The Temple of Circular Economy : A Multiple Case Study in the Textile Industry

The circular economy has been gaining increasing attention from academics, institutions and industries over the last few years. The establishment of valuable collaborations among supply chain partners is essential for the success of this modern economic paradigm. Nevertheless, actors involved in the development of circular systems face several difficulties in implementing stable and functional partnerships. Our analysis concerns the deepening of the connections between the circular economy and supply chain collaborations that could foster its development. In detail, we focus on the recognition of the key factors driving business partners’ selection, as well as on the identification of the most widespread collaboration dimensions and related barriers to face among the actors that have successfully implemented circular systems. We decided to adopt a multiple case study methodology to carry out the research. The analysis of three start-ups and four incumbents within the Italian textile industry confirms that the establishment of fruitful collaborations is pivotal to successfully implementing circular practices. It highlights that a holistic approach is needed to effectively set this new economic paradigm. This paper further contributes to the extant literature by designing a conceptual framework, entitled the Temple of Circular Economy, that summarises the process and stages that firms should adopt to implement successful circular economy systems