IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/bstrat/v31y2022i6p2714-2727.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The collaborative and contested interplay between business and civil society in circular economy transitions

Author

Listed:
  • Chia‐Hao Ho
  • Steffen Böhm
  • David Monciardini

Abstract

We know from the corporate social responsibility (CSR) literature that civil society organizations (CSOs) play a crucial role in helping businesses transition towards more responsible and sustainable business models. Yet, in the circular economy (CE) field, such understanding is still scarce. This article develops a theoretical framework for understanding the dynamic interplay between business and civil society in CE transitions, understanding their mechanisms and strategies for cooperation and contestation. We develop the concept of ‘CE boundary work’ to understand how CSOs interact with firms to bring about CE innovation, outlining three ideal types: campaign based, resource efficiency based and circular design based. This contributes to our understanding of how CE transitions can be brought about effectively through cross‐sectoral interplays between civil society and business.

Suggested Citation

  • Chia‐Hao Ho & Steffen Böhm & David Monciardini, 2022. "The collaborative and contested interplay between business and civil society in circular economy transitions," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(6), pages 2714-2727, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:31:y:2022:i:6:p:2714-2727
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.3001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.3001
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/bse.3001?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Phil Brown & Nancy Bocken & Ruud Balkenende, 2019. "Why Do Companies Pursue Collaborative Circular Oriented Innovation?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-23, January.
    2. Michaela Haase & Emmanuel Raufflet, 2017. "Ideologies in Markets, Organizations, and Business Ethics: Drafting a Map: Introduction to the Special Issue," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 142(4), pages 629-639, June.
    3. Prasanta Kumar Dey & Chrisovaladis Malesios & Debashree De & Pawan Budhwar & Soumyadeb Chowdhury & Walid Cheffi, 2020. "Circular economy to enhance sustainability of small and medium‐sized enterprises," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(6), pages 2145-2169, September.
    4. Krishnendu Saha & Prasanta Kumar Dey & Eleni Papagiannaki, 2021. "Implementing circular economy in the textile and clothing industry," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 1497-1530, May.
    5. Filipe M. Santos & Kathleen M. Eisenhardt, 2005. "Organizational Boundaries and Theories of Organization," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 16(5), pages 491-508, October.
    6. Sally Eden & Andrew Donaldson & Gordon Walker, 2006. "Green Groups and Grey Areas: Scientific Boundary-Work, Nongovernmental Organisations, and Environmental Knowledge," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 38(6), pages 1061-1076, June.
    7. Lisa-Britt Fischer & Jens Newig, 2016. "Importance of Actors and Agency in Sustainability Transitions: A Systematic Exploration of the Literature," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(5), pages 1-21, May.
    8. Jacqueline M. Cramer, 2020. "The Function of Transition Brokers in the Regional Governance of Implementing Circular Economy—A Comparative Case Study of Six Dutch Regions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-21, June.
    9. James Van Alstine, 2009. "Governance from below: contesting corporate environmentalism in Durban, South Africa," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(2), pages 108-121, February.
    10. Levänen, Jarkko & Lyytinen, Tatu & Gatica, Sebastian, 2018. "Modelling the Interplay Between Institutions and Circular Economy Business Models: A Case Study of Battery Recycling in Finland and Chile," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 373-382.
    11. Florian Lüdeke‐Freund & Stefan Gold & Nancy M. P. Bocken, 2019. "A Review and Typology of Circular Economy Business Model Patterns," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 23(1), pages 36-61, February.
    12. María del Mar Alonso‐Almeida & José Miguel Rodríguez‐Antón & Llorenç Bagur‐Femenías & Jordi Perramon, 2020. "Sustainable development and circular economy: The role of institutional promotion on circular consumption and market competitiveness from a multistakeholder engagement approach," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(6), pages 2803-2814, September.
    13. 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.
    14. Will McDowall & Yong Geng & Beijia Huang & Eva Barteková & Raimund Bleischwitz & Serdar Türkeli & René Kemp & Teresa Doménech, 2017. "Circular Economy Policies in China and Europe," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 21(3), pages 651-661, June.
    15. Jonathan P. Doh & Terrence R. Guay, 2006. "Corporate Social Responsibility, Public Policy, and NGO Activism in Europe and the United States: An Institutional‐Stakeholder Perspective," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(1), pages 47-73, January.
    16. Vincent Moreau & Marlyne Sahakian & Pascal Griethuysen & François Vuille, 2017. "Coming Full Circle: Why Social and Institutional Dimensions Matter for the Circular Economy," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 21(3), pages 497-506, June.
    17. Maher, Rajiv & Monciardini, David & Böhm, Steffen, 2021. "Torn between Legal Claiming and Privatized Remedy: Rights Mobilization against Gold Mining in Chile," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 31(1), pages 37-74, January.
    18. Maria Barreiro‐Gen & Rodrigo Lozano, 2020. "How circular is the circular economy? Analysing the implementation of circular economy in organisations," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(8), pages 3484-3494, December.
    19. Daniel Arenas & Pablo Sanchez & Matthew Murphy, 2013. "Different Paths to Collaboration Between Businesses and Civil Society and the Role of Third Parties," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 115(4), pages 723-739, July.
    20. Nagendra Kumar Sharma & Kannan Govindan & Kuei Kuei Lai & Wen Kuo Chen & Vimal Kumar, 2021. "The transition from linear economy to circular economy for sustainability among SMEs: A study on prospects, impediments, and prerequisites," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 1803-1822, May.
    21. 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.
    22. Marie-Laure Djelic & Helen Etchanchu, 2017. "Contextualizing Corporate Political Responsibilities: Neoliberal CSR in Historical Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 142(4), pages 641-661, June.
    23. Zengwei Yuan & Jun Bi & Yuichi Moriguichi, 2006. "The Circular Economy: A New Development Strategy in China," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 10(1‐2), pages 4-8, January.
    24. 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.
    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. Stuart Danvers & Jonathan Robertson & Ambika Zutshi, 2023. "Conceptualizing How Collaboration Advances Circularity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-23, March.

