Tesi etd-09252024-134735
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Tipo di tesi
Dottorato
Autore
MECCA, DOMENICO
URN
etd-09252024-134735
Titolo
Looking Beyond Company Boundaries: Organizational Capabilities and Collaborative Strategies as Lever for a Systemic Transition to a Circular Economy
Settore scientifico disciplinare
SECS-P/08
Corso di studi
Istituto di Management - PHD IN MANAGEMENT - INNOVATION, SUSTAINABILITY AND HEALTHCARE
Commissione
relatore Prof. FREY, MARCO
Membro Prof.ssa GUSMEROTTI, NATALIA MARZIA
Membro Prof.ssa GUSMEROTTI, NATALIA MARZIA
Parole chiave
- absorptive capacity
- circular economy
- dynamic capabilities
- supply chain collaboration
Data inizio appello
06/03/2025;
Disponibilità
parziale
Riassunto analitico
The Circular Economy (CE) has emerged as a crucial strategy to address the pressing global challenges of resource depletion, environmental degradation, and climate change, offering a transformative approach to reshaping current production and consumption models toward sustainable development. Businesses play an essential role in this transition but face significant technological, economic, and organizational challenges that demand enhanced inter-functional coordination and supply chain collaboration. This doctoral dissertation aims to investigate how companies can leverage organizational capabilities and collaborative strategies to successfully navigate the transition from linear to circular economic models. The proposal is structured in three studies, each addressing critical gaps in the CE literature and progressively exploring the importance to extend focus beyond organizational boundaries to facilitate systemic change.
The first study builds on the deliberate learning framework of Zollo & Winter (2002) to examine the interplay between absorptive capacity (ACAP) and dynamic capabilities (DC) in supporting the organizational transformations required for the circular transition. It seeks to understand how companies acquire, assimilate, and apply new knowledge to reconfigure internal processes for the implementation of circular strategies. A questionnaire-based survey was administered to a sample of 1,711 Italian manufacturing firms, and the research model was analyzed using covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM). The results highlight the critical link between organizational learning mechanisms and the ability to reconfigure resources and structures, emphasizing the importance of insights gained from the external environment.
Building on these findings, the second study explores the roles of ACAP, strategic sensitivity (SS), and supply chain collaboration (SCC) in enhancing companies' CE performance. It posits that companies needs to look beyond their boundaries, engage with suppliers and customers, and leverage supply chain networks to identify and seize circular innovation opportunities. A survey to 182 Italian manufacturing companies was conducted and a structural equation model was employed to examine the research model. The findings reveal that ACAP and SS individually make significant contributions to SCC, which in turn has a notable impact on CE performance. Additionally, the study underscores the synergistic effect of these capabilities, demonstrating that their combined presence fosters a dynamic tension that enables organizations to remain responsive to changes and external trends, facilitating adaptation through collaborative supply chain practices.
The third and final study investigates how companies can drive systemic circular innovation across their value networks by developing and adopting a circular performance measurement system (PMS) for their suppliers. Using an action research approach rooted in engaged scholarship, a PMS was co-created with nine European manufacturing companies in the food and beverage sector to evaluate the circularity performance of their first-tier suppliers. This iterative and collaborative process allowed for the creation of a practical tool that addresses industry needs while advancing theoretical understanding. The PMS was subsequently implemented with 43 suppliers, and its effectiveness was assessed through evaluation activities and follow-up workshops. The system proved valuable in identifying performance weaknesses and fostering coordinated efforts across suppliers, driving systemic innovation toward circular and regenerative models.
Overall, findings from these studies indicate that companies' organizational capabilities - such as sensing the external environment, absorbing and capitalizing on generated knowledge, and reconfiguring resources - act as central drivers of the circular transition. Furthermore, the three studies align on the importance for companies to look beyond their organizational boundaries and recognize the supply chain as a favorable context for building knowledge and developing circular innovation processes. In managing these processes, circular PMS constitutes a practical tool for evaluating current barriers by deeply understanding the value network's weaknesses and setting goals to guide strategic planning toward a systemic transition.
