Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T08:54:01.348Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

UNCERTAINTY MANAGEMENT IN CIRCULAR BUSINESS MODEL INNOVATION – THE CASE OF CIRCULAR PLASTICS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 June 2023

Verena Stingl ,
Linea Vibe Fuglsig  and
Cecilie Hoveling
Verena Stingl*
Affiliation:
Aalborg Universitet
Linea Vibe Fuglsig
Affiliation:
Aalborg Universitet
Cecilie Hoveling
Affiliation:
Aalborg Universitet
*
Stingl, Verena, Aalborg Universitet, Denmark, vstingl@mp.aau.dk

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The transition towards circular economy means a radical systemic shift that requires re-design and innovation of business models. However, this radical systemic shift also creates high levels of uncertainty, which pose challenges to the circular business model innovation (CBMI) process. Using the transition towards circular plastics as a case context, this study aims to conceptualize different forms of uncertainty affecting CBMI, and to link them with approaches for managing these uncertainties. Based on interviews with incumbent manufacturing firms that have transitioned to circular plastics, or are in the process of doing so, we identified three domains of uncertainty: goal uncertainty, development uncertainty, and outcome uncertainty. We discuss the nature and sources of these uncertainties, and present different approaches chosen by manufacturers to manage these uncertainties in the context of their business. Our findings highlight the complex nature of uncertainty, and the importance of a nuanced consideration of uncertainty as a factor in the CBMI process. Moreover, our mapping of core uncertainties for CBMI and approaches to manage these uncertainties can guide practitioners in the innovation process.

Keywords

Business models and considerationsUncertaintyCircular economybusiness model innovationmanufacturing
Type
Article
Information
Proceedings of the Design Society , Volume 3: ICED23 , July 2023 , pp. 3671 - 3680
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press