    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. Daniel A. Salas & Paulina Criollo & Angel D. Ramirez, 2021. "The Role of Higher Education Institutions in the Implementation of Circular Economy in Latin America," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-27, August.
    2. 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.
    3. Gavin Melles, 2021. "Figuring the Transition from Circular Economy to Circular Society in Australia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-20, September.
    4. Andrea Cecchin & Roberta Salomone & Pauline Deutz & Andrea Raggi & Laura Cutaia, 2021. "What Is in a Name? The Rising Star of the Circular Economy as a Resource-Related Concept for Sustainable Development," Circular Economy and Sustainability,, Springer.
    5. 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.
    6. Mura, Rita & Vicentini, Francesca & Botti, Ludovico Maria & Chiriacò, Maria Vincenza, 2023. "Economic and environmental outcomes of a sustainable and circular approach: Case study of an Italian wine-producing firm," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    7. Alexandra Barón Dorado & Gerusa Giménez Leal & Rodolfo de Castro Vila, 2022. "Environmental policy and corporate sustainability: The mediating role of environmental management systems in circular economy adoption," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(4), pages 830-842, July.
    8. Nudurupati, Sai Sudhakar & Budhwar, Pawan & Pappu, Raja Phani & Chowdhury, Soumyadeb & Kondala, Mukesh & Chakraborty, Ayon & Ghosh, Sadhan Kumar, 2022. "Transforming sustainability of Indian small and medium-sized enterprises through circular economy adoption," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 250-269.
    9. Ioannis E. Nikolaou & Nikoleta Jones & Alexandros Stefanakis, 2021. "Circular Economy and Sustainability: the Past, the Present and the Future Directions," Circular Economy and Sustainability,, Springer.
    10. 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.
    11. Chhatwani, Malvika & Mishra, Sushanta Kumar & Varma, Arup & Rai, Himanshu, 2022. "Psychological resilience and business survival chances: A study of small firms in the USA during COVID-19," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 277-286.
    12. Arru, Brunella & Furesi, Roberto & Pulina, Pietro & Sau, Paola & Madau, Fabio A., 2022. "The Circular Economy in the Agri-food system: A Performance Measurement of European Countries," Economia agro-alimentare / Food Economy, Italian Society of Agri-food Economics/Società Italiana di Economia Agro-Alimentare (SIEA), vol. 24(2), September.
    13. Mathivathanan, Deepak & Mathiyazhagan, K. & Khorana, Sangeeta & Rana, Nripendra P. & Arora, Bimal, 2022. "Drivers of circular economy for small and medium enterprises: Case study on the Indian state of Tamil Nadu," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 997-1015.
    14. 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.
    15. 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.
    16. 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.
    17. Luca Marrucci & Fabio Iannone & Tiberio Daddi & Fabio Iraldo, 2022. "Antecedents of absorptive capacity in the development of circular economy business models of small and medium enterprises," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(1), pages 532-544, January.
    18. Usama Awan & Robert Sroufe & Muhammad Shahbaz, 2021. "Industry 4.0 and the circular economy: A literature review and recommendations for future research," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 2038-2060, May.
    19. 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.
    20. D. D’Amato, 2021. "Sustainability Narratives as Transformative Solution Pathways: Zooming in on the Circular Economy," Circular Economy and Sustainability,, Springer.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:bla:bstrat:v:31:y:2022:i:6:p:2714-2727. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-0836 .

    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.