A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
How do business-to-business actors experience circular solutions? Uncovering the interplay between experience, interaction, and adaptation in the case of concrete element reuse
Authors: Alkki, Lauri; Aarikka-Stenroos, Leena; Jaakkola, Elina; Pohls, Eeva-Leena
Publisher: Elsevier
Publication year: 2025
Journal: Industrial Marketing Management
Volume: 131
First page : 181
Last page: 195
ISSN: 0019-8501
eISSN: 1873-2062
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2025.10.012
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/10.1016/j.indmarman.2025.10.012
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/505502126
The circular economy (CE) is a systemic effort requiring business-to-business (B2B) actors to adopt circular principles to enable loop-closing through collaboration. A crucial, yet unstudied, perspective is the individual B2B actors' experiences of circular solutions in interorganizational collaborations aiming to promote the CE. Therefore, this study examines diverse B2B actors' multidimensional experiences of circular solutions and how such experiences shape actors' interactions and adaptations. We leverage research on customer experience, CE business, and interactions and adaptations in business relationships and conduct a qualitative case study in the construction industry where diverse B2B actors from a value chain collaborate to increase circularity by reusing concrete elements. As our contribution, we 1) uncover B2B actors' multidimensional experiences of circular solutions manifested along cognitive, affective, behavioral, social, and sensory dimensions and identify their triggers; and 2) show how B2B actors' experiences of circular solutions shape their interactions and lead to four adaptation forms at different levels. The findings are synthesized into a conceptual model that displays the interplay between B2B actors' experiences, interactions, and adaptations in interorganizational settings. Our findings highlight the importance of B2B actors' experiences in catalyzing the adoption of CE principles by companies in interorganizational collaborations.
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Funding information in the publication:
This work is supported by European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (ReCreate) research funding (grant ID 958200) and the Strategic Research Council of the Academy of Finland's “Circular Economy Catalysts: From Innovation to Business Ecosystems (CICAT2025)” research funding (grant IDs 320194 and 346626). Elina Jaakkola gratefully acknowledges financial support from the Foundation for Economic Education and the Research Council of Finland. Lauri Alkki gratefully acknowledges financial support from The Finnish Foundation for Technology Promotion as well as the Jenny and Antti Wihuri foundation.