References

Aven, T. and Renn, O. (2009), “On risk defined as an event where the outcome is uncertain”, Journal of Risk Research, Vol. 12 No. 1, pp. 1–11, https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13669870802488883.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baldassarre, B., Maury, T., Mathieux, F., Garbarino, E., Antonopoulos, I. and Sala, S. (2022), “Drivers and Barriers to the Circular Economy Transition: the Case of Recycled Plastics in the Automotive Sector in the European Union”, Procedia CIRP, Vol. 105, pp. 37–42, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2022.02.007.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cash, P. and Kreye, M. (2018), “Exploring uncertainty perception as a driver of design activity”, Design Studies, Vol. 54, pp. 50–79, https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.destud.2017.10.004.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Egfjord, K.F.-H. and Sund, K.J. (2020), “Do you see what I see? How differing perceptions of the environment can hinder radical business model innovation”, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Vol. 150, p. 119787, https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2019.119787.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eisenhardt, K.M. and Graebner, M.E. (2007), “Theory Building From Cases: Opportunities And Challenges”, Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 50 No. 1, pp. 25–32, https://dx.doi.org/10.5465/amj.2007.24160888.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Commission, European. (2019), A Circular Economy for Plastics: Insights from Research and Innovation to Inform Policy and Funding Decisions, Publications Office, doi: doi/10.2777/269031.Google Scholar
Commission, European. (2022), “Plastics”, European Commission, available at: https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/plastics_en (accessed 28 November 2022).Google Scholar
Foss, N.J. and Saebi, T. (2017), “Fifteen Years of Research on Business Model Innovation: How Far Have We Come, and Where Should We Go?”, Journal of Management, Vol. 43 No. 1, pp. 200–227, https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0149206316675927.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fox, J., Gann, R., Shur, A., Von Glahn, L. and Zaas, B. (1998), “Process Uncertainty: A New Dimension for New Product Development”, Engineering Management Journal, Vol. 10 No. 3, pp. 19–27, https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10429247.1998.11414992.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Geissdoerfer, M., Pieroni, M.P.P., Pigosso, D.C.A. and Soufani, K. (2020), “Circular business models: A review”, Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 277, p. 123741, https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.123741.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gioia, D.A., Corley, K.G. and Hamilton, A.L. (2013), “Seeking Qualitative Rigor in Inductive Research: Notes on the Gioia Methodology”, Organizational Research Methods, Vol. 16 No. 1, pp. 15–31, https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1094428112452151.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hahn, T., Pinkse, J., Preuss, L. and Figge, F. (2014), “Cognitive frames in corporate sustainability: Managerial sensemaking with paradoxical and business case frames”, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 4015 No. 1, p. amr-2012, doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.5465/amr.2012.0341.Google Scholar
Hennlock, M., zu Castell-Rüdenhausen, M., Wahlström, M., Kjær, B., Milios, L., Vea, E., Watson, D., et al. (2015), Economic Policy Instruments for Plastic Waste, 2014:569., Nordic Council of Ministers, https://dx.doi.org/10.6027/TN2014-569.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jalonen, H. (2011), “The uncertainty of innovation: a systematic review of the literature”, Journal of Management Research, Vol. 4 No. 1, https://dx.doi.org/10.5296/jmr.v4i1.1039.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johansen, M.R., Christensen, T.B., Ramos, T.M. and Syberg, K. (2022), “A review of the plastic value chain from a circular economy perspective”, Journal of Environmental Management, Vol. 302, p. 113975, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113975.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Linder, M. and Williander, M. (2017), “Circular Business Model Innovation: Inherent Uncertainties”, Business Strategy and the Environment, Vol. 26 No. 2, pp. 182–196, https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bse.1906.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Loch, C.H., Solt, M.E. and Bailey, E.M. (2007), “Diagnosing Unforeseeable Uncertainty in a New Venture*: DIAGNOSING UNFORESEEABLE UNCERTAINTY”, Journal of Product Innovation Management, Vol. 25 No. 1, pp. 28–46, https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5885.2007.00281.x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Massa, L. and Tucci, C. (2013), “Business Model Innovation”, in Dodgson, M., Gann, D.M. and Phillips, N. (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Innovation Management, OUP Oxford.Google Scholar
Matthyssens, P., Vandenbempt, K. and Berghman, L. (2006), “Value innovation in business markets: Breaking the industry recipe”, Industrial Marketing Management, Vol. 35 No. 6, pp. 751–761, https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2005.05.013.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milios, L., Christensen, L.H., McKinnon, D., Christensen, C., Rasch, M.K. and Eriksen, M.H. (2018), “Plastic recycling in the Nordics: A value chain market analysis”, Waste Management, Vol. 76, pp. 180–189, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2018.03.034.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Moqaddamerad, S. and Tapinos, E. (2022), “Managing business model innovation uncertainties in 5G technology: a future-oriented sensemaking perspective”, R&D Management, Vol. n/a No. n/a, https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/radm.12559.Google Scholar
OECD. (2022a), Global Plastics Outlook: Economic Drivers, Environmental Impacts and Policy Options, OECD, https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/de747aef-en.Google Scholar
OECD. (2022b), Global Plastics Outlook: Policy Scenarios to 2060, OECD, https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/aa1edf33-en.Google Scholar
Osterwalder, A. and Pigneur, Y. (2010), Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers, John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Paletta, A., Filho, W.L., Balogun, A.-L., Foschi, E. and Bonoli, A. (2019), “Barriers and challenges to plastics valorisation in the context of a circular economy: Case studies from Italy”, Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 241, p. 118149, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.118149.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pieroni, M.P.P., McAloone, T.C. and Pigosso, D.C.A. (2019), “Business model innovation for circular economy and sustainability: A review of approaches”, Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 215, pp. 198–216, https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.01.036.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pieroni, M.P.P., McAloone, T.C. and Pigosso, D.C.A. (2020), “Business Model Innovation for Circular Economy: Integrating Literature and Practice into a Process Model”, Proceedings of the Design Society: DESIGN Conference, Cambridge University Press, Vol. 1, pp. 2119–2128, https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/dsd.2020.28.Google Scholar
Sakao, T. and Brambila-Macias, S.A. (2018), “Do we share an understanding of transdisciplinarity in environmental sustainability research?”, Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 170, pp. 1399–1403, https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.09.226.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Santa-Maria, T., Vermeulen, W.J.V. and Baumgartner, R.J. (2021), “Framing and assessing the emergent field of business model innovation for the circular economy: A combined literature review and multiple case study approach”, Sustainable Production and Consumption, Vol. 26, pp. 872–891, https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2020.12.037.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saunders, M.N.K., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A. (2015), Research Methods for Business Students, Seventh edition., Pearson Education, New York.Google Scholar
Schneckenberg, D., Velamuri, V.K., Comberg, C. and Spieth, P. (2017), “Business model innovation and decision making: uncovering mechanisms for coping with uncertainty”, R&D Management, Vol. 47 No. 3, pp. 404–419, https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/radm.12205.Google Scholar
The Danish Environmental Protection Agency. (2014), Hazardous Substances in Plastics, Copenhagen.Google Scholar
Thompson, J.D. and MacMillan, I.C. (2010), “Business Models: Creating New Markets and Societal Wealth”, Long Range Planning, Vol. 43 No. 2, pp. 291–307, https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.lrp.2009.11.002.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
UNDP. (2022), Transitioning to a Circular Economy Through Chemical and Waste Management, United Nations Development Programme, New York.Google Scholar
UNEP. (2022), “What you need to know about the plastic pollution resolution”, UN Environment Programme, available at: https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/what-you-need-know-about-plastic-pollution-resolution (accessed 28 November 2022).Google Scholar
Yin, R.K. (2009), Case Study Research: Design & Methods, Vol. 5.Google Scholar