Stakeholder governance to facilitate collaboration for a systemic circular economy transition: A qualitative study in the European chemicals and plastics industry

In the paper

“This can be attributed to the asset specificity in the different strategies.”

What the sources say

• Supported

  Section 5.1 states that slowing-loop strategies have higher asset specificity than alternate closing strategies and describes them within a vertically integrated architecture. The Additional information section links slowing loops’ specific knowledge and procedures to stronger vertical integration. (LLM, conf=0.93)

  cites Hansen and Revellio, 2020 source

In the paper

“This research applies the 12 criteria for transparency and replicability of qualitative research methods as recommended by Aguinis and Solarino (2019).”

What the sources say

• Supported

  The Research Summary says the authors offer recommendations on 12 transparency criteria for evaluating qualitative research. Section 5.4 says they developed those criteria to assess transparency across many qualitative methods. This supports the cited description of the framework; whether the citing research actually applied it is not a claim the source paper can establish. (LLM, conf=0.94)

  cites Aguinis and Solarino, 2019 source

In the paper

“Second, firms maintain (Section 4.2) collective-oriented governance types for stakeholder collaboration, of which there are two varieties: (Section 4.2.1) the type of industry-oriented governance and (Section 4.2.2) the type of cross-industry-oriented governance .”

In the paper

“Interestingly, while the type of company-centric governance is mainly characterized by understanding sustainability as a means to profit as an end (e.g., green washing), the collectiveoriented governance types commonly understand company profits as an essential means to achieve sustainability-oriented ends (i.e., put profit-seeking into service for achieving sustainability).”

In the paper

“The type of industry-oriented governance for stakeholder collaborations is focused on devising and implementing those innovative governance structures that seek to bring the whole industry in a better congruence with prevalent understandings of sustainability requirements.”

In the paper

“Particularly, the two latter are characterized by collectively oriented governance structures that need to be developed through co-creation by diverse stakeholders.”

In the paper

“Using this criterion, we identified 680 distinct text units and saved each one as a single digital ' index card ' (see Appendix A) in the WinRelan system (Herrmann et al., 2022).”

In the paper

“At the conclusion of our analysis, we obtained 372 distinct keywords that capture the semantic essence of each text unit.”

In the paper

“Within this type, companies nurture long-term relationships that seek to improve sustainability standards and practices at the level of a whole industry.”

In the paper

“In addition, relationships between the focal firm and its immediate financial stakeholders and industry associations are perceived as crucial for optimizing the organizational performance.”

In the paper

“Within the type of cross-industry-oriented governance for stakeholder collaborations, stakeholders work together to actively devise new CE-enabling governance structures, with the boundaries of stakeholder involvement being even broader than within the type of industry-oriented governance.”

In the paper

“Crucially, CE-enabling governance structures are not limited to industrial boundaries and require participation of organizations operating in adjacent industries (e.g., PET, PP, and PE).”

In the paper

“But crucially, all these innovative governance structures do not interfere with the economic logic of profit orientation, which is perceived as a long-term means that needs to be instrumentalized for the sake of promoting a CE transition.”

In the paper

“Stakeholders who could participate in such structures include not only various subject matter experts, universities, and research institutes, but even actual (and potential) competitors, since each of these may deliver crucial inputs for the transition to CE as a systemic encompassing change.”

In the paper

“Second, it is widely understood that the CE paradigm entails systemic change at the macro, meso, and micro levels (e.g., Kirchherr et al., 2017; Korhonen et al., 2018,b; Prieto-Sandoval et al., 2018)”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites Kirchherr et al., 2017 source
• ?Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  cites Korhonen et al., 2018,b
• ?Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  cites Prieto-Sandoval et al., 2018

In the paper

“In a similar vein, Schaltegger et al. (2019) note that the notion of business case tends to impose a limitation on the opportunities that managers have for realizing morally desirable goals, such as sustainability, since not all of these goals are translatable into a business case.”

What the sources say

• ?Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Schaltegger et al., 2019 source

In the paper

“Similarly, Jabbour et al. (2020) examine different stakeholder types but stress that stakeholders' role is primarily to exert pressure rather than actively collaborating to collectively engage in (innovative) governance.”

What the sources say

• ?Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Jabbour et al., 2020 source

In the paper

“Thus, the functionality of markets requires innovative governance, which is essential for harnessing the full potential of technological innovation that bears on market innovation (cf. Beckmann et al., 2014; Pies et al., 2009).”

What the sources say

• ?Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  cites Beckmann et al., 2014
• ?Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Pies et al., 2009 source

In the paper

“Most relevant to the CE context, Tapaninaho and Heikkinen (2022, p. 2) argue that stakeholder relationships in a CE imply a mode of value creation that goes ' beyond the traditional and dominant focus on a single company and on firm profitability and competitiveness, '”

What the sources say

• Not checked yet

  Checked before — its earlier verdict is held back until a new check runs.

  cites Tapaninaho and Heikkinen, 2022 source

In the paper

“As Johnson-Cramer et al. (2022) note, current scholarship in stakeholder theory seems to be affected by ' the stakeholder-system divide ' that underscores the tendency of the company-centric focus of stakeholder management to sideline the issues of the desirable societal systemic change.”

