The potential of circular businesses in the post-COVID era: a system dynamics view
Abstract
The last decade has witnessed the flourishing interest of scholars and policymakers to the application of Circular Economy (CE) principles, which has been pointed out as a compelling goal for business and society at current times of Coronavirus pandemic. This paper aims to describe the roles of companies and consumers in CE implementation, the basic mechanisms of circular business creation and diffusion, and their potential contribution to the recovery post-COVID. For the purpose, it has been adopted a system dynamics (SD) view to build an insight model integrating selected literature inputs. Distinguishing between “born circular” and “converted circular” businesses, model dynamics highlight the interplay of circular businesses and responsible consumers, postulating key feedbacks able to affect, respectively, the conversion of companies and people to virtuous productive and consumption behaviours. Finally, the consolidation of such mechanisms contributes to the alleviation of specific socioeconomic and environmental issues ascribable to the Coronavirus spreading.
References
Apostolopoulos, N., Al-Dajani, H., Holt, D., Jones, P., & Newbery, R. (2018). Entrepreneurship and the sustainable development goals. Contemporary Issues in Entrepreneurship Research, 8, 1-7.
Blériot, J. (2020). The COVID-19 recovery requires a resilient circular economy. Retrieved from: https://circulareconomy.europa.eu/platform/en/knowledge/COVID-19-recovery-requires-resilient-circular-economy
Bocken, N. (2017). Business-led sustainable consumption initiatives: Impacts and lessons learned. Journal of Management Development, 36(1), 81-96.
Bocken, N.M.P, De Pauw, I., Bakker, C., & Van der Grinten, B. (2016). Product design and business model strategies for a circular economy. Journal of Industrial and Production Engineering, 33(5), 308–320.
Braungart, M., McDonough, M., & Bollinger, A. (2007). Cradle-to-cradle design: creating healthy emissions. A strategy for eco-effective product and system design. Journal of Cleaner Production, 15, 1337-1348.
Centobelli, P., Cerchione, R., Chiaroni, D., Del Vecchio, P., & Urbinati, A. (2020). Designing business models in circular economy: A systematic literature review and research agenda. Business Strategy and the Environment, 29, 1734-1749.
Chamberlin, L., & Boks, C. (2018). Marketing Approaches for a Circular Economy: Using Design Frameworks to Interpret Online Communications. Sustainability, 10, 2070-2096.
Climate Action Tracker (2020). A government roadmap for addressing the climate and post COVID-19 economic crises. Retrieved from: https://climateactiontracker.org/documents/706/CAT_2020-04-27_Briefing_COVID19_Apr2020.pdf
Crainer, S. (2013). Squaring the circle. Business Strategy Review, 24(4), 13-19.
D’Aveni, R. (2010). Beating the commodity trap. Harward Business Press, Boston.
Dean, T.J., & McMullen, J.S. (2007). Toward a theory of sustainable entrepreneurship: reducing environmental degradation through entrepreneurial action. Journal of Business Venturing, 22(1), 50-76.
De Jesus, A., & Mendonça, S. (2018). Lost in transition? Drivers and barriers in the ecoinnovation road to the circular economy. Ecological Economics, 145, 75-89.
Deloitte (2020). COVID-19: A Black Swan Event for the Semiconductor Industry? Retrieved from: https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/technology-media-telecommunications/us-tmt-covid-19-a-black-swan-event-for-the-semiconductor-industry.pdf
De Winter J.C., Zadpoor, A.A., & Dodou D. (2014). The expansion of Google Scholar versus Web of Science: a longitudinal study. Scientometrics, 98, 1547-1565.
Ellen MacArthur Foundation (2013). Towards the Circular Economy Vol. 1. Retrieved from: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/assets/downloads/publications/Ellen-MacArthur-Foundation-Towards-the-Circular-Economy-vol.1.pdf
Ellen MacArthur Foundation (2015). Circularity Indicators: An approach to Measuring Circularity. Retrieved from: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/assets/downloads/insight/Circularity-Indicators_Project-Overview_May2015.pdf
Ellen MacArthur Foundation (2020). The built environment Two circular investment opportunities towards a resilient low-carbon economic recovery. Retrieved from: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/assets/downloads/The-Built-Environment.pdf
Ellen MacArthur Foundation & McKinsey (2015). Growth within: a circular economy vision for a competitive Europe. Retrieved from: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/sustainability/our-insights/growth-within-a-circular-economy-vision-for-a-competitive-europe
Esposito, M., Tse, T., & Soufani, K. (2018). Introducing a circular economy: New thinking with new managerial and policy implications. California Management Review, 60(3), 5-19.
