Buser, M and Andersson, R (2023) Including circular value propositions in business portfolio: Examples from Swedish AEC companies. In: Tutesigensi, A and Neilson, C J (eds.) Proceedings of 39th Annual ARCOM Conference, 4-6 September 2023, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
Abstract
The growing attention on circularity has increased focus on business solutions associating the short-term financial interest of the construction industry to maintain or increase economic prosperity with a longer-term focus on environmental and economic sustainability. Numerous researchers and consultants have forecasted and modelized the potential of these new opportunities. However, in practice, it seems difficult for many AEC companies to transform this potential into concrete implementation, and they struggle to apply circular thinking to their business. Our purpose is therefore to explore, document and analyse how a few companies have succeeded to be recognised as the forerunners of circularity. To do so, we build on the frame of circular business models which describe the organisational and financial 'architecture' of a business and the concept of legitimacy to analyse our results. Drawing on material collected in more than 40 companies, our method includes interviews, workshops and ethnographic work. The two companies presented here illustrate a decoupling between moral and managerial legitimacy, enabling them to benefit from the green economy with rather moderate applications of circular principles in their business models.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | circularity, circular business models, moral and managerial legitimacy |
| Index terms: | drawing, circularity, decoupling, interview, workshop, implementation, construction industry, legitimacy, economic sustainability, business model |
| Subjects: | construction type, data collection methods, business, sustainable materials, technical documentation, contractual arrangements, economic analysis, sociology, industry analysis, systems engineering |
| Topics: | Design Practice, Organizational Design, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Engineering Principles, Construction Technology, Procurement, Sustainability |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here