Entrepreneurial Drivers for the Development of the Circular Business Model: The Role of Academic Spin-Off

Sustainable Business Model Innovation: Review, Analysis and Impact on Society

Sustainability issues are on the rise and companies are pressured to respond [...]

Investigating Circular Business Model Innovation through Keywords Analysis

Ongoing economic, social and environmental developments have forced the production system to undertake a profound transformation, shifting from a linear to a circular model. The transformation towards a circular economy poses significant challenges for established companies, in many cases requiring a strong modification of their current business models, start-ups and new ventures. Firms need to completely rethink their value proposition, modifying how the product or service is produced, delivered to the customers and disposed of. As a result, interest in business model innovation with a view to a circular system has increased significantly over the last five years, leading to a flourishing literature production. Although several literature reviews have been published on the topic of the circular business model, few of them include the innovation dimension. Moreover, the time horizon covered by the previous reviews extends to 2019 and in one case to 2020. Since 2020 saw a 135% increase in scientific production compared to the previous year, it is necessary to update the prior works, taking into account the new contributions. Our paper aims to bridge this gap by proposing a literature review based on keywords analysis. In this way, it is possible to analyze the issues addressed in the circular business model innovation (CMBI) by categorizing them as core, emerging/phantom, trendy or intermittent. This analysis is particularly suitable for identifying future research directions as signaled by the emerging themes.

New Challenges for Sustainable Organizations in Light of Agenda 2030 for Sustainability

Sustainability is one of humanity’s most daunting issues at present [...]

Innovative drivers for family business models in tourism

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to verify whether, in the tourism sector, the “family business model” is an important development opportunity and, in particular, if it is an innovation driver for this industry development. In the literature, there is no conclusive evidence of this for the tourism sector. In this context, the authors investigate personal and family needs and preferences alongside the relationship between family business model, growth and profit maximization and the development of tourism businesses through innovation drivers.

Design/methodology/approach

To develop this topic, the authors conducted an extensive literature review considering the scientific papers published and contained mainly in database in the last 10 years (2010–2020) and focused the attention on the last five years. The authors ran content and structural analysis on the collected sources by main scientific databases (EBSCO, Scopus, Thomson Reuter, etc.). Based on a systematic literature review, the analysis was conducted using statistical criteria and bibliometric indicators. In detail, the authors used systematic literature review, bibliometric analysis and automatic text analysis (ATA) tools for identified lexicon analysis and strategic keywords and used statistical correlation to classify the different approaches in the literature and to outline the orientations of the various research groups.

Findings

From this analysis, the correlation between tourism, hospitality, entrepreneurship, life cycle and innovation dynamics was analysed. Important research gaps are identified, and future research priorities are suggested. Implications for both family business and tourism theory are discussed.

Originality/value

While the intersection between tourism management and family business model has been established in the literature, the number of related publications is still limited. Against this background, a literature review as a total analysis was an adequate and practicable research methodology. This paper proposes a comprehensive literature review and a reflection on the potential developments and applications for family business in the tourism sector. Authors also suggest several research directions that have not been adequately investigated yet. In particular, scholars do not seem to have caught all the implications of innovation adoption, especially for SMEs and family ownerships in tourism.

Design Guidelines to Develop Circular Products: Action Research on Nordic Industry

Product design and development are key to moving towards a circular economy; however, the majority of products and components that are currently recirculated have not been designed for circulation of any sort. Circular economy business models and closing the loop can be functional only if the products and services are designed for circularity. This paper presents a set of generic design guidelines for different circular strategies. The guidelines are then used to map companies’ circular product design initiatives in the early stages of product design and development. The guidelines have proved to support decision-making and enhance the circularity of products. The guidelines were developed, validated, and tested at four companies within the Nordic countries through an action research approach. Sourcing raw materials, recycling, and ensuring the robustness of products for the use phase are the most common strategies used by the studied companies. There is an ongoing transition towards other recirculation strategies, such as repair, remanufacture, and reuse.

Business Models Amid Changes in Regulation and Environment: The Case of Finland–Russia

Changes in regulation are affecting the international business environment. In this study the impact of regulation changes and ways to benefit from those in Finland and Russia are examined. Logistics and manufacturing companies are studied using the case study approach including ten semi-structured interviews (Finland and Russia) and a survey (Southeast Finland), further supported by an additional survey for logistics sector companies (Southeast Finland). The changes in the business environment have created a fragmented market with a growing number of actors. Three business models (blockchain-based, platform-based and innovative subcontracting-based), capitalizing on the growing number of actors, were incepted in the interview phase and evaluated in the survey phase with companies. These models are integrable with the circular economy, a relevant practice according to the studied companies. Blockchain was perceived as a still immature technology. Further study revealed that the companies are not well prepared for environmental demands in logistics, and the overall volumes and business climate between the analyzed countries have not improved. Additionally, those companies do not actively pursue the possibilities of new technologies. The impact of regulatory changes in this region has not been examined closely with a case study approach. This study helps to explain the current trends in an established market.