The circular economy promotes sustainable development by preserving the value of products and materials, utilizing renewable energy, and reducing the generation of waste. However, the transition to a circular economy is still challenging for companies operating on linear business logics. In her double dissertation between the University of Tampere and the Politecnico di Milano, Jenni Kaipainen studies companies that have succeeded in developing circular business as pioneers in their industries.
”Both the business world and researchers are currently focusing on identifying what companies could do for the circular economy today, at this very moment. In addition to these operational and static viewpoints, companies should consider the strategic implications of circular economy business development in the longer term,” states Jenni Kaipainen.
In her dissertation, Kaipainen examines twelve circular economy pioneer companies in different industries in Italy and Finland. The dissertation findings are displayed in a process model that captures the strategic development of circular economy business in established companies step by step.
“The process starts with the company's own strategic decisions and managerial commitment. Along the way, learning and unlearning is needed in the company to grasp the special features of circular economy and sustainable business,” Jenni Kaipainen says.
Inter-organizational collaboration accelerates the strategic development of circular economy business
According to Kaipainen, companies should proactively develop circular business with increasingly radical outcomes, especially in environmentally burdensome industries.
“It is often easier for companies to start from their own processes, technologies, and products in order to develop circular economy business models and strategies. Financially, this is supported by the existing ‘linear’ business. Integrating the circular economy into business is therefore a matter of the entire corporate strategy,” Jenni Kaipainen points out.
The strategic development of circular economy business is accelerated by collaboration beyond company boundaries. While the ecosystems surrounding the company develop towards the circular economy, the company's initial partners obtain new roles and the importance of collaboration increases over time.
“Forerunner companies collaborate for example to utilize feedback in their strategic decision-making, to facilitate learning, and to align the development of the surrounding ecosystems, industries, and markets with their own circular economy visions,” Jenni Kaipainen describes.
Public defence on Friday 15 December
Master of Science (Technology) Jenni Kaipainen's doctoral double dissertation in the field of Industrial Engineering and Management titled Strategic Development of Circular Economy Business in Established Companies: A process approach to business strategy, business model innovation, and collaboration will be publicly examined at the University of Tampere's Faculty of Management and Business, on Friday 15 December 2023 at 12 o’clock. The venue is the Festia hall Pieni Sali 1, Hervanta campus (Korkeakoulunkatu 8, Tampere). The opponent will be Professor Henri Hakala from LUT University, and the other members of the dissertation committee for the double dissertation will be Professor Sergio Terzi from Politecnico di Milano and Assistant Professor Tomás Santa María González from Universidad del Desarrollo. The Custos will be Professor Leena Aarikka-Stenroos from Tampere University's Faculty of Management and Business.
The dissertation is available online.
The public defence can be followed via a remote connection.
Photograph: Arto Jalonen