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Exploring Barriers for Circularity in the EU Furniture Industry

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  • Gilbert Silvius

    (Research Centre, Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences, 7311 PE Apeldoorn, The Netherlands
    College of Business and Economics, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2000, South Africa)

  • Aydan Ismayilova

    (Research Centre, Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences, 7311 PE Apeldoorn, The Netherlands)

  • Vicente Sales-Vivó

    (AIDIMME Technology Institute, 46980 Paterna, Valencia, Spain)

  • Micol Costi

    (Materially srl, 20126 Milano, Italy)

Abstract

A circular economy is seen as a potential solution to the overburdening of Earth’s resources in our global economic system. However, implementation of circularity is still in its early stages, which is attributed to a variety of barriers that companies experience. Studies on these barriers identified a substantial number of potential barriers, however, these studies did not explore the variety of perceptions of these barriers by different companies. This study therefore explores the variety of barriers to the transition to circularity, as perceived by European furniture companies. Using Q-methodology, and with participation of 30 furniture companies from five EU countries, the study revealed four patterns of the perception of barriers. These four patterns of perception are distinct from each other, with high composite reliabilities and weak correlations between the patterns. Our analysis showed that especially the perception of market and resources categories of barriers make the difference between the identified patterns. The study demonstrated that barriers to circularity are not experienced in a single generalizable way, and provided valuable insight for the development of supporting or stimulation policies for circularity.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:19:p:11072-:d:651154
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    Cited by:

    1. Davide Bruno & Marinella Ferrara & Felice D’Alessandro & Alberto Mandelli, 2022. "The Role of Design in the CE Transition of the Furniture Industry—The Case of the Italian Company Cassina," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-20, July.
    2. Ling Zhu & Yuqi Yan & Jiufang Lv, 2023. "A Bibliometric Analysis of Current Knowledge Structure and Research Progress Related to Sustainable Furniture Design Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-27, May.
    3. Luboš Červený & Roman Sloup & Tereza Červená & Marcel Riedl & Petra Palátová, 2022. "Industry 4.0 as an Opportunity and Challenge for the Furniture Industry—A Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-21, October.

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