Driving a better future: The role of startups in circular ecosystem innovation

Sammanfattning: The concept of the Circular Economy is drawing increasing attention by practitioners and researchers alike. This is driven by the necessity to reduce excessive emissions caused by linear value chains and the need to cope with increasing resource scarcity. Yet, established companies are struggling to introduce circular business models. Recent literature suggests that circularity may only be realized across organizations and within collaborative settings, implying an ecosystem perspective on the context of circular business model innovation. Startups have been widely neglected as potential drivers towards Circular Ecosystems. This study exploratively considers startups' role in Circular Ecosystem Innovation (CEI) by employing qualitative methods, involving a multiple case study. Findings reveal a set of six ecosystem roles for startups in driving CEI, of which three are newly introduced to the literature: (1) Vertical Digitizer, (2) Horizontal Digitizer, and (3) Indirect Orchestrator. Results highlight the relevance of the industrial context concerning ecosystem formation and its value structure. Startups further face common, interrelated challenges when engaging in CEI. To address these challenges, startups are found to apply CEI strategies. The most frequent challenge lies in convincing actors to join and contribute to the Circular Ecosystem. Differences in role and industrial context appear to explain variances in CEI strategies by affecting how challenges manifest themselves to startups. Beyond this, a set of common strategies is derived that seem to apply across ecosystem contexts. The study concludes by making ten propositions regarding the influence of startups in CEI. In illuminating the role of startups in Circular Ecosystem emergence, this study contributes to a better understanding of the processes that drive the transition to the circular economy.