| Abstract |
The transition towards a circular economy (CE) is increasingly seen as a solution to address sustainable development. The environmental impacts, resource restrictions, and economic and social benefits are among the reasons that justify the formation of CE businesses. Meanwhile, shifting from traditional to circular businesses requires the transformation of business model components and in-depth changes in all ecosystem entities. Thus, more insight is needed to foster the implementation of circular ecosystems. Surprisingly, however, existing literature suffers from a dearth of research in this domain. To address this gap, we used an iterative approach of systematic literature review to identify the associated values and specifications as well as thematic analysis to clarify the prerequisites of such a transition and finally, an in-depth interview to investigate the possible transformation of the business model components. The findings revealed the barriers and incentives during the transition towards a circular ecosystem, along with a conceptual framework to develop a CE ecosystem. The findings also illustrated how the circular economy transforms business model components. Altogether, this research contributes to our current understanding of the antecedents, their potential interactions, and the necessary interventions to stimulate the implementation of a circular ecosystem, including supply chain and surrounding community sub-ecosystems. Furthermore, the ecosystem approach used in this study considers the maturity level of all sub-ecosystem constituents as an indispensable requirement to develop a circular ecosystem. Finally, theoretical and practical implications are provided at a cross-national level about the implementation requirements and the shaping mechanisms of a circular ecosystem. (C) 2021 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. |