The DOI matches its Crossref record; 58 of the 58 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Circular Business Models: Defining a Concept and Framing an Emerging Research Field
Open accessAbstract
To aid companies in transitioning towards a circular economy and adopting strategies such as reuse, repair, and remanufacturing, the concept of circular business models has been developed. Although the concept draws on contributions from various academic disciplines, and despite its increasingly frequent use, few scholars clearly define what a circular business model is. Understanding about what makes a business model circular is diverse, hampering the theoretical development and practical application of circular business models. This study aims to help frame the field of circular business model research, by clarifying the fundamentals of the concept from the perspectives of resource efficiency and business model innovation. Expanding on these findings, a review of how the concept is used in recent academic literature is provided. It shows that a coherent view is lacking on which resource efficiency strategies classify a business model as circular. This study clarifies which resource efficiency strategies can be deemed as relevant key strategies for circular business models, and suggests a new definition of the concept. With the definition grounded in analysis of the fundamentals in terms of resource efficiency and business models, the study contributes to theoretical advancement and effective implementation of circular business models.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“Product-service systems (PSSs) are often outlined as potential enablers of new business models for circular economy.”
From Configuring New Business Models for Circular Economy through Product–Service Systems (2019) · cites this paper as [10]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
Business models, business strategy and innovation
Teece, D. J. (2010) · Long Range Planning · doi:10.1016/j.lrp.2009.07.003 · Cited by 8,335
The business model: Recent developments and future research
Zott, C., Amit, R., & Massa, L. (2011) · Journal of Management · doi:10.1177/0149206311406265 · Cited by 4,790
A literature and practice review to develop sustainable business model archetypes
Bocken, N. M. P., Short, S. W., Rana, P., & Evans, S. (2014) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.11.039 · Cited by 4,366
Product design and business model strategies for a circular economy
Bocken, N. M. P., de Pauw, I., Bakker, C., & van der Grinten, B. (2016) · Journal of Industrial and Production Engineering · doi:10.1080/21681015.2016.1172124 · Cited by 4,002
Business model design: An activity system perspective
Zott, C., & Amit, R. (2010) · Long Range Planning · doi:10.1016/j.lrp.2009.07.004 · Cited by 3,164
Frosch, R. A., & Gallopoulos, N. E. (1989) · Scientific American · doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0989-144 · Cited by 2,195
Clarifying the concept of Product-Service System
Mont, O. K. (2002) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/s0959-6526(01)00039-7 · Cited by 2,174
Product services for a resource-efficient and circular economy – a review
Tukker, A. (2015) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.11.049 · Cited by 1,961
Designing the Business Models for Circular Economy—Towards the Conceptual Framework
Lewandowski, M. (2016) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su8010043 · Cited by 1,890
The fit between product market strategy and business model: implications for firm performance
Zott, C., & Amit, R. (2008) · Strategic Management Journal · doi:10.1002/smj.642 · Cited by 1,731
Business Models: Origin, Development and Future Research Perspectives
Wirtz, B. W., Pistoia, A., Ullrich, S., & Göttel, V. (2015) · Long Range Planning · doi:10.1016/j.lrp.2015.04.001 · Cited by 1,289
Zink, T., & Geyer, R. (2017) · Journal of Industrial Ecology · doi:10.1111/jiec.12545 · Cited by 1,210
Circular Business Model Innovation: Inherent Uncertainties
Linder, M., & Williander, M. (2015) · Business Strategy and the Environment · doi:10.1002/bse.1906 · Cited by 1,208
Braungart, M., McDonough, W., & Bollinger, A. (2006) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2006.08.003 · Cited by 1,203
The business model: an integrative framework for strategy execution
Richardson, J. (2008) · Strategic Change · doi:10.1002/jsc.821 · Cited by 1,048
Material efficiency: A white paper
Allwood, J. M., Ashby, M. F., Gutowski, T. G., & Worrell, E. (2011) · Resources, Conservation and Recycling · doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2010.11.002 · Cited by 927
Products that go round: exploring product life extension through design
Bakker, C., Wang, F., Huisman, J., & den Hollander, M. (2014) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.01.028 · Cited by 721
A Framework for Sustainable Circular Business Model Innovation
Antikainen, M., & Valkokari, K. (2016) · Technology Innovation Management Review · doi:10.22215/timreview/1000 · Cited by 631
The Oxford Handbook of Innovation Management
Dodgson, M., Gann, D., & Phillips, N. (2013) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199694945.001.0001 · Cited by 580
A Conceptual Framework for Circular Design
Moreno, M., De los Rios, C., Rowe, Z., & Charnley, F. (2016) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su8090937 · Cited by 564
Taking Stock of Industrial Ecology
Clift, R., & Druckman, A. (2015) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-20571-7 · Cited by 515
Exploring consumer attitudes to alternative models of consumption: motivations and barriers
Edbring, E. G., Lehner, M., & Mont, O. (2015) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.10.107 · Cited by 504
Scheepens, A. E., Vogtlander, J. G., & Brezet, J. C. (2015) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.05.075 · Cited by 404
Is Leasing Greener Than Selling?
