Call for Papers

The Companion to the Circular Economy, Business & Society: Collaborative System Change

Edited by
Eva Lienbacher, Assistant Professor, Faculty Business and Law, Paris Lodron University Salzburg
Christine Vallaster, Professor, Faculty Business and Law, Paris Lodron University Salzburg
Anna Schliesselberger, Department Business & Tourism, Salzburg University of Applied Sciences

The growing recognition of capitalism's limitations in addressing the systemic challenges of our time -  climate change, resource depletion, or biodiversity loss - has prompted a reevaluation of business practices. Traditional linear economic models, characterized by 'take, make, dispose,' are no longer sustainable in the face of these escalating environmental issues (Rockström et al., 2009; Richardson et al., 2023). Scholars increasingly argue that businesses play a crucial role in addressing the social and ecological crises resulting from society's disregard for planetary boundaries (e.g. Scherer and Palazzo, 2011). The concept of the circular economy offers a transformative approach to these challenges. Circular business models are rooted in cooperation between partners and thereby create closed systems that eliminate resource and energy losses. Building up strong networks and cooperations is a cornerstone of successful circular practices (Danvers, Robertson and Zutshi, 2023), ensuring that knowledge and resources efficiently flow between companies. Circular cooperative activities on micro, macro or meso- levels are faced with specific barriers or enabling factors (Guzzo et al., 2022) that need further research. This book explores collaboration practices within the circular economy, providing not only theoretical input, but also hands-on best practices.

Collaborative System Change: How Circular Economy Transforms Business & Society aims to explore the multifaceted relationships between collaborative practices and the implementation of circular economy principles within businesses and society at large. By examining how cooperation among diverse stakeholders—including e.g. businesses, policymakers, non-profits, and the public—can facilitate innovative approaches to sustainability, the book seeks to provide a comprehensive framework for understanding the interplay between the circular economy and collaborative efforts.

 

Structure & Topics

The book will consist of four sections, complemented with an introduction section in which a fundamental background on circular economy and cooperation is provided, as well as an overview of the edited volume.

 

Section 1: Preconditions, Initiation and Planning of Circular and Collaborative Activities

Circular and collaborative activities include e.g. the creation of an eco-system and/or network that emphasizes sustainability and mutual benefit among different stakeholders (Brown, von Daniels and Bocken, 2021; Ho, Böhm and Monciardini, 2022). Such circular eco-systems and/or networks focus on creating sustainable, closed-loop systems where resources are continuously reused, recycled, and regenerated, minimizing waste and environmental impact (Petrulla, 2022). The preconditions, initiation and planning of circular and collaborative activities needs further research. On this background, submissions to this section may cover, but are not limited to, the following themes:

  • How to identify potential partners for circular and collaborative activities?
  • How do circular and collaborative eco-systems drive systemic change?
  • How do circular networks, circular business models and/or circular supply chains evolve? (e.g. relevance of legal regulations)
  • What is the role of digital technologies (e.g., multi-sided platforms) in enhancing circular collaboration?

 

Section 2: Collaborative Stakeholder Engagement and Participation

Internal alignment of top management and employees for a circular economy ensures that all parties within an organization are committed to and collaborate on sustainable practices, driving cohesive and effective implementation of circular strategies (von Kolpinski, Yazan and Fraccascia, 2023). Also, aligning and engaging with external stakeholders, including e.g. suppliers, consumers and regulatory bodies, is essential for implementing circular economy practices (Köhler, Sönnichsen, Beske-Jansen, 2022; Testa et al., 2024) and sustainable circular business models (Salvador et al., 2021). On this background, submissions to this section may cover, but are not limited to, the following themes:

  • How to align internal and external stakeholders for collaborative circular economy transition?
  • How to steer consumer co-creation and participation to support a collaborative circular transition?
  • What is the role of digital technologies (e.g., Artificial Intelligence) to engage stakeholders?

 

Section 3: Collaborative Design, Development & Implementation

Collaborative design of products, services and processes is a key element of a functioning circular economy and involves designing for easy disassembly, modularity, and the use of recyclable materials, enabling efficient repair and upgrades (Dagiliené et al., 2004). By integrating input from designers, manufacturers, and recyclers, such designs enhance resource efficiency and support a circular economy. On this background, submissions to this section may cover, but are not limited to, the following themes:

  • How to facilitate design that fosters reuse, refurbishment, and recycling?
  • How to steer collaborative development and implementation of circular design projects?
  • How to use concepts as g. open innovation and digital technologies for collaborative circular design and product / service innovation?

 

Section 4: Monitoring, Evaluation and Progression of Collaborative Circularity

Reporting, measurement, and life cycle assessment (LCA) are essential for evaluating the effectiveness of collaborative circular initiatives, providing critical insights through key performance indicators (KPIs) that track sustainability impacts and progress / impact of joint initiatives (Pena et al., 2021). On this background, submissions to this section may cover, but are not limited to, the following themes:

  • How to measure and report joint circular activities?
  • How to finance collaborative circular progression?
  • How to ensure and measure the long-term effects of collaborative circular initiatives?
  • What is the role of digital technologies to monitor and evaluate the success of collaborative circular initiatives?

 

Types of Contribution

Regardless of the specific topic, we are looking to receive three types of contributions:

  1. Literature reviews that discuss critical points in current literature relevant to the topic of the specific These reviews must make a significant contribution to our understanding of the topic by providing integrative framework(s) and/or paths for further research (expected chapter length: 5,000 to 8,000 words). 
  2. Conceptual, methodological, or empirical studies, such as meta-analyses, qualitative studies, experiments, case studies or surveys (expected chapter length: 5,000 to 8,000 words).
  3. Best Practices to complement the theoretical contributions such as country perspectives, lighthouse companies, and/or research projects (expected length: 1,000 to 2,000 words).

