Browsing by Author "Santa-Maria, Tomas"
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Item Drivers and barriers for circular business model innovation(2022) Geissdoerfer, Martín; Santa-Maria, Tomas; Kirchherr, Julian; Pelzeter, CarlaThe circular economy concept is gaining traction in academia, industry and policy-making as a strategy to reduce resource depletion, waste and emissions. Many authors see business model innovation as a critical lever for the concept's implementation on the organisational level. Despite the importance of the topic, the drivers and barriers to different types of circular business model innovation remain unclear. We address this gap by comparing drivers and barriers for four generic circular business model innovation types: start-up, diversification, transformation and acquisition. Relying on a structured comparative literature review using cross-reference searches, we develop a theoretical framework of drivers and barriers that we apply to a multi-case study of 21 organisations covering three of the four types, with some additional insights on the fourth. We identify 25 barriers and 10 drivers, clustered into seven categories, and outline how they distinctively affect the innovation types. Start-ups and diversifications are more commonly driven by market and financial factors, while transformations are led by market and organisational factors. These three types are highly affected by legal and financial barriers; however, while start-ups are more prone to face value chain challenges, incumbents are more susceptible to market and organisational barriers. Our study provides novel empirical data that validate and complement previous research and offers an additional analysis perspective in the transition towards a more sustainable and circular economy.Publication Exploring the role of companies in transitioning to a sustainable and circular future:(2024) Baumgartner, Rupert J.; Deutz, Pauline; Delgadillo, Estephania; Diaz Tena, Anna; Newsholme, Aodhan; Lindgreen, Erik Roos; Santa-Maria, Tomas; Walker, Anna M.; Reyes, TatianaThis chapter explores the pivotal role of companies in driving the transition towards a sustainable and circular economy (CE). It focuses on how companies, as unique social systems aimed at generating economic value, can and have to shoulder social and environmental responsibilities. Pursuing a CE is a complex process with numerous challenges and potential avenues for exploration. The chapter methodically unfolds through six PhD research projects within the Cresting project, employing a blend of quantitative and qualitative methodologies to analyse the role of companies in the sustainable and circular transition. It addresses key questions related to business model innovation, product and service design, the assessment of CE impacts, and the integration of circularity into the corporate context. Additionally, this chapter explores the contextual embedding of businesses within local, national and international landscapes. By analysing empirical data and drawing insightful conclusions, valuable implications for both theory and practice are derived. Companies can be both contributors and inhibitors in the transition to a sustainable and circular future. They have the potential to drive change and support sustainability efforts but can also hinder progress or oppose initiatives. This research showed that it is necessary to consider company-internal issues but in particular to go beyond the corporate boundaries and to consider the entire value chain (from a product lifecycle perspective, i.e. including use and end-of-life phases), the broader stakeholder network and ecosystem, and the region a company is embedded in.Publication Managing Capabilities for Achieving Net Zero via a Circular Economy: A Multilevel Framework(2025) Kaipainen, Jenni; Dziubaniuk, Olga; Sairanen, Mikko; Aarikka-Stenroos, Leena; Santa-Maria, Tomasorporate management faces increasing pressure to achieve both net-zero and circular economy (CE) goals. As organizations rarely manage this alone, they must develop novel capabilities within themselves and across their value chains and ecosystems. To explore capability development for achieveing net zero via circularity, we adopt a multilevel approach to capabilities theory. We explore an emerging innovation ecosystem and its two key value chains by interviewing 12 organizations pursuing carbon circulation in Finland. The findings are conceptualized into a framework that highlights the need for novel multilevel capabilities to achieve net zero via circularity (i) at organizational level, to improve operations, logistics, and risk management and anticipate policy development; (ii) at value-chain level, to manage risks, sustainability, synergy exploitation and new business logic; and (iii) at ecosystem level, for systemic knowledge development, system optimization, institutional co-creation and regionality. Managing capability development from organizational to value-chain level involves orchestrated or dispersed knowledge-sharing and value chain design, while at the ecosystem level, it requires a hybrid of these approaches involving knowledge-sharing, collaborative sensemaking and institutional co-creation. The findings advance management science and practice with insights into the diversity, allocation and foundational role of organizational-level capabilities in developing chain- and ecosystem-level capabilities.