Business Barriers for the Development of Circular Business Models in MSMEs in Latin America
Keywords:
circular economy, business management, competitiveness, circular entrepreneurshipAbstract
The article analyzes the main barriers that micro, small and medium-sized businesses (MSMEs) face in Latin America when implementing circular economy models. It is highlighted that, despite the potential benefits of the circular economy for sustainable development, many MSMEs encounter significant obstacles. Likewise, the reasons why MSMEs often lack adequate information and training on circular economy practices are analyzed, which limits their ability to adopt these strategies. The objective of the article is to identify and analyze the main barriers faced by micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Latin America to implement circular economy models. Likewise, it seeks to propose solutions, from public policies to collaborations between various actors, that can facilitate the adoption of sustainable practices in the business sector of the region. Many companies are accustomed to traditional linear models and show resistance to change towards more sustainable practices. The article highlights the importance of addressing these barriers through public policies that encourage education, financing and the creation of a favorable regulatory environment. Furthermore, it is suggested that collaboration between MSMEs, governments and non-governmental organizations is crucial to promote the transition towards a circular economy in the region
References
Almeida-Guzmán, M., & Díaz-Guevara, C. (2020). Economía circular, una estrategia para el desarrollo sostenible. Avances en Ecuador. Estudios De La Gestión: Revista Internacional De Administración, (8), 34–56. https://doi.org/10.32719/25506641.2020.8.10
Bocken, N. M. P., Short, S. W., Rana, P., & Evans, S. (2014). A literature and practice review to develop a typology of circular economy business model patterns. Sustainability, 7(1), 227-244. https://doi.org/10.3390/su7010227
Circle Economy. (2022). Circularity Gap Report 2022. https://www.circularonline.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Circularity-Gap-Report-2022.pdf
Comisión Europea 2019. INFORME DE LA COMISIÓN AL PARLAMENTO EUROPEO, AL CONSEJO, AL COMITÉ ECONÓMICO Y SOCIAL EUROPEO Y AL COMITÉ DE LAS REGIONES sobre la aplicación del plan de acción para la economía circular Disponible https://www.miteco.gob.es/content/dam/miteco/es/calidad-y-evaluacion-ambiental/temas/economia-circular/anexodelinformecomevolucionplandeaccion_tcm30-425903.pdf
Comunidad Europea. (2019). La economía circular en la industria alimentaria. Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y de la Comunicación, Universidad Europea de Madrid. Disponible en https://fundadeps.org/wp-content/uploads/eps_media/recursos/documentos/945/Dossieres%20EsF%2035%20RSC%20en%20la%20industria%20alimentaria.pdf#page=36
Cullen, U. A., & De Angelis, R. (2021). Circular entrepreneurship: A business model perspective. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 168, 105300. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2021.105300
Dini, M., & Stumpo, G. (Eds.). (2020). Mipymes en América Latina: Un frágil desempeño y nuevos desafíos para las políticas de fomento. Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL). Disponible en https://repositorio.cepal.org/bitstream/handle/11362/44868/1/S1901155_es.pdf
Dzhengiz, T., Haukkala, T., & Sahimaa, O. (2023). (Un) Sustainable transitions towards fast and ultra-fast fashion. Fashion and Textiles, 10(1), 19. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40691-023-00337-9
ECSWG , 2023 2 Environment Climate Sustainability Working Group (ECSWG) meeting (Gandhinagar, Gujarat - March 27 - 29, 2023) Disponible en https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/specificdocs/documents/2023/may/doc202352192801.pdf
Foro Económico Mundial. 2023). Economía circular: de alternativa a necesidad. Desarrollo y Territorio, 8, 112-117. Disponible en https://www.mintur.gob.es/Publicaciones/Publicacionesperiodicas/EconomiaIndustrial/RevistaEconomiaIndustrial/429/RIO%20Y%20LOPEZ.pdf
Fundación Ellen MacArthur. (2016). Achieving a Circular Economy: How the private sector is reimagining the future of business. U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation Corporate Citizenship Center. Disponible en https://www.mintur.gob.es/Publicaciones/Publicacionesperiodicas/EconomiaIndustrial/RevistaEconomiaIndustrial/401/CERD%C3%81%20y%20KHALILOVA.pdf
Geissdoerfer, M., Pieroni, M. P., Pigosso, D. C., & Soufani, K. (2020). Circular business models: A review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 277, 123741. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.123741
Geissdoerfer, M., Savaget, P., Bocken, N. M. P., & Hultink, E. J. (2018). The circular economy – A new sustainability paradigm? Journal of Cleaner Production, 143, 757-768. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.12.048
Ghenta, M., & Matei, A. (2018). SMEs and the circular economy: From policy to difficulties encountered during implementation. Amfiteatru Econ, 20(48), 294-309. Disponible en https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=680545
Ghisetti, C., & Montresor, S. (2020). On the adoption of circular economy practices by small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs): Does “financing-as-usual” still matter? Journal of Evolutionary Economics, 30(2), 559-586. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00191-019-00651-w
Henry, Marvin; Hoogenstrijd, Thijs; Kirchherr, Julian (2023) Business Strategy and the Environment, volume 32, issue 3, pp. 1122 – 1141 https://dspace.library.uu.nl/bitstream/handle/1874/427423/Bus_Strat_Env_2022_Henry_Motivations_and_identities_of_grassroots_circular_entrepreneurs_An_initial_exploration.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Hull, C. E., Millette, S., & Williams, E. (2021). Challenges and opportunities in building circular-economy incubators: Stakeholder perspectives in Trinidad and Tobago. Journal of Cleaner Production, 296, 126412. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.126412
