Shortcomings of Transforming a Local Circular Economy System through Industrial Symbiosis: A Case Study in Spanish SMEs.

Defining the circular economy (CE) as a material and energy model coincides with the definition given by multiple authors in which Industrial Symbiosis (IS) has been deemed as a foundational strategy to support the implementation of the CE. The consumption of secondary materials is essential to achi...

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Autores: Rincón-Moreno, J.A. (John Anderson)|||/items/40a89b5d-c582-4f1a-99b4-22b8ebe98d35, Ormazabal-Goenaga, M. (Marta)|||/items/c5b81a72-412c-43fa-8783-2db5c756ba5e, Álvarez-Sánchez-Arjona, M.J. (María Jesús)|||/items/2ecac6d4-1c44-4ab4-ba92-0faf2c5da62b, Jaca-García, C. (Carmen)|||/items/94637002-19cf-4fb1-aa64-9222e8e69eb7
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2020
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Navarra
Repositorio:Dadun. Depósito Académico Digital de la Universidad de Navarra
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:dadun.unav.edu:10171/64541
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10171/64541
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Circular economy
Industrial symbiosis
SMEs
Implementation
Descripción
Sumario:Defining the circular economy (CE) as a material and energy model coincides with the definition given by multiple authors in which Industrial Symbiosis (IS) has been deemed as a foundational strategy to support the implementation of the CE. The consumption of secondary materials is essential to achieve a successful transformation from a linear economy to a CE focused on IS practices. In this scenario, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play a major role as stakeholders in developing CE systems as it is not possible to create this model with each company working in isolation. However, there is a lack of empirical studies on the role played by relevant local stakeholders such as individual firms interacting in the development of a local CE system. This study aimed to study the challenges that SMEs face in developing a CE system. A case study is selected as a research strategy using a mixed-method approach: a sequential quantitative (questionnaire) and qualitative (semi-structured interviews) data collection techniques were employed for this research. It was observed that an absence of inter-organisational collaboration and a misunderstanding of the roles played by SMEs may impede the implementation of a local CE system level.