Agrawal, V. V., Ferguson, M. E., Toktay, L. B., & Thomas, V. M. (2011) · Management Science · doi:10.1287/mnsc.1110.1428 · Cited by 383
Importance of closed-loop supply chain relationships for product remanufacturing
Östlin, J., Sundin, E., & Björkman, M. (2008) · International Journal of Production Economics · doi:10.1016/j.ijpe.2008.02.020 · Cited by 366
The Environmental Impacts of Reuse: A Review
Cooper, D. R., & Gutowski, T. G. (2017) · Journal of Industrial Ecology · doi:10.1111/jiec.12388 · Cited by 337 · cited 7×
“However, implementing circular strategies does not by default lead to increased resource efficiency [7,65].”
BackgroundInfluentialSupply Loops and Their Constraints: The Industrial Ecology of Recycling and Reuse
Geyer, R., & Jackson, T. (2004) · California Management Review · doi:10.2307/41166210 · Cited by 281
A new business model for baby prams based on leasing and product remanufacturing
Mont, O., Dalhammar, C. J., & Jacobsson, N. (2006) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2006.01.024 · Cited by 275
Business models and closed‐loop supply chains: a typology
Wells, P., & Seitz, M. A. (2005) · Supply Chain Management An International Journal · doi:10.1108/13598540510612712 · Cited by 251
Industrial ecology: goals and definitions
Lifset, R., & Graedel, T. E. (2002) · Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks · doi:10.4337/9781843765479.00009 · Cited by 231
Product biographies in servitization and the circular economy
Spring, M., & Araújo, L. (2016) · Industrial Marketing Management · doi:10.1016/j.indmarman.2016.07.001 · Cited by 230
From closed-loop to sustainable supply chains: the WEEE case
Neto, J. Q. F., Walther, G., Bloemhof‐Ruwaard, J. M., van Nunen, J. A. E. E., & Spengler, T. (2009) · International Journal of Production Research · doi:10.1080/00207540902906151 · Cited by 218
Björklund, A., & Finnveden, G. (2005) · Resources Conservation and Recycling · doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2004.12.002 · Cited by 208
Planing, P. (2015) · Cited by 179
Understanding value creation in closed loop supply chains – Past findings and future directions
Schenkel, M., Caniëls, M. C. J., Krikke, H. R., & van der Laan, E. (2015) · Journal of Manufacturing Systems · doi:10.1016/j.jmsy.2015.04.009 · Cited by 178
Product-Service Systems: reviewing achievements and refining the research agenda
Mont, O., & Tukker, A. (2006) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2006.01.017 · Cited by 168
Stahel, W. R. (2010) · Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks · doi:10.1057/9780230274907 · Cited by 153
Worrell, E., & Reuter, M. A. (2014) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-396459-5.00001-5 · Cited by 147
Afuah, A. N., & Afuah, A. N. (2014) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9780203584583 · Cited by 144
Life Cycle Assessment of a Personal Computer and its Effective Recycling Rate (7 pp)
Choi, B., Shin, H., Lee, S., & Hur, T. (2004) · The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment · doi:10.1065/lca2004.12.196 · Cited by 137
EcoDesign and future environmental impacts
Jeswiet, J., & Hauschild, M. Z. (2004) · Materials & Design (1980-2015) · doi:10.1016/j.matdes.2004.08.016 · Cited by 129
Business Model Innovation to Create and Capture Resource Value in Future Circular Material Chains
Roos, G. (2014) · Resources · doi:10.3390/resources3010248 · Cited by 123
Success factors and barriers in re-use of electrical and electronic equipment
Kissling, R., Coughlan, D., Fitzpatrick, C., Boeni, H., Luepschen, C., Andrew, S., & Dickenson, J. (2013) · Resources Conservation and Recycling · doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2013.07.009 · Cited by 106
Bridging the gap: Barriers and potential for scaling reuse practices in the Swedish ICT sector
Whalen, K. A., Milios, L., & Nußholz, J. L. K. (2017) · Resources Conservation and Recycling · doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2017.07.029 · Cited by 99
Self-citationThe service economy: ‘wealth without resource consumption’?
