Research Context: Circular Entrepreneurship

This chapter introduces the research context of this book, i.e., circular entrepreneurship. This is a timely context, as it is conceived to change the approach to resources from a linear paradigm based on “take-make-dispose” into a circular paradigm that narrows, slows, and closes the resource loops. I start the chapter by providing the theoretical state of the art about the growing research stream of circular entrepreneurship, I highlight the relevance of the context in the current scenario, and I then introduce a conceptualization of circular business model (CBMs). I then explain what I mean by “circular firms” and introduce some data regarding the Italian scenario. Finally, I introduce the topics of organizational transformations toward CE and the role of organizational culture in the transition toward CE.