Overall, the findings from these three studies demonstrate that organizational capabilities - such as sensing the external environment, absorbing and capitalizing on knowledge, and reconfiguring resources - are pivotal drivers of the circular transition. Moreover, the studies converge on the critical role of looking beyond organizational boundaries, recognizing the supply chain as a favorable context for building capabilities and developing circular innovation processes. In this context, circular PMS serves as a practical tool for assessing current barriers, uncovering weaknesses within the value network, and setting strategic goals for a systemic transition to circularity.
This dissertation contributes to both theoretical advancements and practical applications by providing a roadmap for managers and policymakers to leverage organizational learning capabilities and supply chain collaboration as catalysts for CE transition. Additionally, the findings offer a foundation for future research to explore the scalability of these insights across various sectors and geographic contexts, broadening the practical relevance of the work.
The first study builds on the deliberate learning framework of Zollo & Winter (2002) to examine the interplay between absorptive capacity (ACAP) and dynamic capabilities (DC) in supporting the organizational transformations required for the circular transition. It seeks to understand how companies acquire, assimilate, and apply new knowledge to reconfigure internal processes for the implementation of circular strategies. A questionnaire-based survey was administered to a sample of 1,711 Italian manufacturing firms, and the research model was analyzed using covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM). The results highlight the critical link between organizational learning mechanisms and the ability to reconfigure resources and structures, emphasizing the importance of insights gained from the external environment.
Building on these findings, the second study explores the roles of ACAP, strategic sensitivity (SS), and supply chain collaboration (SCC) in enhancing companies' CE performance. It posits that companies needs to look beyond their boundaries, engage with suppliers and customers, and leverage supply chain networks to identify and seize circular innovation opportunities. A survey to 182 Italian manufacturing companies was conducted and a structural equation model was employed to examine the research model. The findings reveal that ACAP and SS individually make significant contributions to SCC, which in turn has a notable impact on CE performance. Additionally, the study underscores the synergistic effect of these capabilities, demonstrating that their combined presence fosters a dynamic tension that enables organizations to remain responsive to changes and external trends, facilitating adaptation through collaborative supply chain practices.
The third and final study investigates how companies can drive systemic circular innovation across their value networks by developing and adopting a circular performance measurement system (PMS) for their suppliers. Using an action research approach rooted in engaged scholarship, a PMS was co-created with nine European manufacturing companies in the food and beverage sector to evaluate the circularity performance of their first-tier suppliers. This iterative and collaborative process allowed for the creation of a practical tool that addresses industry needs while advancing theoretical understanding. The PMS was subsequently implemented with 43 suppliers, and its effectiveness was assessed through evaluation activities and follow-up workshops. The system proved valuable in identifying performance weaknesses and fostering coordinated efforts across suppliers, driving systemic innovation toward circular and regenerative models.
Overall, findings from these studies indicate that companies' organizational capabilities - such as sensing the external environment, absorbing and capitalizing on generated knowledge, and reconfiguring resources - act as central drivers of the circular transition. Furthermore, the three studies align on the importance for companies to look beyond their organizational boundaries and recognize the supply chain as a favorable context for building knowledge and developing circular innovation processes. In managing these processes, circular PMS constitutes a practical tool for evaluating current barriers by deeply understanding the value network's weaknesses and setting goals to guide strategic planning toward a systemic transition.
Overall, the findings from these three studies demonstrate that organizational capabilities - such as sensing the external environment, absorbing and capitalizing on knowledge, and reconfiguring resources - are pivotal drivers of the circular transition. Moreover, the studies converge on the critical role of looking beyond organizational boundaries, recognizing the supply chain as a favorable context for building capabilities and developing circular innovation processes. In this context, circular PMS serves as a practical tool for assessing current barriers, uncovering weaknesses within the value network, and setting strategic goals for a systemic transition to circularity.
This dissertation contributes to both theoretical advancements and practical applications by providing a roadmap for managers and policymakers to leverage organizational learning capabilities and supply chain collaboration as catalysts for CE transition. Additionally, the findings offer a foundation for future research to explore the scalability of these insights across various sectors and geographic contexts, broadening the practical relevance of the work.
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