Institutionalization of circular business models in the United States
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19468356 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Nancy Bocken (0000-0003-0137-4074, Maastricht Sustainability Institute, School of Business and Economics Maastricht University Maastricht the Netherlands), Matthew Coffay (0000-0001-5156-447X, Centre for Sustainable Business NHH Norwegian School of Economics Bergen Norway, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 29 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Pages | 2353-2366 |
| Publication date | 2025-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Industrial Ecology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1088-1980 • E-ISSN: 1530-9290 |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1111/jiec.70115 |
| PMID | 42328106 |
| OpenAlex | W4416029903 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 64 |
The transition to a circular economy challenges existing regulatory frameworks, social norms, and belief systems: the dominant institutions. Moving from a linear to circular business model (CBM) is essential for sustainable business transformation. While CBMs have been widely studied in Europe, less is known about their emergence in the United States, where a national circular economy policy is still absent. This study explores how CBMs emerge in the United States, analyzing semi‐structured interviews with companies and employing deductive thematic analysis alongside institutional work theory. First, we identify a variety of successful CBMs in the United States. Second, we present a framework of pathways for circular business innovation. Third, we present a “Circular Business Institutionalization Framework,” which bridges theories on institutional work and ecologies of business models. The frameworks offer insights into institutional leverage points and strategic positioning, with implications for guiding future sustainability transitions
Business model · Circular economy · Institutional theory · Institutionalisation · Sustainability · Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting · Environmental Sustainability in Business · Sustainable Supply Chain Management
Institutions and Institutional Work
Institutional Work
A typology of circular start-ups
Circular business models
I Ndustrial S Ymbiosis
Conducting Semi‐Structured Interviews
Product services for a resource-efficient and circular economy – a review
Business models for sustainable innovation
Business cases for sustainability
A review of the ecosystem concept — Towards coherent ecosystem design
From circular business models to circular business ecosystems
Sustainability in the Circular Economy
The Circular Economy – A new sustainability paradigm?
A review on circular economy
Partnering capacities for inclusive development in food provisioning
Conceptualizing a “Sustainability Business Model”
Critiques of the circular economy
A Review and Typology of Circular Economy Business Model Patterns
Disruption and low-carbon system transformation
Institutional work in the transformation of the German energy sector
Using thematic analysis in psychology
Fit-to-transform
Integrating a business model perspective into transition theory
The Emergence of Circular Economy
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |