IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i4p1899-d496875.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Circular Bioeconomy Business Models to Overcome the Valley of Death. A Systematic Statistical Analysis of Studies and Projects in Emerging Bio-Based Technologies and Trends Linked to the SME Instrument Support

Author

Listed:
  • Fabiana Gatto

    (Consorzio Italbiotec, 20138 Milan, Italy)

  • Ilaria Re

    (Consorzio Italbiotec, 20138 Milan, Italy)

Abstract

Reducing the environmental pressure along the products life cycle, increasing efficiency in the consumption of resources and use of renewable raw materials, and shifting the economic system toward a circular and a climate-neutral model represent the heart of the current macro-trends of the European Union (EU) policy agendas. The circular economy and bioeconomy concepts introduced in the EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan and the Bioeconomy Strategy support innovation in rethinking economic systems focusing on market uptaking of greener solutions based on less-intensive resource consumption. In recent decades, industrial research has devoted enormous investments to demonstrate sustainable circular bio-based business models capable of overcoming the “ Valley of Death ” through alternative strategic orientations of “ technological-push ” and “ market-pull ”. The study highlights industrial research’s evolution on bio-based circular business model validation, trends, and topics with particular attention to the empowering capacity of start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to close the loops in renewable biological use and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. The research methodology involves a bibliographic search based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) approach and the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator Data Hub investigation to understand SMEs’ key success factors and start-ups of the circular bioeconomy sector. Eco and bio-based materials, nutraceuticals, and microalgae represent the most sustainable industry applications, leading to circular bioeconomy business models’ future perspective.

Suggested Citation

  • Fabiana Gatto & Ilaria Re, 2021. "Circular Bioeconomy Business Models to Overcome the Valley of Death. A Systematic Statistical Analysis of Studies and Projects in Emerging Bio-Based Technologies and Trends Linked to the SME Instrumen," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-40, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:4:p:1899-:d:496875
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/4/1899/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/4/1899/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Valeria Ferreira Gregorio & Laia Pié & Antonio Terceño, 2018. "A Systematic Literature Review of Bio, Green and Circular Economy Trends in Publications in the Field of Economics and Business Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-39, November.
    2. Giada Di Stefano & Alfonso Gambardella & Gianmario Verona, 2012. "Technology Push and Demand Pull Perspectives in Innovation Studies: Current Findings and Future Research Directions," Post-Print hal-00696607, HAL.
    3. Nancy M. P. Bocken & Paavo Ritala & Pontus Huotari, 2017. "The Circular Economy: Exploring the Introduction of the Concept Among S&P 500 Firms," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 21(3), pages 487-490, June.
    4. Andrew L. Maxwell & Moren Lévesque, 2014. "Trustworthiness: A Critical Ingredient for Entrepreneurs Seeking Investors," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 38(5), pages 1057-1080, September.
    5. Vaznyte, Egle & Andries, Petra, 2019. "Entrepreneurial orientation and start-ups' external financing," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 439-458.
    6. Alessandro Liberati & Douglas G Altman & Jennifer Tetzlaff & Cynthia Mulrow & Peter C Gøtzsche & John P A Ioannidis & Mike Clarke & P J Devereaux & Jos Kleijnen & David Moher, 2009. "The PRISMA Statement for Reporting Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses of Studies That Evaluate Health Care Interventions: Explanation and Elaboration," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 6(7), pages 1-28, July.
    7. Maxwell, Andrew L. & Jeffrey, Scott A. & Lévesque, Moren, 2011. "Business angel early stage decision making," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 212-225, March.
    8. Di Stefano, Giada & Gambardella, Alfonso & Verona, Gianmario, 2012. "Technology push and demand pull perspectives in innovation studies: Current findings and future research directions," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(8), pages 1283-1295.
    9. Kröger, Markus & Raitio, Kaisa, 2017. "Finnish forest policy in the era of bioeconomy: A pathway to sustainability?," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 6-15.
    10. Pannicke, Nadine & Gawe, Erik & Hagemann, Nina & Purkus, Alexandra & Strunz, Sebastian, 2015. "The Political Economy of Fostering a Wood-based Bioeconomy in Germany," German Journal of Agricultural Economics, Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin, Department for Agricultural Economics, vol. 64(04), December.
    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. Kusuma, Ravi Teja & Hiremath, Rahul B. & Rajesh, Pachimatla & Kumar, Bimlesh & Renukappa, Suresh, 2022. "Sustainable transition towards biomass-based cement industry: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    2. Astadi Pangarso & Kristina Sisilia & Retno Setyorini & Yahya Peranginangin & Agni Alam Awirya, 2022. "The long path to achieving green economy performance for micro small medium enterprise," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 1-19, December.
    3. Emilio Abad-Segura & Ana Batlles-delaFuente & Mariana-Daniela González-Zamar & Luis Jesús Belmonte-Ureña, 2021. "Implications for Sustainability of the Joint Application of Bioeconomy and Circular Economy: A Worldwide Trend Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-24, June.
    4. Carla Zarbà & Salvatore Bracco & Biagio Pecorino & Gioacchino Pappalardo & Gaetano Chinnici & Mario D’Amico, 2022. "Supporting Agri-Food SMEs in Italy in the Post-COVID-19 Context: From Horizon 2020 to Horizon Europe," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-18, June.
    5. Diego Alexis Ramos Huarachi & Cleiton Hluszko & Micaela Ines Castillo Ulloa & Vinicius Moretti & Julio Abraham Ramos Quispe & Fabio Neves Puglieri & Antonio Carlos de Francisco, 2023. "Life Cycle Thinking for a Circular Bioeconomy: Current Development, Challenges, and Future Perspectives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-27, May.
    6. Mechthild Donner & Hugo de Vries, 2023. "Innovative Business Models for a Sustainable Circular Bioeconomy in the French Agrifood Domain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-29, March.
    7. Khan, Feroz & Ali, Yousaf, 2022. "Moving towards a sustainable circular bio-economy in the agriculture sector of a developing country," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    8. Christina-Ioanna Papadopoulou & Efstratios Loizou & Fotios Chatzitheodoridis, 2022. "Priorities in Bioeconomy Strategies: A Systematic Literature Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-15, October.
    9. Tévécia Ronzon & Susanne Iost & George Philippidis, 2022. "Has the European Union entered a bioeconomy transition? Combining an output-based approach with a shift-share analysis," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(6), pages 8195-8217, June.
    10. Mechthild Donner & Hugo de Vries, 2023. "Innovative business models for a sustainable circular bioeconomy in the french agrifood domain," Post-Print hal-04047682, HAL.
    11. Nida Khan & Kumarasamy Sudhakar & Rizalman Mamat, 2021. "Role of Biofuels in Energy Transition, Green Economy and Carbon Neutrality," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-30, November.