Jaeger, B., & Upadhyay, A. (2020). Understanding barriers to circular economy: Cases from the manufacturing industry. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 33(4), 729–745. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEIM-02-2019-0047
Jensen, S. F., Kristensen, J. H., Uhrenholt, J. N., Rincón, M. C., Adamsen, S., & Waehrens, B. V. (2022). Unlocking barriers to circular economy: An ISM-based approach to contextualizing dependencies. Sustainability, 14(15), 9523. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14159523
Kirkley, E., & Lichtenstein, D. (2020). The role of startups in the circular economy: Evidence from the United States. Sustainability, 12(4), 1370. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12041370
Kumar, V., Sezersan, I., Garza-Reyes, J. A., Gonzalez, E. D. R. S., & AL-Shboul, M. A. (2019). Circular economy in the manufacturing sector: Benefits, opportunities and barriers. Management Decision, 57(4), 1067–1086. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-09-2018-1070
Le, T. T., Behl, A., & Pereira, V. (2022). Establishing linkages between circular economy practices and sustainable performance: The moderating role of circular economy entrepreneurship. Management Decision. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-02-2022-0150
Lit, F. C., Huijben, J. C., Cloodt, M. M., & Paredis, E. (2024). Business model innovation in circular start-ups: Overcoming barriers in the circular plastics economy. International Small Business Journal, 42(4), 506-550. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/02662426231217954
Lüdeke-Freund, F., et al. (2018). Business models for sustainability: A co-creation approach. Journal of Cleaner Production, 198, 1036-1048. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.06.164
Luthra, S., Kumar, A., Sharma, M., Garza-Reyes, J. A., & Kumar, V. (2022). An analysis of operational behavioural factors and circular economy practices in SMEs: An emerging economy perspective. Journal of Business Research, 141, 321–336. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.12.014
Mensink, M., Bartels, R., Elser, B., & Ulbrich, M. (2019). Winning in a circular economy: Practical steps for the European chemical industry.
Mishra, R., Singh, R. K., & Govindan, K. (2022). Barriers to the adoption of circular economy practices in micro, small and medium enterprises: Instrument development, measurement, and validation. Journal of Cleaner Production, 351, 131389. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.131389
Moktadir, M. A., Ahmadi, H. B., Sultana, R., Zohra, F.-T., Liou, J. J. H., & Rezaei, J. (2020). Circular economy practices in the leather industry: A practical step towards sustainable development. Journal of Cleaner Production, 251, 119737. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.119737
Murray, A., Skene, K., & Haynes, K. (2017). The circular economy: An interdisciplinary exploration of the concept and application in a global context. Journal of Business Ethics, 140(3), 369-380. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-2693-2
Pla-Julián, I., & Guevara, S. (2018). Is circular economy the key to transitioning towards sustainable development? Challenges from the perspective of care ethics. Futures, 105, 67-77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2018.09.001
Ranta, V., Aarikka-Stenroos, L., & Mäkinen, S. J. (2018). The role of circular business models in sustainable development. Journal of Cleaner Production, 198, 1167-1177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.06.067
Reike, D., Vermeulen, W., & Witjes, S. (2018). The circular economy: New or refurbished as CE 3.0?—Exploring controversies in the conceptualization of the circular economy through a focus on history and resource value retention options in resources. Conversation & Recycling, 135, 246–264. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2017.
Sharma, N. K., Govindan, K., Lai, K. K., Chen, W. K., & Kumar, V. (2021). The transition from linear economy to circular economy for sustainability among SMEs: A study on prospects, impediments, and prerequisites. Business Strategy and the Environment, 30(4), 1803-1822. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2717
Suchek, N., Ferreira, J. J., & Fernandes, P. O. (2022). A review of entrepreneurship and circular economy research: State of the art and future directions. Business Strategy and the Environment, 31(5), 2256-2283. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.3020
Toxopeus, H., Achterberg, E., & Polzin, F. (2021). How can firms access bank finance for circular business model innovation? Business Strategy and the Environment, 30(6), 2773-2795. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2893
Ünal, E., Urbinati, A., Chiaroni, D., & Manzini, R. (2019). Value creation in circular business models: The case of a US small medium enterprise in the building sector. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 146, 291-307. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2018.12.034
Vermunt, D. A., Negro, S. O., Verweij, P. A., Kuppens, D. V., & Hekkert, M. P. (2019). Exploring barriers to implementing different circular business models. Journal of Cleaner Production, 222, 891-902. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.03.052
Zamfir, A.-M., Mocanu, C. and Grigorescu, A. (2017), “Circular economy and decision models among 803 European SMEs”, Sustainability, Vol. 9 No. 9, p. 1507, doi: 10.3390/su9091507.
Zucchella, A., & Urban, S. (2019). Circular economy: The role of circular entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Research, 104, 240-252. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.06.017
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 MUNDO RECURSIVO
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