European Commission (2015). Closing the loop - An EU action plan for the Circular Economy. 2.12.2015 COM(2015) 614, European Commission, Brussels.
European Commission (2019). The European Green Deal. 11.12.2019 COM(2019)640, European Commission, Brussels.
European Commission (2020). A new Circular Economy Action Plan For a cleaner and more competitive Europe. 11.3.2020 COM(2020) 98, European Commission, Brussels.
European Environment Agency (2019). Sustainability Transitions: Policy and Practice, EEA Report No 9/2019. EEA, Copenhagen.
Forrester J.W. (1961) Industrial Dynamics. The MIT Press, Cambridge. Reprinted by Pegasus Communications, Waltham.
Geissdoerfer, M., Savaget, P., Bocken, N.M.P., & Hultink, E.J. (2017). The Circular Economy – A new sustainability paradigm? Journal of Cleaner Production, 143, 757-768.
Geissdoerfer, M., Morioka, S.N., Monteiro de Carvalho, M., & Evans, S. (2018). Business models and supply chains for the circular economy. Journal of Cleaner Production, 190, 712-721.
Graedel, T.E. (1996). On the concept of industrial ecology. Annual Review of Energy and the Environment, 21, 69-98.
Grimmer, M., & Woolley, M. (2012). Green marketing messages and consumers’ purchase intentions: Promoting personal versus environmental benefits. Journal of Marketing Communications, 20, 231-250.
Guldmann, E. (2016). Best Practice Examples of Circular Business Models. The Danish Environmental Protection Agency, Copenaghen.
Haddaway, N.R., Collins, A.M. Coughlin, D., & Kirk, S. (2015). The Role of Google Scholar in Evidence Reviews and Its Applicability to Grey Literature Searching. PLoS ONE, 10(9), 1-17.
Halliburton, B.C. (2020). COVID-19 is a Black Swan. Forbes, March 19th. Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbooksauthors/2020/03/19/covid-19-is-a-black-swan/#66d7b56d7b4b
Katz, R.L. (1970). Cases and Concepts in Corporate Strategy, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
Kirchherr, J., Piscicelli, L., Bour, R., Kostense-Smit, E., Muller, J., Huibrechtse-Truijens, A., & Hekkert, M. (2018). Barriers to the circular economy: Evidence from the European Union. Ecological Economics, 150, 264–272.
Kirchherr, J., Reike, D., & Hekkert, M. (2017). Conceptualizing the circular economy: An analysis of 114 definitions. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 127, 221–232.
Korhonen, J., Nuur, C., Feldmann, A., & Birkie, S.E (2018). Circular economy as an essentially contested concept. Journal of Cleaner Production, 175, 544-552.
Linder, M., & Williander, M. (2017). Circular business model innovation: Inherent uncertainties. Business Strategy and the Environment, 26(2), 182-196.
Maier, F.H. (1998). New product diffusion models in innovation management. A system dynamics perspective. System Dynamics Review, 14(4), 285-308.
Mayyas, A., Qattawia, A., Omara, M., & Shana, D. (2012). Design for Sustainability in Automotive Industry: A Comprehensive Review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 16, 1845-1862.
Matthias, L., Mont, O., & Heiskanen, E. (2016). Nudging: A Promising Tool for Sustainable Consumption Behavior? Journal of Cleaner Production, 134, 166-177.
McDonough, W., & Braungart, M. (2003). Toward a sustaining architecture for the 21st century: the promise of Cradle-to-Cradle design. Industry and Environment, 26, 13-16.
Mendoza, J. M. F., Sharmina, M., Gallego-Schmid, A., Heyes, G., & Azapagic, A. (2017). Integrating backcasting and eco-design for the circular economy: The BECE Framework. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 21(3), 526-544.
Mikki, S. (2009). Google Scholar Compared to Web of Science: A Literature Review. Nordic Journal of Information Literacy in Higher Education, 1(1), 41-51.
Milios, L. (2018). Advancing to a Circular Economy: three essential ingredients for a comprehensive policy mix. Sustain Sci, 13, 861-878.
Mintzberg, H. (1987). The strategy concept I: five Ps for strategy. California Management Review, 30(1), 11-24.
Morecroft, J.D.W. (1984). Strategy support models. Strategic Management Journal, 5(3), 215–229.
Moreno, M., De los Rios, C., Rowe, Z., & Charnley, F. (2016). A conceptual framework for circular design. Sustainability, 8(9), 1-15.
