Abstract
Chapters 4 and 5 discuss the empirical evidence from a number of case studies and introduce a distinction between born circular and growing circular firms, with the idea that they can cooperate and benefit from reciprocal cooperation. The firms which are “growing circular” are in a transition towards less impactful activities and towards the adoption of circularity principles. This chapter deals with born circular ventures, that is with circular entrepreneurship in small and young ventures, analyzed through a number of micro-cases, that is short stories of many born circular ventures. From their experience it is possible to extract some key findings about the role of the context in which they have been born and grown, the importance of the founders and leaders, and more generally the issue of human resources and talent attraction. Also differentiated corporate governance forms and issues are found and illustrated. The other key resources, beyond people, such as finance, are identified and discussed, as well as their value propositions and business models.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Battilana, J., and S. Dorado. 2010. Building Sustainable Hybrid Organizations: The Case of Commercial Microfinance Organizations. Academy of Management Journal 53 (6): 1419–1440.
Chouinard, Y. 2016. Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman: Including 10 More Years of Business Unusual. New York: Penguin Books.
Davis-Peccoud, J. 2013. Sustainability Matters in the Battle for Talent. Harvard Business Review 20: 2–3.
Ebrahim, A., J. Battilana, and J. Mair. 2014. The Governance of Social Enterprises: Mission Drift and Accountability Challenges in Hybrid Organizations. Research in Organizational Behavior 34: 81–100.
Elkington, J. 1997. Cannibals with Forks: The Triple Bottom Line of Twentieth Century Business. Oxford: Capstone.
Geng, Y., and B. Doberstein. 2008. Developing the Circular Economy in China: Challenges and Opportunities for Achieving ‘Leapfrog Development’. The International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology 15 (3): 231–239.
Giarini, O. 2012. The Four Pillars Project: 25 Years On. Life and Pensions Newsletter, 5–7.
Jeucken, M., and J.J. Bouma. 2017. The Changing Environment of Banks. In Sustainable Banking, 24–38. Routledge.
Kessler, D. 1988. The Four Pillars of Retirement. Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance 13 (4): 342–349.
McKinsey. 2015. Europe’s Circular Economy Opportunity. Report Available at https://www.mckinsey.it/idee/europes-circular-economy-opportunity.
Nielsen. 2015. Nielsen Global Corporate Sustainability Report. The Sustainability Imperative.
Skånberg, K., and A. Wijkman. 2015. The Circular Economy and Benefits for Society: Swedish Case Study Shows Jobs and Climate as Clear Winners. clubofrome.com.
Social Circular Economy. 2017. Social Circular Economy—Opportunities for People, Planet and Profit. http://www.socialcirculareconomy.com/news.
Soufani, K., T. Tse, M. Esposito, G. Dimitriou, and P. Kikiras. 2018. Bridging the Circular Economy and Social Enterprise: The Dutch Ministry of Defence and Biga Groep. The European Business Review. http://www.europeanbusinessreview.com/bridging-the-circular-economy-and-social-enterprise-the-dutch-ministry-of-defence-and-biga-groep/.
Zucchella, A., and P. Previtali. 2019. Circular Business Models for Sustainable Development: A “Waste Is Food” Restorative Ecosystem. Business Strategy and the Environment 28 (2): 274–285.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Zucchella, A. (2019). Circular Entrepreneurship in Action: The Born Circular Firms. In: Circular Entrepreneurship. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18999-0_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18999-0_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-18998-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-18999-0
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)