Business Model Experimentation for the Circular Economy: Definition and Approaches

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

Business model experimentation has been identified as a key driver for business competitiveness but is underexplored in the sustainability and circular economy spheres. What is business model experimentation for the circular economy? This study follows a two-step approach: a literature analysis followed by a qualitative practitioner study. Based on these, circular business model experimentation is defined as an iterative approach to develop and test circular value propositions in a real-life context with customers and stakeholders, starting with a shared goal. It involves rapid learning based on empirical data to provide evidence on the viability of circular value propositions. Iterations involve increased complexity of experiments. There is a learning focus on initiating wider transitions, such as transforming consumer behaviours for the circular economy. We visualise the emerging research landscape, including research streams from business, transitions, engineering, and design. Practically, we illuminate how practitioners view the concept and current experimentation tools and approaches.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)49-81
Number of pages33
JournalCircular Economy and Sustainability
Volume1
Issue number1
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2021
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

ORCID /0000-0002-6104-3333/work/151437727

Keywords

Keywords

  • Circular business model, Circular business model experiment, Circular economy transition, Sustainability, Sustainable business model, Sustainable business model experiment