Stahel, W. R. (1997) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A Mathematical Physical and Engineering Sciences · doi:10.1098/rsta.1997.0058 · Cited by 95
Innovative approaches to optimising design and use of durable consumer goods
Mont, O. (2008) · International Journal of Product Development · doi:10.1504/ijpd.2008.020395 · Cited by 90
Rethinking product design for remanufacturing to facilitate integrated product service offerings
Sundin, E., & Lindahl, M. (2008) · IEEE International Symposium on Electronics and the Environment (ISEE) · doi:10.1109/isee.2008.4562901 · Cited by 66
Integration of Circular Economy in Business
Laubscher, M., & Marinelli, T. (2014) · doi:10.13140/2.1.4864.4164 · Cited by 46
To recycle, or not to recycle, that is the question: Insights from life-cycle analysis
Gaines, L. L. (2012) · MRS Bulletin · doi:10.1557/mrs.2012.40 · Cited by 40
Mind the Gap Exploiter: Circular Business Models for Product Lifetime Extension
den Hollander, M. C., & Bakker, C. A. (2016) · Cited by 34
Analysis of service selling and design for remanufacturing
Sundin, E., Bjorkman, M., & Jacobsson, N. (2002) · IEEE International Symposium on Electronics and the Environment (ISEE) · doi:10.1109/isee.2000.857661 · Cited by 34
Enhancing remanufacturing – studying networks and sustainability to support Finnish industry
Karvonen, I., Jansson, K., Tonteri, H., Vatanen, S., & Uoti, M. (2015) · Journal of remanufacturing · doi:10.1186/s13243-015-0015-6 · Cited by 18
Circular business model framework: mapping value creation architectures along the product lifecycle
Nußholz, J. L. K. (2017) · Research in design series · doi:10.3233/978-1-61499-820-4-309 · Cited by 18
Self-citationResource-miser business models
Stahel, W. R. (2007) · International Journal of Environmental Technology and Management · doi:10.1504/ijetm.2007.015626 · Cited by 17
Waste Prevention in a "Leasing Society"
Brien, S. F. M. O., & Steger, H. W. S. (2015) · International Journal of Waste Resources · doi:10.4172/2252-5211.1000170 · Cited by 12
Framework for analysing resource-efficient solutions
Willskytt, S., Böckin, D., André, H., Söderman, M. L., & Tillman, A. (2016) · Chalmers Research (Chalmers University of Technology) · Cited by 11
Diener, D. L., Williander, M., & Tillman, A. (2015) · Procedia CIRP · doi:10.1016/j.procir.2015.02.027 · Cited by 9
What makes solutions within the manufacturing industry resource efficient
Böckin, D., Willskytt, S., Tillman, A., & Söderman, M. L. (2016) · Chalmers Research (Chalmers University of Technology) · Cited by 1
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 5
- Stahel, W. (1994). The utilization-focused service economy: Resource efficiency and product-life extension. The Greening of Industrial Ecosystems, The National Academies Press.
- Velte, C.J., and Steinhilper, R. (July, January 29). Complexity in a Circular Economy: A Need for Rethinking Complexity Management Strategies. Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering, London, UK.
- Jesson, J., Matheson, L., and Lacey, F.M. (2011). Doing Your Literature Review: Traditional and Systematic Techniques, Sage.
- Osterwalder, A., and Pigneur, Y. (2010). Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers, John Wiley and Sons.
- Whalen, K., and Nussholz, J. (2016, January 6–9). Building Extended Value Chains: Lessons from Swedish ICT Repair and Resale ‘Gap Exploiters’ for Original Equipment Manufacturers. Proceedings of the Electronics Goes Green, Berlin, Germany.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Targets for a circular economy
Morseletto, P. (2019) · Resources Conservation and Recycling · doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2019.104553 · Cited by 1,651
Business model innovation for circular economy and sustainability: A review of approaches
Pieroni, M. P. P., McAloone, T. C., & Pigosso, D. C. A. (2019) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.01.036 · Cited by 1,143
Circular business models: a review
Geissdoerfer, M., Pieroni, M. P. P., Pigosso, D. C. A., & Soufani, K. (2020) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.123741 · Cited by 1,089
Circular supply chain management: a definition and structured literature review
Farooque, M., Zhang, A., Thürer, M., Qu, T., & Huisingh, D. (2019) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.04.303 · Cited by 894
Kristoffersen, E., Blomsma, F., Mikalef, P., & Li, J. (2020) · Journal of Business Research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.07.044 · Cited by 841
Metadata
- Authors
- Nußholz, J.
- Affiliations
- Lund University (SE)
- Corresponding author
- Nußholz, Julia
- ORCID
- Nußholz, Julia
- Venue
- Sustainability
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2017-10-10
- Volume
- 9
- Issue
- 10
- Pages
- 1810
- ISSN
- 2071-1050 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2761793726
- Cited by
- 415
- References
- 58
- Citations by year
- 2026: 36 · 2025: 43 · 2024: 58 · 2023: 58 · 2022: 60 · 2021: 71 · 2020: 34 · 2019: 40 · 2018: 15
- FWCI
- 48.35
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Sustainability (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Lund University Publications (Lund University) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Stiftelsen för Miljöstrategisk Forskning
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Sustainable Supply Chain Management
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Environmental Sustainability in Business
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Management of Technology and Innovation › Sustainability and Innovation in Business
- Keywords
- circular business models, circular economy, resource efficiency, business model innovation, reuse, repair, remanufacturing, concept definition, theoretical framework
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
