A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
All for One and One for All : Inter‐Firm Collaboration in the Transformation Towards a Circular Economy
Authors: Sarja, Milla; Mäkelä, Marileena; Onkila, Tiina; Koistinen, Katariina; Teerikangas, Satu; Valkjärvi, Mira
Publisher: Wiley
Publishing place: HOBOKEN
Publication year: 2025
Journal: Sustainable Development
Journal name in source: Sustainable Development
Journal acronym: SUSTAIN DEV
Article number: sd.70020
Number of pages: 15
ISSN: 0968-0802
eISSN: 1099-1719
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.70020
Publication's open availability at the time of reporting: Open Access
Publication channel's open availability : Partially Open Access publication channel
Web address : https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.70020
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/499584415
Self-archived copy's licence: CC BY
Self-archived copy's version: Publisher`s PDF
Collaboration is central to the circular economy. This study examines ways companies can advance the circular economy in their business operations through inter-firm collaboration. The empirical data consist of 43 semi-structured interviews with representatives of Finnish companies of different sizes and sectors that have implemented aspects of circularity in their operations. The findings reveal that companies approach inter-firm collaboration by means familiar from the linear economy, for example, pooling resources. Still, inter-firm collaboration can advance a circular economy: It not only helps individual companies in their pursuit of a circular economy but wider collaboration can also nudge whole sectors towards the circular transformation. In addition, inter-firm collaboration can introduce new norms for conducting business. In the circular economy context, it was found that inter-firm collaboration is currently a way for companies to overcome inadequacies in the system that are largely due to the relative novelty of the circular economy model.
Keywords:
circular economy, circular economy-based business, circular economy implementation, circular transformation, interfirm collaboration
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Funding information in the publication:
This work is part of the research project Circular Economy Catalysts: From Innovation to Business Ecosystems (CICAT2025), funded by the Strategic Research Council at the Academy of Finland [320205; 0245896-2018]. Mrs. Sarja was also funded by the Finnish Cultural Foundation, Central Finland Regional Fund [grant number 30192297]. Open access publishing facilitated by Jyvaskylan yliopisto, as part of the Wiley - FinELib agreement.
