Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the managerial practices that companies can implement in order to design a circular economy business model and how companies can create and capture value from a circular economy business model.Design/methodology/approach: The paper adopts a single case study methodology with semi-structured interviews and company, supplier, and manufacturing site visits, conducted in a small-to-medium-size Italian company operating in the office supply industry.Findings: The theoretical setting maps a set of managerial practices for a circular economy business model and sets the research gaps and questions in a research framework designed along three main dimensions: value network, customer value proposition and interface, and managerial commitment. Then, through an empirical analysis, the findings reveal that the proposed dimensions are interdependent and reinforce each other. Moreover, the managerial commitment as moderating factor between the value network and the customer value proposition and interface dimensions is identified as essential for reaching the intended goals of circular economy business models.Research limitations/implications: This study maximizes the depth of the phenomenon under investigation by leveraging a single case study methodology, which ideally helps in a theory-testing approach as in the present case. Future research opportunities could be found in qualitative and quantitative studies to increase the generalizability of the findings of this paper.Practical implications: The paper presents a set of relevant managerial practices for circular economy business models that can be used by managers who have the will to embrace in practice circular economy principles to support the design, change, or upgrade of the business model of companies within which they operate.Originality/value: An interdisciplinary approach that integrates the research streams of circular economy, social psychology, organizational behavior, and business model design has been pursued to test the theoretical setting and the research framework for circular economy business models in a real-world context.

The theoretical and practical understanding of sustainability implementation has been changing in depth and scope. In particular, circular economy paradigms (e.g., Cradle to Cradle or “C2C” practices) have enabled firms to rethink their resource management behavior, resulting in distinct trade‐off patterns among different sustainability dimensions. Furthermore, while many established firms remain reactive and market‐oriented in their sustainability implementations, sustainability‐rooted firms proactively integrate sustainability practices into their core business. The prior literature on sustainability trade‐offs has unduly focused more on established firms that predominantly indulge in market‐oriented decisions and trade‐offs between profit and sustainability, lacking insights into the approaches adopted by sustainability‐rooted firms and trade‐offs among the different dimensions of sustainability. We performed a mixed‐methods study to address this gap and illustrated the rationale and dynamics of trade‐offs among five sustainability dimensions (i.e., material health, material reutilization, renewable energy, water stewardship, and social fairness). We primarily focused on firms in the United States and the European Union since they are the leading areas in terms of circular economy adoption. We explained the pattern of sustainability trade‐offs and associated them with a three‐stage maturity framework, namely, low‐hanging fruits, exploratory, and resource and time intensive. We contributed to the theory by depicting the influence of resource allocation and sustainability maturity level on trade‐offs among the five dimensions of sustainability. Practitioners can leverage our framework to better understand their sustainability transformation and make more informed decisions for attaining higher levels of sustainability with more impact.

Airport terminals worldwide generate approximately 6 million tons of passenger waste annually. Increased awareness of climate change and global interventions for environmental sustainability requires a reassessment of airports’ current methods of waste management. This paper proposes a new design concept solution called circular airport retail waste management (CAWM) for airport terminal retail waste processing, which aims to reduce and ideally eliminate airport waste ending up in landfill or incineration. Given the need for novelty and challenging the status-quo, the double diamond design process was adopted as the research method. The research began by collating the current practices of retail waste processing in airports via a literature review and field observations. Secondly, a critical analysis of the current processes was conducted to identify the intervention points. Thirdly, a concept solution was developed based on the circular economy (CE) 9R framework. Finally, the CAWM concept was delivered to airport waste management personnel for review. CAWM offers a structured way of airport retail waste management practices, including the segregation of nonrecyclable and recyclable waste (i.e., different bin designs, color coding, harmonization of waste colors, improved instructions and signage, various bin locations, training, and installing more liquid disposal and donation stations). Airports can leverage CAWM for greater efficiency and cost-effectiveness regarding airport terminal waste processing, such that more waste can be diverted from incineration and landfill to recovery, which will subsequently help airports achieve net-zero targets. This research contributes to the extant CE literature, especially in the aviation industry context, where the academic discourse surrounding this subject and its peculiarities are limited.

Although researchers have examined organizational sustainability practices, a specific interpretation of local government green development practices remains for supplemental analysis. This study conducted an empirical survey of 53 local officials from departments related to green development to understand the key processes and practices of green development behavior of local governments in China. The key findings indicate that the main stakeholders involved in the green development practices of Chinese local governments consist of enterprises and residents. In part, local government green development practices emphasize the greening of enterprises, especially in the step of process environmental regulation. The new institutionalism theory and the organizational process research provide dependable insights into green development behaviors. Our findings further shed light on the process of cross-sectoral cooperation across local government departments in green development, contributing to local multi-sectoral interactions for regional green development.

Although the elements that lead local governments to adopt sustainable development behaviors have been examined, the underlying processes that local governments adopt to accomplish green development behavior (GDB) lack systematic theoretical analysis. This study aims to investigate the determinants influencing local governments’ implementation of GDB from the organizational internal and external perspectives. This study employed grounded theory to analyze the data and develop an influencing factor model of local government green development behavior (GDB-LG) after interviewing 53 Chinese local officials. Additionally, through integrating process organization research with new institutional theory, the mechanism that explains how these elements influence GDB was investigated. The results of the study demonstrate that the influencing factors model could give municipal governments clear guidance when creating sensible green development policies, further enhancing the efficacy of GDB.