BCALL PRIN 2022D. D. N. 104 DEL 2 FEBRUARY 2022
PROJECT TITLE: A capability-based decision support framework for circular economy transition
CODICE CUP: D53D23006650006
Budget: € 118.666
P.I. or U.R. Coordinator Ilaria Filomena Giannoccaro (Polytechnic University of Bari)
Other Research Units or any Sub-Units: Polytechnic University of Milan, LIUC Università Carlo Cattaneo
Project objectives
How can companies effectively develop, implement and monitor their Circular Economy (CE) strategy? Despite the growing body of scientific literature on the subject in recent years, very few studies have addressed this issue from a strategic perspective.
The aim of the project was to fill this gap by developing an integrated decision-making tool capable of supporting companies in their transition towards the Circular Economy by addressing three key phases: 1) the strategic phase, suggesting the most effective CE strategies for companies to adopt; 2) the planning phase, identifying the management practices to be implemented to put the selected CE strategies into practice; and 3) the control phase, proposing specific indicators to monitor progress and the results achieved overall. The capabilityapproach was adopted to develop the decision-making tool. The main results of the project are reported below.
With reference to the strategic phasestrategic phase , the research group developed two tools based on the theory of economic complexity: (i) theCountry Circular Economy Capability Space , aimed at identifying the specific CE capabilities possessed by companies in a given country, and (ii) theCircular Economy Capability Proximity Matrix planning phase, aimed at identifying the most effective CE strategies that companies should adopt in a specific economic sector based on their CE capabilities. The application of these tools to the input-output tables (49 countries and 163 industries) extracted from EXIOBASE highlighted significant differences in the distribution, variety and transferability of circular capabilities across countries. The results also demonstrated that CE strategies cannot be considered implementable by all industries, since their effective adoption depends on the degree of correlation with the capabilities already embedded in a given sector. With reference to the control phaseplanning phase Circular Measurement Toolkit, the research group identified 82 relationships between management practices, CE strategies and company capabilities and developed a new maturity model to support the development of new capabilities for implementing circular economy strategies in sectors considered particularly critical. With reference to the control phase, the research group developed a system for measuring circularity performance. Starting from the identification of the main CE performance indicators, considering different aspects of circularity, such as resource-use efficiency, the sustainability of the materials used and design oriented towards durability and closed-loop systems, a framework was developed, capable of meeting companies’ need to measure their level of circularity, and a framework for Circular Balanced Scorecard, specifically adapted to circular contexts, as it is entirely founded on managerial practices for circular business models. The integrated decision-making tool has finally been applied to multiple case studies to test its effectiveness. The empirical evidence collected from three Italian companies operating in the textile and clothing sector has allowed for the testing of the integrated decision-making tool and the development of guidelines for its use by future users.
The results provide scientific and managerial contributions. They help bridge the critical gap between the formulation and implementation of EC strategies by developing an integrated decision-making tool that explains the selected EC strategies based on the companies' capabilities, the managerial practices to be implemented, and the EC performance indicators to be used to monitor and control the implementation of the selected EC strategies. The academic literature is also enriched by two tools of economic complexity, namely the , the research group developed two tools based on the theory of economic complexity: (i) the and the , aimed at identifying the specific CE capabilities possessed by companies in a given country, and (ii) the and the Circular Measurement Toolkit and the Circular Balanced Scorecard which are effective in identifying which EC strategies are most consistent with the existing capabilities of specific sectors and national production systems; and by two measurement frameworks, namely the
and the which are effective in identifying, monitoring, and controlling the effectiveness of managerial practices for EC strategies concerning financial and environmental outcomes. Managers can benefit from the main outcome of the project, namely the integrated decision-making tool, particularly for selecting EC strategies aligned with the existing capabilities of the enterprise, and for appropriate managerial practices and performance indicators to enable, monitor, and control the implementation of the selected EC strategies. This reduces the risk of adopting unfeasible or inconsistent strategies with the enterprise's production structure, thus lowering implementation costs, improving resource allocation, and increasing the likelihood of success in the transition to EC. In this way, the developed tool supports companies in enhancing their capacity to compete in increasingly sustainability-oriented markets. Policymakers can also benefit from the developed tool. It suggests prioritizing targeted interventions in lagging sectors to accelerate capability development while simultaneously strengthening those sectors that already possess solid EC capabilities, namely the leading sectors. This provides a useful foundation for designing more effective EC interventions at the national level, capable of producing more significant impacts on the environmental and economic sustainability of the entire economic system., The results of the project have been widely disseminated through, 5 scientific journal publications, 2 submitted scientific articles to peer-reviewed journals, 5 publications in international conference proceedings e 2 publications in national conference proceedingsand also through the organization of a workshop and a thematic track within the framework of an international conference.
The project has generated social impacts in terms of public engagement and dissemination of knowledge to a wide audience, including stakeholders from the academic and industrial sectors. Consistent with the project plan, this has been made possible through the publication of the organization of teaching sessions in postgraduate courses, a dedicated webinar of the project ( Massive Online Open Course and the website of the project (https://circulareconomycapabilit.altervista.org/).
