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Organizational Boundary Change in Industrial Symbiosis: Revisiting the Guitang Group in China

Author

Listed:
  • Lin Shi

    (School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, 195 Prospect St, New Haven, CT 06511, USA)

  • Marian Chertow

    (School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, 195 Prospect St, New Haven, CT 06511, USA)

Abstract

This study revisits the Guitang Group, one of the best known industrial symbiosis cases in the sugar industry. Our goal is to offer an evolutionary understanding of industrial symbiosis at the Guitang Group. This article focuses on the organizational boundary change of the Guitang Group over time, and acknowledges this process as one of the seven industrial symbiosis dynamics proposed by Boons et al. We offer a historical view of the critical forces behind Guitang’s industrial symbiosis evolution since the 1950s; particularly how these changes were influenced by broader economic and institutional contexts of importance in China. These insights include the role of institutionalized research and development (R&D) as well as technology-oriented leadership as driving forces for Guitang’s innovation, particularly since the 1990s, when greater efficiency and productivity were emphasized, leading to the establishment of further symbiotic relationships in the company’s evolutionary process. As a result, the Guitang Group grew from 2 internal to 11 internal and external symbiotic exchanges and is now a conglomeration with more than 3000 employees generating more than 1 billion RMB (150 million USD) in revenue annually. The driving forces of the Guitang Group’s industrial symbiosis evolution helped to create, disseminate and share information by continuously reinforcing the industrial symbiosis message as part of the Guitang Group’s business model and competitive strategy. In addition, state-level policies such as establishing the Guigang (the city where Guitang is located) Eco-Industrial Park enabled industrial symbiosis in Guitang. This study provides prospects for future research on the organizational boundary change dynamic of industrial symbiosis in the sugar manufacturing industry and beyond.

Suggested Citation

  • Lin Shi & Marian Chertow, 2017. "Organizational Boundary Change in Industrial Symbiosis: Revisiting the Guitang Group in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(7), pages 1-19, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:9:y:2017:i:7:p:1085-:d:102312
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Elena Romero & M. Carmen Ruiz, 2013. "Framework for Applying a Complex Adaptive System Approach to Model the Operation of Eco‐Industrial Parks," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 17(5), pages 731-741, October.
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    3. Qinghua ZHU & Ernest A. LOWE & Yuan‐an WEI & Donald BARNES, 2007. "Industrial Symbiosis in China: A Case Study of the Guitang Group," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 11(1), pages 31-42, January.
    4. repec:wbk:wbpubs:26447 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. John L. Enos, 1962. "Invention and Innovation in the Petroleum Refining Industry," NBER Chapters, in: The Rate and Direction of Inventive Activity: Economic and Social Factors, pages 299-322, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. David Gibbs, 2003. "Trust and Networking in Inter-firm Relations: the Case of Eco-industrial Development," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 18(3), pages 222-236, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Héctor Leiva & Ignacio Julian & Lucía Ventura & Elin Wallin & Marcus Vendt & Rickard Fornell & Francisca Galindo Paniagua & Sonia Ascaso & Manuel Gomez-Perez, 2025. "Advancing Sustainability Through Industrial Symbiosis: A Technoeconomic Approach Using Material Flow Cost Accounting and Cost–Benefit Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(6), pages 1-31, March.
    2. John Rincón-Moreno & Marta Ormazabal & Maria J. Álvarez & Carmen Jaca, 2020. "Shortcomings of Transforming a Local Circular Economy System through Industrial Symbiosis: A Case Study in Spanish SMEs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-18, October.
    3. Wenting Jiao & Lei Shi & Changhong Li & Fangqin Cheng, 2025. "Anchoring industrial symbiosis in the context of policy change," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 29(6), pages 2417-2428, December.
    4. Marian R. Chertow & Koichi S. Kanaoka & Jooyoung Park, 2021. "Tracking the diffusion of industrial symbiosis scholarship using bibliometrics: Comparing across Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 25(4), pages 913-931, August.
    5. Juan Henriques & Paulo Ferrão & Rui Castro & João Azevedo, 2021. "Industrial Symbiosis: A Sectoral Analysis on Enablers and Barriers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-22, February.
    6. Angela Neves & Radu Godina & Susana G. Azevedo & João C. O. Matias, 2019. "Current Status, Emerging Challenges, and Future Prospects of Industrial Symbiosis in Portugal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-23, October.
    7. Giselle Rentería Núñez & David Perez-Castillo, 2023. "Business Models for Industrial Symbiosis: A Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-24, June.
    8. Hua Cui & Changhao Liu & Raymond Côté & Weifeng Liu, 2018. "Understanding the Evolution of Industrial Symbiosis with a System Dynamics Model: A Case Study of Hai Hua Industrial Symbiosis, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-25, October.

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