Work

Increasing circularity: The importance of resource interactions when adapting from waste management to resource management

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: The circular economy , which entails a fundamental transition from waste management to resource management, involves waste minimization and prolonged resource utility. Resources should arguably be managed in a manner reducing the likelihood that they turn into waste. Correspondingly, waste should be managed in a way increasing the likelihood that it becomes a useful resource. To achieve such ends, this research highlights the bundled nature of resources (including waste). The study is based on an abductive research process and it de-bundles the resource categories portrayed in the 4R model. The de-bundled framework is applied to a longitudinal case study focusing on a recycling company's participation in the circular economy . This application results in distinctions between endogenous and exogenous adaptation strategies. Endogenous adaptations involve an explicit bundle awareness and attention to interaction processes within 4R resource categories, exogenous adaptations include interaction processes between 4R categories. It is proposed that adaptations involving deliberate tradeoffs between endogenous and exogenous strategies may lead to more circular business models and sustainable resource management.

Source: Industrial Marketing Management

DOI: 10.1016/j.indmarman.2024.12.010

Authors: Lars Huemer, Bente Flygansvær

Institution: BI Norwegian Business School

Language: English

Topic: Sustainable Supply Chain Management

Subfield: Strategy and Management

Field: Business, Management and Accounting

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Responsible consumption and production

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,650