Amaia Sopelana

Dr. Amaia Sopelana

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Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

15Years (2012-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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1 March 2024 in Sustainability
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MCMikel Zubiaga De la cal
Mikel Zubiaga De la cal
ASAmaia Sopelana
Amaia Sopelana
Alessandra GandiniAlessandra Gandini
Alessandra Gandini
HAHéctor M. Aliaga
Héctor M. Aliaga
TKTarmo Kalvet
Tarmo Kalvet
Effective decision-making in tourism destinations relies significantly on employing suitable indicators for policy design and impact evaluation. However, the adoption of sustainability-focused indicators remains constrained in the field of cultural tourism. The purpose of this research is to provide decision-makers with an extensive array of criteria and indicators, enabling informed decision-making, policy formulation, and impact assessment tailored to the distinctive attributes encountered in European destinations. Based on the synthesis of existing approaches, and in co-creation with 21 European tourism destinations, an indicator-based framework is proposed, structured around the environmental, economic, social, cultural, resilience, and characterization domains. The results are particularly novel in the resilience and cultural domains, related to the recovery from crisis impacts, but also to the enhancement of digital approaches, as well as the preservation and promotion of cultural heritage towards a more hospitable destination. Moreover, the involvement of stakeholders incorporating real-case scenarios allows this research to bridge the gap between theoretical constructs and practical application. The indicator-based framework resulting from this research will provide stakeholders with assistance in assessing and comparing the impacts of cultural tourism on their destinations and, thence, help them acquire knowledge on cultural resource management, contributing to a more sustainable, responsible, and balanced impact.

15 December 2012 in Systemic Practice and Action Research
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ASAmaia Sopelana
Amaia Sopelana
Martin KuncMartin Kunc
Martin Kunc
OHOlga Rivera Hernáez
Olga Rivera Hernáez

15 September 2021 in Sustainability
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Journal Article
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ASAmaia Sopelana
Amaia Sopelana
CACamille Auriault
Camille Auriault
ABAnurag Bansal
Anurag Bansal
KBKarmen Fifer Bizjak
Karmen Fifer Bizjak
HPHelena Paiva
Helena Paiva
ARAntonio CAÑAS ROJAS
Antonio CAÑAS ROJAS
According to recent literature in the field of sustainability, the circular economy (CE) appears to be a thriving opportunity for creating new businesses, although less attention has been paid to the form in which its principles fit into a comprehensive framework that enables companies to design it in a practical way. This paper presents the methodology that has been adopted to pave the way to a coherent reference framework for circular business model innovation and its outstanding design and implementation, taking into consideration the entire value and supply chain. A unique analysis of recent innovations in circular economy models is provided herein, together with an exhaustive analysis of those elements that enable or hinder their implementation. The main interactions among all those critical elements influencing how organisations innovate and operate cooperatively within a CE ecosystem are also evaluated. In addition, a study of five industrial cases in the pulp and paper industry allowed searching for industrial insights and empirical evidence of the relevance of those elements, including observation, document analysis, and interviews. Lastly, the main outcomes of this research are illustrated using the CE reference framework designed when applied to the aforementioned industrial cases, and relevant insights into future improvements are also provided.

28 October 2021 in Sustainability
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Aitziber EgusquizaAitziber Egusquiza
Aitziber Egusquiza
MAMaider Arana Arana-Bollar
Maider Arana Arana-Bollar
ASAmaia Sopelana
Amaia Sopelana
Javier Babí AlmenarJavier Babí Almenar
Javier Babí Almenar
Governance, financing, and business models are deeply interlinked and relevant for the successful implementation of urban nature-based solutions (NBS). However, during the definition of urban NBS projects the importance and interrelation of these models are usually neglected. To overcome this limitation, this paper presents an overarching framework (conceptual and operational) and a derived preselection web tool which interrelate governance, financing, and business models for NBS projects. First, based on recent literature, governance, financing, and business models that could be applied to NBS were mapped, and their integration proposed. Later, key contextual factors influencing NBS implementation were identified. They form the basis of a WHAT–WHO–HOW framework that structures the links between specific NBS projects, their implementation context, and the most suitable models. From that framework, and an analysis of 50 successful NBS case studies, a suitability matrix was developed with known models. The matrix allows pairing types of NBS and their initiating actors with suitable financing and governance models. Lastly, a tailored NBS business model canvas was designed to evaluate the business model components. From the overarching framework, the preselection web tool was created to guide decision-making on suitable governance, finance, and business models in the early phases of NBS projects.

6 December 2023 in Sustainability
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ASAmaia Sopelana
Amaia Sopelana
AOAsier Oleaga
Asier Oleaga
JCJuan José Cepriá
Juan José Cepriá
KBKarmen Fifer Bizjak
Karmen Fifer Bizjak
HPHelena Paiva
Helena Paiva
ARAntonio CAÑAS ROJAS
Antonio CAÑAS ROJAS
Innovation in the circular economy (CE) and the deployment of effective circular business models (CBM) have attracted significant attention in times of growing natural resource scarcity. Despite this widespread interest, significant challenges remain between theoretical innovations and effective CBM implementation in any industrial sector where companies pursue cost-saving opportunities through waste valorisation strategies. Since current methods mislead in terms of the real limitations to designing feasible novel products and services under a circular economy, this study proposes exploring determinants underpinning the organisational resilience of CBMs under a resource efficiency strategy through three case studies. As a result of a co-creation process, the implementation of a CBM framework was built upon empirical data and, thence, a phase-based implementation guide was laid out to assist companies in designing and implementing innovative CBM dealing with the complexity of innovative waste valorisation strategies between the PPI and construction sectors. Relevant findings on managerial and policy recommendations encountered along the demo stage are provided in this paper favouring an effective implementation of CE strategies: the role of technological and non-technological aspects within the CBM, the perspective of the ecosystem and its value proposition, and specific guidelines for the different phases of CBM life cycle.

19 January 2021 in Journal of the Operational Research Society
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Journal Article
Closed access
ASAmaia Sopelana
Amaia Sopelana
MKMartin Kunc
Martin Kunc
OROlga Rivera
Olga Rivera
JAJavier Aranceta
Javier Aranceta
ACArturo Rodriguez Castellanos
Arturo Rodriguez Castellanos
There is increasing attention on the need for dynamic approaches to manage organisational change in order to sustain competitive advantage in changing business environments. Current frameworks and methods are misleading in terms of the fact that flexibility is a temporal and dynamic condition for survival in environments with a high degree of variability in most real-world organisations. This study aims to examine determinants underpinning organisational change strategies throughout the enterprise lifecycle in order to develop a predictive method that will help managers in the design of effective change options dealing with the complexity of organisational flexibility. A system dynamics model was constructed based on theoretical and empirical data from a case study of a Spanish cooperative company. Then, the predictive method shows the impact of managers’ decisions on organisational flexibility through simulations. The effectiveness of change strategies is investigated through the dynamic behaviour of key variables. These factors cause relevant delays on the desired results and could force firms to choose an inappropriate path for change. This study offers significant implications for theory and practice.