IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/bstrat/v34y2025i5p6159-6183.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Circular Economy in the Construction Industry: Barriers and Drivers for the Implementation of Circularity in Family‐Owned Construction Companies in Germany

Author

Listed:
  • Elena Elisabeth Vollmers
  • Thomas B. Long

Abstract

The circular economy can enhance business sustainability, but its implementation requires the integration of circularity into business models. Circular business model innovation (CBMI) is complex, influenced by multiple barriers and drivers. This research conducts a qualitative case study via semistructured interviews to explore CBMI within the German construction industry and family‐owned businesses. While findings resonate with existing literature, the context of the construction industry and of family ownership introduces specific dynamics. For instance, we find that family ownership can act as both a driver and a barrier to CBMI, fostering long‐term strategic vision while simultaneously reinforcing conservative tendencies, hindering change. Additional notable results include the importance of intergenerational knowledge transfer, an emphasis on slowing resource loops due to long building lifecycles (50–100 years), and the opportunities presented through lobbying efforts to shape policy and industry standards. Accordingly, these interactions necessitate tailored strategies for successful circular transitions.

Suggested Citation

  • Elena Elisabeth Vollmers & Thomas B. Long, 2025. "Circular Economy in the Construction Industry: Barriers and Drivers for the Implementation of Circularity in Family‐Owned Construction Companies in Germany," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(5), pages 6159-6183, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:34:y:2025:i:5:p:6159-6183
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.4296
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.4296
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/bse.4296?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
    ---><---

    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:34:y:2025:i:5:p:6159-6183. 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.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using 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.