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Circular Economy in Business
Research Guide

What is Circular Economy in Business?

Circular Economy in Business applies principles of resource looping, waste minimization, and product life extension through business models emphasizing remanufacturing and recycling.

Researchers analyze over 200 papers defining and implementing circular economy strategies in firms, with Kirchherr et al. (2017) providing an analysis of 114 definitions cited 6924 times. Key studies explore barriers (Kirchherr et al., 2018, 1619 citations) and SME implementation (Rizos et al., 2016, 1128 citations). Murray et al. (2015) offer an interdisciplinary global application framework cited 3025 times.

Curated Papers

Key Challenges

Why It Matters

Circular economy models enable firms to decouple economic growth from resource depletion, as shown in business model innovations by Evans et al. (2017) with 1248 citations. SMEs gain cost savings and market access despite barriers, per Rizos et al. (2016). Kirchherr et al. (2018) identify regulatory and cultural hurdles in EU firms, informing policy for scalable adoption. Bocken and Geradts (2019) link dynamic capabilities to sustainable innovation, aiding firm competitiveness.

Key Research Challenges

Conceptual Ambiguity

Diverse definitions hinder unified implementation, as Kirchherr et al. (2017) analyze 114 variations. Korhonen et al. (2017) term it an essentially contested concept with 1422 citations. This confuses business strategy alignment.

Implementation Barriers

EU firms face regulatory, cultural, and market barriers, per Kirchherr et al. (2018) with 1619 citations. SMEs struggle with enablers like financing, as in Rizos et al. (2016). Organizational design limits dynamic capabilities (Bocken and Geradts, 2019).

Critiques and rebound effects

Critiques highlight overlooked rebound effects and growth assumptions, per Corvellec et al. (2021) with 793 citations. Targets lack specificity for governance (Morseletto, 2019). Literature reviews reveal methodological gaps (Merli et al., 2017).

Essential Papers

Conceptualizing the circular economy: An analysis of 114 definitions

Julian Kirchherr, Denise Reike, Marko P. Hekkert · 2017 · Resources Conservation and Recycling · 6.9K citations

The Circular Economy: An Interdisciplinary Exploration of the Concept and Application in a Global Context

Alan Murray, Keith R. Skene, Kathryn Haynes · 2015 · Journal of Business Ethics · 3.0K citations

Barriers to the Circular Economy: Evidence From the European Union (EU)

Julian Kirchherr, Laura Piscicelli, Ruben Bour et al. · 2018 · Ecological Economics · 1.6K citations

Circular economy as an essentially contested concept

Jouni Korhonen, Cali Nuur, Andreas Feldmann et al. · 2017 · Journal of Cleaner Production · 1.4K citations

How do scholars approach the circular economy? A systematic literature review

Roberto Merli, Michele Preziosi, Alessia Acampora · 2017 · Journal of Cleaner Production · 1.3K citations

Business Model Innovation for Sustainability: Towards a Unified Perspective for Creation of Sustainable Business Models

Steve Evans, Doroteya Vladimirova, Maria Holgado et al. · 2017 · Business Strategy and the Environment · 1.2K citations

Abstract Business model innovation has seen a recent surge in academic research and business practice. Changes to business models are recognized as a fundamental approach to realize innovations for...

Targets for a circular economy

Piero Morseletto · 2019 · Resources Conservation and Recycling · 1.2K citations

The transition to a circular economy requires actions and policies. In the praxis of governance, a common way to steer the transition to a different state proceeds through the setting of targets. T...

Reading Guide

Foundational Papers

Start with Park et al. (2010) on China's circular economy integration (365 citations) for early business-environment value creation, then Borland et al. (2014) on ecological-strategic theory intersections (121 citations).

Recent Advances

Study Kirchherr et al. (2018) on EU barriers (1619 citations), Bocken and Geradts (2019) on sustainable innovation drivers (689 citations), and Corvellec et al. (2021) critiques (793 citations).

Core Methods

Core techniques: systematic literature reviews (Merli et al., 2017), barrier analysis frameworks (Kirchherr et al., 2018), and business model canvases (Evans et al., 2017).

How PapersFlow Helps You Research Circular Economy in Business

Discover & Search

Research Agent uses searchPapers and citationGraph on Kirchherr et al. (2017) to map 6924-cited definitions and clusters 200+ related papers. exaSearch uncovers niche SME barriers from Rizos et al. (2016); findSimilarPapers extends to Bocken and Geradts (2019) dynamic capabilities.

Analyze & Verify

Analysis Agent employs readPaperContent on Kirchherr et al. (2018) barriers, then verifyResponse with CoVe to cross-check EU data against Merli et al. (2017) review. runPythonAnalysis with pandas quantifies citation overlaps in 10 core papers; GRADE assigns evidence levels to SME enablers.

Synthesize & Write

Synthesis Agent detects gaps in conceptual ambiguity via Kirchherr et al. (2017), flags contradictions in Corvellec et al. (2021) critiques. Writing Agent uses latexEditText for model diagrams, latexSyncCitations with Evans et al. (2017), and latexCompile for publication-ready reports; exportMermaid visualizes resource loops.

Use Cases

"Analyze citation trends and barrier frequencies across 20 circular economy papers using Python."

Research Agent → searchPapers('circular economy barriers') → Analysis Agent → runPythonAnalysis(pandas citation count, matplotlib trends) → CSV export of quantified EU barriers from Kirchherr et al. (2018).

"Draft a LaTeX review on SME circular business models with citations."

Research Agent → citationGraph(Rizos et al. 2016) → Synthesis → gap detection → Writing Agent → latexEditText(structured sections), latexSyncCitations(10 papers), latexCompile → PDF with Evans et al. (2017) business models integrated.

"Find GitHub repos implementing circular economy simulations from recent papers."

Research Agent → findSimilarPapers(Bocken 2019) → Code Discovery → paperExtractUrls → paperFindGithubRepo → githubRepoInspect → repo code for dynamic capability models with Python sandbox verification.

Automated Workflows

Deep Research workflow conducts systematic review of 50+ papers starting with citationGraph on Kirchherr et al. (2017), yielding structured barrier report with GRADE scores. DeepScan applies 7-step CoVe analysis to Rizos et al. (2016) SME enablers, checkpoint-verifying data against EU contexts. Theorizer generates theory on business model loops from Evans et al. (2017) and Morseletto (2019) targets.

Try Doxa for Circular Economy in Business Research

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the standard definition of circular economy in business?

Kirchherr et al. (2017) analyze 114 definitions, converging on resource loops and waste minimization, cited 6924 times.

What are main methods for circular business models?

Methods include business model innovation (Evans et al., 2017) and dynamic capabilities (Bocken and Geradts, 2019), focusing on remanufacturing and recycling loops.

What are key papers on circular economy?

Top papers: Kirchherr et al. (2017, 6924 citations) on definitions; Murray et al. (2015, 3025 citations) on global application; Kirchherr et al. (2018, 1619 citations) on EU barriers.

What open problems exist in circular economy research?

Challenges include conceptual disputes (Korhonen et al., 2017), SME implementation barriers (Rizos et al., 2016), and critiques of rebound effects (Corvellec et al., 2021).