Morris, M.H., Santos, S.C., Neumeyer, X. (2020). Entrepreneurship as a solution to poverty in developed economies. Business Horizons, 63(3), 377-390.
Neumeyer, X., S. Ashton, W.S., &, Dentchev, N. (2020). Addressing resource and waste management challenges imposed by COVID-19: An entrepreneurship perspective. Resources, Conservation & Recycling, 162, 1-3.
Osterwalder, A., & Pigneur, Y. (2010). Business model generation. John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken.
Ragazzi, M., Rada, E. C., & Schiavon, M. (2020). Municipal solid waste management during the SARS-COV-2 outbreak and lockdown ease: Lessons from Italy. Science of the Total Environment, 745, 1-6.
Ranney, M.L., Griffeth, V., Jha, A.K. (2020). Critical supply shortages-the need for ventilators and personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic. The New England Journal of Medicine, 382(18), 41-43.
Saadat, S., Rawtani, D., & Hussain, C.M. (2020). Environmental perspective of COVID-19. Science of The Total Environment, 728, 1-6.
Sarkis, J., Cohen, M. J., Dewick, P., & Schröder, P. (2020). A brave new world: Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic for transitioning to sustainable supply and production. Resources, Conservation & Recycling, 159, 1-5.
Sharma, H.B., Vanapalli, K., Cheela, VR.S., Ranjan, V.P., Jaglan, A.K., … Bhattacharya, J. (2020). Challenges, opportunities, and innovations for effective solid waste management during and post COVID- 9 pandemic. Resources, Conservation & Recycling, 162, 1-12.
Shultz, M. (2007). Comparing test searches in PubMed and Google Scholar. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 95, 442-445.
Sneader, K., & Singhal, S. (2020). Beyond coronavirus: The path to the next normal. McKinsey & Company. Retrieved from: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/healthcare-systems-and-services/our-insights/beyond-coronavirus-the-path-to-the-next-normal
Sterman, J.D. (2000). Business Dynamics Systems Thinking and Modeling for a Complex World, First Edition. McGraw-Hill Companies, New York.
Taleb, N.N. (2007). The black swan. the impact of the highly improbable. The Random House Publishing Group, New York.
Tukker, A. (2013). Product services for a resource-efficient and circular economy: A review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 97, 76-91.
Tullberg, J. (2012). Triple bottom line - A vaulting ambition? Business Ethics, 21, 310-324.
United Nations General Assembly (2015). Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Resolution A/70/L.1.
Urbinati, A., Chiaroni, D., & Chiesa, V. (2017). Towards a New Taxonomy of Circular Economy Business Models. Journal of Cleaner Production, 168, 487-498.
Vanapalli, K.R., Sharma, H.B., Ranjan, V.P, Samal, B., Bhattacharya, J., … Goel, S. (2020) Challenges and strategies for effective plastic waste management during and post COVID-19 pandemic. Science of the Total Environment, 750, 1-10.
Veleva, V., & Bodkin, G. (2018). Corporate-entrepreneur collaborations to advance a circular economy. Journal of Cleaner Production, 188, 20-37.
Wang, W.T. (2011). System dynamics modelling for examining knowledge transfer during crises. Systems Research and Behavioral Studies, 28, 105-127.
Warren, K. (2005). Improving strategic management with the fundamental principles of system dynamics. System Dynamics Review, 21(4), 329-350.
Wolstenholme, E. (1990). System Enquiry: A System Dynamics Approach. Wiley, Chichester.
World Commission on Environment and Development (1987). Brundtland Report. Our Common Future. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Wuyts, W., Marin, J., Brusselaers, J., & Vrancken, K. (2020). Circular economy as a COVID-19 cure? Resources, Conservation & Recycling, 162, 1-2.
Yang, M., Evans, S., Vladimirova, D., & Rana, P. (2016). Value Uncaptured Perspective for Sustainable Business Model Innovation. Journal of Cleaner Production, 140(3), 1794-1804.
Zott, C., & Amit, R. (2010). Business model design: an activity system perspective. Long range planning, 43(2), 216-226.
EJSICE has been approved for inclusion in DOAJ. The DOAJ listing of the journal is available at 
EJSICE is a member of 
EJSICE is indexed by 
EJSICE is listed in the ANVUR (Italian National Agency for the Evaluation of Universities and Research Institutes) as a scientific journal in both AREA 13 - Economic and statistical sciences and AREA 14 - Political and social sciences. 