What the sources say

• ?Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  cites Johnson-Cramer et al., 2022

In the paper

“While (ii) recycling can be the most promising avenue toward circularity (i.e. chemical recycling), the (iii) reuse of PUR appears quite difficult due to its complex chemical properties.”

What the sources say

• ?Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  cites Brice, 2019
• ?Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Simón et al., 2018 source

In the paper

“A vast majority of PUR waste still goes to landfill (45%), accounting for around 460,000 tons annually (EC, 2019; PUReSmart, 2020), thus lasting in our ecosystems for a considerable length of time.”

What the sources say

• ?Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  cites EC, 2019
• ?Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  cites PUReSmart, 2020

In the paper

“and (ii) recycled, especially in a chemical fashion (Brice, 2019; Sim on et al., 2018).”

What the sources say

• ?Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  cites Brice, 2019
• ?Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Simón et al., 2018 source

In the paper

“Jabbour et al. (2020) provide and test a research framework that primarily focuses on the firm and market levels and effectively captures the imbricated and complex relations among stakeholder pressure, barriers to and motivators of the CE, circular business models, and firms' sustainable performance.”

What the sources say

• ?Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Jabbour et al., 2020 source

In the paper

“The systematic, rule-based procedure of systematizing, coding, and interpreting the data enhances the validity of our data and findings (Müller et al., 2011).”

What the sources say

• ?Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  cites Müller et al., 2011

In the paper

“As a case in point, Hansen and Schmitt (2021) discuss the importance of stakeholder collaboration for CE product innovation. However, they appear to bypass the complementary aspect of governance for guiding collaboration processes.”

What the sources say

• ?Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  cites Hansen and Schmitt, 2021

In the paper

“In fact, it is collective action that determines the trajectory of market dynamics.”

In the paper

“We recorded and transcribed all interviews and sent the interview memos back to the interviewees for validation and clarification to ensure accuracy.”

In the paper

“This shift is a large-scale systemic task that requires innovation activities on the macro, meso, and micro levels (Kirchherr et al., 2017; Korhonen et al., 2018,b; Kuzma et al., 2022; Prieto-Sandoval et al., 2018).”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites Kirchherr et al., 2017 source
• ?Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  cites Korhonen et al., 2018,b
• ?Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  cites Kuzma et al., 2022

In the paper

“Lastly, Köhler et al. (2022) develop a cross-sectoral collaboration in networks' framework for CE. They contribute to our understanding of how cross-sectoral collaboration can support advancing CE practices by developing knowledge-sharing routines and eco-centric dynamic capabilities. They emphasize the importance of effective governance as a prerequisite for successful cross-sector collaborations”

What the sources say

• ?Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Köhler et al., 2022 source

In the paper

“Their findings suggest that firms following slowing strategies (i.e., repair, reuse, and remanufacturing) pursue higher degrees of vertical integration than those following closing strategies (i.e., recycling).”

What the sources say

• Not checked yet

  Checked before — its earlier verdict is held back until a new check runs.

  cites Hansen and Revellio, 2020 source

In the paper

“Specifically, the study benefitted from the variety of interviewees' perspectives covering influential organizations operating along the entire supply chain of the chemicals and plastics industry.”

In the paper

“Institutional economics provides a viable lens to analyze system-level aspects since it understands the market as a neutral mechanism that relies on collective action.”

In the paper

“In line with Tapaninaho and Heikkinen (2022) as well as Marjamaa et al. (2021), this paper acknowledges that this widely shared goal may be realized through extensive stakeholder collaborations guided by innovative governance.”

What the sources say

• Not checked yet

  Checked before — its earlier verdict is held back until a new check runs.

  cites Tapaninaho and Heikkinen, 2022 source
• ?Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Marjamaa et al., 2021 source

In the paper

“While it may be anticipated that the latter mode could eventually result in the prominence of trade-offs among individual stakeholders, the former mode involves stakeholders collaborating to establish new governance structures that can effectively resolve the salient conflicts of interest.”

In the paper

“The researchers' position along the insider -outsider continuum is predominantly described by no existence of a relationship with study participants prior to the interview process except of interviewees I-18 and I-19.”

In the paper

“It ensured traceability and transparency of findings during the whole procedure due to the rigorous software-based standards of GABEK-WinRelan (Raich et al., 2014).”

What the sources say

• ?Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Raich et al., 2014 source

In the paper

“In a similar vein, de Sousa Jabbour et al. (2022) develop a CE research framework that predominantly focuses on the firm level. By applying a resource-based view, four types of firm performance were identified. However, this framework may not be designed (nor do justice) to the systemic nature of CE.”

What the sources say

• ?Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites de Sousa Jabbour et al., 2022 source

In the paper

“the (iii) reuse of PUR appears quite difficult due to its complex chemical properties.”

In the paper

“In a similar vein, Pinheiro et al. (2018) explore product innovation in a CE context and empirically identify legislation and regulation as main drivers of the CE. However, the authors bypass the analysis of the full potential of governance that comprises of both public ordering (1st order) and private ordering (2nd order).”

