The transition to a circular economy (CE) presents both immense potential and significant challenges, particularly for industries that are environmentally burdensome and globally interconnected. Despite the widespread theoretical and practical interest in the CE, only a mere fraction of the global economy operates under its principles.
Linnea Harala's doctoral research highlights that achieving CE goals, such as eliminating waste and maintaining materials at their highest value, requires systemic collaboration across industries, rather than focusing solely on the operations of individual companies.
“Circular ecosystems offer a dynamic framework for fostering multi-actor collaboration to achieve CE outcomes. However, their successful implementation depends on the ability of companies to balance self-organising practices with ecosystem management,” Harala explains.
Her research is based on an extensive qualitative study of 22 circular ecosystem cases in industries such as construction, packaging, and plastics, across Finland, Sweden, and Australia. Through interviews, ethnographic follow-up, site visits, and secondary data, Harala identifies different characteristics of circular ecosystems and how they are organised.
In her thesis, Harala analyses circular ecosystems through three distinct theoretical approaches – circular business ecosystems, circular industrial ecosystems, and circular service ecosystems – each with unique characteristics and organisational structures.
The key findings are summarised as five propositions revealing different characteristics of circular ecosystems and how they are organised. The concept of circular ecosystems is inherently dynamic, and the various theoretical circular ecosystem approaches form a continuum, allowing the same ecosystem to be analysed through different theoretical lenses based on the focus of analysis.
Circular business ecosystems rely on ecosystem management by focal companies to achieve profitable outcomes. Circular industrial ecosystems may be centrally managed or self-organised, or they may transition from self-organisation to ecosystem management. Circular service ecosystems have centralised and self-organising structures.
More established systems, such as reverse logistics, require ecosystem management for efficiency, while complex multi-industry ecosystems can self-organise through nested systems. Self-organisation and ecosystem management can coexist within circular ecosystems, manifesting in nested subsystems or sequentially.
Currently, Linnea Harala works as an Ecosystem Lead at Kiilto, applying the theoretical knowledge and insights gained from her doctoral research in practice.
Public defence on Wednesday 4 December
The doctoral dissertation of MSc (Tech.) Linnea Harala titled Circular Ecosystems and How they are Organised: Multiple-case studies will be publicly examined at the Faculty of Management and Business at Tampere University at 12.00 on Wednesday 4.12.2024 at City centre campus, Päätalo building, auditorium A1 (Kalevantie 4). The Opponent will be Associate Professor Wisdom Kanda from Linköping University, Sweden. The Custos will be Professor Leena Aarikka-Stenroos from Tampere University.