    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. Lefebvre, Vincent & Certhoux, Gilles & Radu-Lefebvre, Miruna, 2022. "Sustaining trust to cross the Valley of Death: A retrospective study of business angels’ investment and reinvestment decisions," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    2. Christoph P. Kiefer & Pablo Del Río González & Javier Carrillo‐Hermosilla, 2019. "Drivers and barriers of eco‐innovation types for sustainable transitions: A quantitative perspective," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(1), pages 155-172, January.
    3. Paolo E. Giordani & Francesco Rullani, 2020. "The Digital Revolution and COVID-19," Working Papers 06, Department of Management, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia.
    4. Dawid, Herbert & Pellegrino, Gabriele & Vivarelli, Marco, 2017. "Is the demand-pull driver equally crucial for product vs process innovation?," MERIT Working Papers 2017-035, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    5. Hötte, Kerstin, 2023. "Demand-pull, technology-push, and the direction of technological change," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(5).
    6. Kerstin Hotte, 2021. "Demand-pull, technology-push, and the direction of technological change," Papers 2104.04813, arXiv.org, revised Jan 2023.
    7. Xu, Lei & Su, Jun, 2016. "From government to market and from producer to consumer: Transition of policy mix towards clean mobility in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 328-340.
    8. Clayton M. Christensen & Rory McDonald & Elizabeth J. Altman & Jonathan E. Palmer, 2018. "Disruptive Innovation: An Intellectual History and Directions for Future Research," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(7), pages 1043-1078, November.
    9. Yashuang Qi & Na Zhu & Yujia Zhai & Ying Ding, 2018. "The mutually beneficial relationship of patents and scientific literature: topic evolution in nanoscience," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 115(2), pages 893-911, May.
    10. Nemet, Gregory F. & Zipperer, Vera & Kraus, Martina, 2018. "The valley of death, the technology pork barrel, and public support for large demonstration projects," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 154-167.
    11. Uzunca, Bilgehan & Sharapov, Dmitry & Tee, Richard, 2022. "Governance rigidity, industry evolution, and value capture in platform ecosystems," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(7).
    12. Attila Havas, 2016. "Social and Business Innovations: Are Common Measurement Approaches Possible?," Foresight-Russia Форсайт, CyberLeninka;Федеральное государственное автономное образовательное учреждение высшего образования «Национальный исследовательский университет «Высшая школа экономики», vol. 10(2 (eng)), pages 58-80.
    13. Pantano, Eleonora & Viassone, Milena, 2014. "Demand pull and technology push perspective in technology-based innovations for the points of sale: The retailers evaluation," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 43-47.
    14. Hötte, Kerstin, 2020. "How to accelerate green technology diffusion? Directed technological change in the presence of coevolving absorptive capacity," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    15. Barasa, L. & Kinyanjui, B. & Knoben, Joris & Kimuyu, P. & Vermeulen, P.A.M., 2016. "Export and Innovation in Sub-Saharan Africa," Other publications TiSEM 5243a1d6-7a6a-4871-b4f2-7, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    16. Abdelfeteh Bitat, 2018. "Environmental regulation and eco-innovation: the Porter hypothesis refined," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 8(3), pages 299-321, September.
    17. Kim, Juran & Kang, Seungmook & Lee, Ki Hoon, 2021. "Evolution of digital marketing communication: Bibliometric analysis and network visualization from key articles," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 552-563.
    18. Yan, Hong-Bin & Li, Ming, 2022. "Consumer demand based recombinant search for idea generation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    19. Antonelli, Cristiano & Gehringer, Agnieszka, 2015. "Knowledge externalities and demand pull: The European evidence," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 608-631.
    20. Mojca Svetek, 2023. "The Role of Entrepreneurs’ Perceived Competence and Cooperativeness in Early-Stage Financing," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 47(6), pages 2047-2076, November.

    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:13:y:2021:i:4:p:1899-:d:496875. 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.