What the sources say

• ?Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Pinheiro et al., 2018 source

In the paper

“As Weitzner and Deutsch (2019) suggest, if stakeholder collaborations create sustainable competitive advantage for a minority of elite firms, these collaborations will likely be insufficient for promoting systemic change that must affect a certain critical mass of market actors.”

What the sources say

• ?Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Weitzner and Deutsch, 2019 source

In the paper

“However, the proposed product innovation (and other types of market-related innovation) may not be radical enough to enable a fully-fledged CE (Kiefer et al., 2021).”

What the sources say

• Not checked yet

  Checked before — its earlier verdict is held back until a new check runs.

  cites Kiefer et al., 2021 source

In the paper

“To foster trust and encourage additional insights, we guaranteed the anonymity of the interviewees (Berry, 2002; Gioia et al., 2013).”

• Also stated in: § 3.2 | Data coding, data analysis, and data disclosure · p. 7 · plain

  “To ensure trust and being in line with ethical research guidelines, we guaranteed the anonymity of the interviewees as recommended by Berry (2002) and Gioia et al. (2013) with the aim to gain unorthodox and unbiased views from the participants.”

What the sources say

• ?Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Berry, 2002 source
• ?Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Gioia et al., 2013 source

In the paper

“Furthermore, it has been argued that insofar as stakeholder collaborations are guided by innovative governance, they can promote the transition to CE as a systemic change and thus at least partly overcome ' the stakeholder-system divide ' pointed out by Johnson-Cramer et al. (2022).”

What the sources say

• ?Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  cites Johnson-Cramer et al., 2022

In the paper

“fossilbased PURs can be (i) reduced by replacing polyols with bio-oils (Kura nska et al., 2020)”

What the sources say

• Not checked yet

  Checked before — its earlier verdict is held back until a new check runs.

  cites Kurańska et al., 2020 source

In the paper

“Further, Castro-Lopez et al. (2023) discuss circular business models that clearly operate at the firm level.”

What the sources say

• ?Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Castro-Lopez et al., 2023 source

In the paper

“Further, Ho et al. (2022) propose a theoretical framework to enhance the understanding of the dynamic interplay between businesses and civil society in CE transitions. Their work contributes to the understanding of mechanisms and strategies for cooperation and contestation and the authors seek to understand how civil society organizations interact with firms to bring about CE innovation, outlining”

What the sources say

• ?Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  cites Ho et al., 2022

In the paper

“A key purpose of such governance structures is to give expression and guidance to the jointness of stakeholder interests required for a CE transition (Marjamaa et al., 2021).”

What the sources say

• ?Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Marjamaa et al., 2021 source

In the paper

“GABEK-WinRelan enabled us to precisely identify those associative linkages between frequently occurring keywords in order to demonstrate how the interview experts understand CE-oriented stakeholder relationships, collaboration, and governance approaches occurring in the European chemicals and plastics industry.”

What the sources say

• ?Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Raich et al., 2014 source

In the paper

“Pinheiro et al. (2022) discuss stakeholder pressures and institutional voids. In their work, the function of stakeholders is to exert pressure.”

What the sources say

• ?Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  cites Pinheiro et al., 2022

In the paper

“operating within the governance mode, stakeholders devise and co-create the governance structures that enable the '' winwin-win-win-win ' relationships ' (Freeman et al., 2018, p. 3).”

What the sources say

• ?Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  cites Freeman et al., 2018

In the paper

“Thus, this study shares the questionnaire (see Appendix B) and the relevant aspects, that is, the research essence, of our detailed transcripts in the findings section.”

In the paper

“Against this backdrop, it is reasonable to acknowledge a broad basis for the convergence of stakeholder interests concerning the overarching and widely shared objective of a transition to a CE as a systemic change.”

In the paper

“As a result, we were able to attract representatives possessing profound experience between 10 and 40 years in chemicals and plastics industry organizations covering the entire supply chain from chemicals processing of oil to production of endconsumer-products to waste management and recycling operations.”

In the paper

“While some stakeholder collaborations for CE may be company-centric and thus potentially affected by the problem of trade-offs, other collaborations are collectively governance-oriented and utilize new collective governance structures to overcome the trade-offs that emerge (see Table 2).”

In the paper

“As rule creators, companies are directly responsible for the design of innovative governance structures, which are needed for incentivizing systemic change.”

In the paper

“that may resolve the salient conflicts of interest.”

In the paper

“These innovative governance structures do not interfere with the profit-seeking objectives of individual companies but modify the institutional constraints faced by these companies in such a way that their profit-seeking orientation no longer causes their interests to collide.”

In the paper

“Furthermore, in view of the industry-spanning nature of the needed stakeholder collaborations, the CEO of a PUR Consultancy argued that devising CE-enabling governance structures requires ' a holistic concept and not only isolated measures, which affect only a single stakeholder of a very complex supply chain.”

In the paper

“Unlike the latter, which will ultimately result in the prominence of trade-offs among individual stakeholders”

In the paper

“the ' collective governance mode ' involves stakeholders working together to co-create new governance structures”