Why do organisations hesitate to adopt circular business models (CBMs) despite acknowledging their importance?
10 February 2025
A recent paper by Adeyemi Adelekan and Maria Sharmina in the Organization & Environment Journal explores this challenge, providing insights into how value chain actors evaluate and collaborate on developing circular business models for plastics.
Our research, part of One Bin to Rule Them All, explores the economic feasibility of collecting all plastics in a single bin and sorting them digitally. By collaborating with multiple stakeholders to co-create new CBMs, we introduce the concept of "inconsistent propriety," where organisations value circularity but find its execution impractical. This leads to "dynamic vigilance" - organisations stay engaged through consultations and trials while exploring multiple initiatives that offer competitive advantages with minimal risk or cost. Our findings show that this fragmented approach slows progress toward a circular economy.
The study highlights the need for clearer policies and comprehensive plastic standards to provide the clarity and confidence necessary for businesses to shift from cautious exploration to active participation in circular economy initiatives. This paper is a contribution to a special issue titled: "Between Circular Paralysis and Utopia: Organizational Transformations towards the Circular Economy" and available for download at the link below: