"This book develops and presents the assumptions of business model in sharing and circular economy as a key determinant of the performance of the company embedded in the network. It also explores the relationship between the business model in sharing and circular economy and achieving company performance in a network environment"--

Natural resources, and the materials derived from them, represent the physical basis for the economic system. Recent decades have witnessed an unprecedented growth in demand for these resources, which has triggered interest from policy makers in transitioning to a more resource efficient and ...

Economic changes in a globalized world require businesses to create new management practices to remain competitive and successful. While a network paradigm is a key management development, the effective application of this paradigm in organizational practice is complicated by differing interpretations and approaches. Therefore, it is important to thoroughly understand the applicable factors and mechanisms to an efficacious business network. Networked Business Models in the Circular Economy provides innovative insights into achieving synergy through the cooperation of many business partners and organizations and adapting operational strategies for the whole network. While highlighting topics such as smart mobility, digital solutions, and green supply chain, this publication is ideally designed for organizational managers, entrepreneurs, economists, management scientists, business analyzers, financial consultants, researchers, and students seeking current research on the dynamical contributions required to achieve mutual growth.

This open access book discusses the challenges and opportunities faced by companies in an age that increasingly values sustainability and demands corporate responsibility. Beginning with the historical development of corporate responsibility, this book moves from academic theory to practical application. It points to ways in which companies can successfully manage their transition to a more responsible, sustainable way of doing business, common mistakes to avoid and how the UN Sustainable Development Goals are integral to any sustainability transformation. Practical cases illustrate key points. Drawing on thirty years of sustainability research and extensive corporate experience, the author provides tools such as a Step-by-Step strategic guide on integrating sustainability in collaboration with stakeholders including employees, customers, suppliers and investors. The book is particularly relevant for SMEs and companies operating in emerging markets. From a broader perspective, the value of externalities, full cost pricing, alternative economic theories and circular economy are also addressed.

Waste to Wealth proves that 'green' and 'growth' need not be binary alternatives. The book examines five new business models that provide circular growth from deploying sustainable resources to the sharing economy before setting out what business leaders need to do to implement the models successfully.

Business Models for Sustainability breaks new ground by combining three important insights. First, achieving sustainability requires socio-technical transitions that entail new technologies, production processes, lifestyles, and consumption patterns. Second, firms play crucial roles in mediating between sustainable production and consumption. Third, radical innovations require organizational innovations and new business models. Peter Wells successfully combines these big picture ideas with rich in-depth case studies drawing on years of accumulated expertise. Highly recommended. Frank W. Geels, University of Manchester, UK and Chairman of the Sustainability Transitions Research Network With increasing awareness that innovative technology alone is insufficient to make sustainable lifestyles a reality, this book brings into sharp focus the need to create radical new business models. This insightful book provides a theoretically grounded but also realistic account of how the design of business models can be a critical component in the overall transition to sustainability, and one that transcends the usual focus on innovative technology. Weaving together key principles and components for business sustainability, the book highlights five very different pathways to the future for sectors ranging from microbreweries and printing through to clothing, mobility and plastics. Business has only just started the first few tentative steps towards a very different approach to creating and sustaining value, but this book concludes that enormous opportunities will emerge alongside new ways of creating and capturing value. Academics and postgraduate students in the fields of sustainable business, business organisations and industrial ecology will find this book brings a greater understanding of business strategy and structure to the discipline. While traditionally referenced and structured, this academic book is accessibly written with key principles that may also appeal to the consultant community.

Increased ecological awareness and the growing scarcity of resources have led to the introduction of new environmental standards, triggering enterprises, regions, and even countries to adopt new business models and industrial reconversion approaches. However, despite increased interest in business models and their innovation, it still lacks the integration of circularity and sustainability and to date research on these areas is still limited. This book, therefore, provides readers with a closer picture of the issues of business models and their innovation for the circular economy in Europe, where the issues of sustainability and the shift towards the circular economy have become cornerstones of European policies and documents and where significant differences have been identified between firms and countries. This book provides a unique view of different European perspectives and enables the reader to compare the situation in countries with completely different historical and economic conditions as well as with different perceptions of the need for the actions leading to the sustainable development and to the shift towards the circular economy.

This book explores the need to develop business strategies, organise and fund transformation projects and manage the transformation programme in order to further a circular economy. Circular Business Models outlines sustainable business models that can be used by companies to move transformation forward on a large scale. In addition to business models the book will cover and discuss a number of other factors necessary for a successful transformation, such as business and innovation strategy, entrepreneurship and change management. Including original interviews with circular economy practitioners, this book will be applicable to industries as diverse as manufacturing, food processing, transportation and mechanical engineering. Addressing the different challenges that meet circular economy visionaries, it outlines strategies and business models needed to gain momentum in these different sectors.

This book is published under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license. The editors present essential methods and tools to support a holistic approach to the challenge of system upgrades and innovation in the context of high-value products and services. The approach presented here is based on three main pillars: an adaptation mechanism based on a broad understanding of system dependencies; efficient use of system knowledge through involvement of actors throughout the process; and technological solutions to enable efficient actor communication and information handling. The book provides readers with a better understanding of the factors that influence decisions, and put forward solutions to facilitate the rapid adaptation to changes in the business environment and customer needs through intelligent upgrade interventions. Further, it examines a number of sample cases from various contexts including car manufacturing, utilities, shipping and the furniture industry. The book offers a valuable resource for both academics and practitioners interested in the upgrading of capital-intensive products and services. “The work performed in the project “Use-It-Wisely (UiW)” significantly contributes towards a collaborative way of working. Moreover, it offers comprehensive system modelling to identify business opportunities and develop technical solutions within industrial value networks. The developed UiW-framework fills a void and offers a great opportunity. The naval construction sector of small passenger vessels, for instance, is one industry that can benefit.” Nikitas Nikitakos, Professor at University of the Aegean, Department of Shipping, Trade, and Transport, Greece. “Long-life assets are crucial for both the future competiveness and sustainability of society. Make wrong choices now and you are locked into a wrong system for a long time. Make the right choices now and society can prosper. This book gives important information about how manufacturers can make right choices.” Arnold Tukker, Scientific director, Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML), Leiden University, and senior scientist, TNO.

Circular-Economy is a new concept in operations management. Its goal is to redefine growth, focusing on positive benefits arising for society as a whole out of efficiencies such as designing waste out the operations process. This book will help practitioners use the proper strategy for effective adoption of Circular practices to use in their organization. Features: Provides a complete understanding of Circular-Economy practices Offers advanced mathematical models to help industry management adopt the correct practices Presents a deep understanding of cross-functional and customer-focused design thinking Covers how to develop sustainable practices in all types of activities within operations management. Circular Economy for the Management of Operations will be of interest to practitioners and researchers in engineering as well as business management