, they constantly revise their assumptions about their financial performance and the possibility of reusing products based on the strategic decisions of other supply chain members. Thus, the circularity of material and financial flows reaches beyond the boundaries of individual firms, and the outcomes of interactions between actors’ circular economy strategies may not necessarily enhance and sustain the circularity of material and economic performance for all actors along the supply chain. This thesis contributes to the theoretical foundation of the circular economy by conceptually framing the industrial transformation towards a circular economy from a systemic and evolutionary perspective. Consequently, it contributes to the current circular economy discourse by expanding the ecological view to an evolutionary view of industrial transformation. Moreover, this study sheds light on the fact that the transformation to the circular economy at the supply chain level comes with dynamic changes in actor positions and roles over time. Transition at the supply chain level is more than just a static view of the optimization of material flows. The research provides implications for policymakers considering the impacts of the upcoming industrial transition to the circular economy at the sociotechnical system level, which requires dynamic business positioning by industrial actors. The results may serve to help actors understand that the interrelationships, misalignments and interplay of their strategies towards the circular economy reach beyond the linear approach of managing customer and supplier relationships.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/196745