To ensure an engaging text for the target audience (students, practitioners, and academics), all contributions should be accessible - something similar to Harvard Business Review’s style would be ideal. Although the methodology should be described, especially in methodological and empirical submissions, the methodological focus in most chapters should be less pronounced than it would be in traditional academic articles. All chapters must include theoretical contributions and implications for different stakeholders.

 

Submission & Review Process

Submission deadline for abstracts: 31st October 2024
Authors are invited to submit, on or before October 31, 2024, a brief (maximum two pages) proposal that explains the research question(s) and the intended contributions of their chapter, as well as the intended methodology/ approach behind their study. The purpose of reviewing the proposals is to identify those chapters that fit the overall theme. In some cases, and in dialogue with the authors, we may propose changes to better align the proposed chapter. Proposals must not have been published,

accepted for publication, or be under consideration for publication anywhere else. The first page of the proposal must contain a tentative title of the chapter, the targeted section in the book, as well as the authors’ names, full contact details, and ORCiDs. Proposals should be submitted via e-mail in a single Word file (as ‘.docx’) to [email protected], [email protected] and [email protected]

Feedback to authors: 15th November 2024
Authors are informed whether they are invited to submit a full chapter to the anthology.

Submission deadline for chapters: 28th February 2025
Authors will submit no later than February 28, 2025 their full chapter that then will enter into a review process. Chapters should be approximately 5,000-8,000 words in length, including references, figures, and tables. References should follow APA style.

First review round completed: 30th March 2025 
The first review round is completed, and reviews are sent out to authors around March 30th, 2025.

First revision round submitted: 30th April 2025
Authors submit their revised chapter no later than April 30th, 2025.

Second review round completed: 30th May 2025

Second revision round submitted: 30th June 2025

Delivery of manuscript to the publisher: 31st July 2025

 A note about the review process: All chapters will be double-blind reviewed. Therefore, authors should not identify themselves in the body of the chapter. To speed up the review process, we will ask each submitting author to review a chapter (and its subsequent revisions). This process also ensures that all reviewers are aware of the anthology’s objectives.

Please address any questions to:
[email protected]
[email protected]
and [email protected]

 

References

Brown, P., von Daniels, C., Bocken, N.MP. (2021). A process model for collaboration in circular oriented innovation. Journal of Cleaner Production, 286, 125499.

Dagiliené, L., Ceicyte-Pranskuné, J., Telesiene, A., Valusyte, R., Varzinskas, V. (2024). Developing a circular design framework: Co-creation and validation of a circular product and service design tool. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 28 (4), 783 – 799.

Danvers, S., Robertson, J., Zutshi, A. (2023). Conceptualizing how collaboration advances circularity.

Sustainability, 15 (6), 5553.

Guzzo, D., Pigosso, D. C. A., Videira, N., & Mascarenhas, J. (2022). A system dynamics-based framework for examining Circular Economy transitions. Journal of cleaner production, 333, 129933.

Ho, C-H., Böhm, S., Monciardini, D. (2022). The collaborative and contested interplay between business and civil society in circular economy transition. Business Strategy and the Environment, 31 (6), 2714 – 2727.

Köhler, J., Sönnichsen, S.D., Beske-Jansen, P. (2022). Towards a collaboration framework for circular economy: The role of dynamic capabilities and open innovation. Business Strategy and the Environment, 31 (6), 2700 – 2713.

Pena, C., Civit, B., Gallego-Schmid, A., Druckman, A., Caldeira-Pires, A., Weidema, B., Mieras, E., Wang, F., Fava, J., Canals, L.M., Cordella, M., Arbuckle, P., Valdivia, S., Fallaha, S., Motta, W. (2021). Using life cycle assessment to achieve a circular economy. The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 26, 215 – 220.

Pietrulla, F. (2022). Circular ecosystems: A review. Cleaner and Circular Bioeconomy, 3, 100031.

Richardson, J., Steffen W., Lucht, W., Bendtsen, J., Cornell, S. eE., et al. (2023). Earth beyond six of mine Planetary Boundaries. Science Advances, 9, 37.

Rockström, J., Steffen, W., Noone, K., Persson, Ä., et al. (2009). A safe operating space for humanity.

Nature 461, 472 – 475.

Scherer, A.G., Palazzo, G. (2011). The New Political Role of Business in a Globalized World: A Review of a New Perspective on CSR and its Implications for the Firm, Governance, and Democracy. Journal of Management Studies, 48 (4), 899–931.

Salvador, R., Barros, M.V., Freire, F., Halog, A., Piekarski, C.M., Antonio, C. (2021). Circular economy strategies on business modelling: Identifying the greatest influences. Journal of Cleaner Production, 299, 126918.

Testa, F., Marullo, C., Gusmerotti, N.M., di Iorio, V. (2024). Exploring circular consumption: Circular attitudes and their influence on consumer behavior across the product lifecycle. Business Strategy and the Environment, first published 25th June 2024; https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.3849

Von Kolpinski, C., Yazan, D.M., Fraccascia, L. (2023). The impact of internal company dynamics on sustainable circular business development: Insights from circular startups. Business Strategy and the Environment, 32 (4), 1931 – 1950.