Abstract
The research stream on circular economy business model tries to investigate the managerial practices that companies need to implement in their business model to address the principles of circular economy. Several studies have highlighted two main dimensions of business model on which companies can leverage to implement circular economy principles. On one hand, the value network dimension concerns the creation of value through the management of the supply chain and of the key relationships along the entire supply chain with suppliers, manufacturers and retailers. On the other hand, the customer value proposition and interface dimension concerns the capture of value through the management of relationships with clients, supported by new mechanisms of value transferring such as pay-as-a-service. In this paper, we focus on the dimension of the value network, thus we put emphasis on the Design for X practices in the adoption of circular economy and on the actions conducted by the key partners of the supply chain to push the realization of a circular economy business model. Accordingly, by incorporating the recent contributions on business model innovation in the context of circular economy, a framework has been proposed. Then, we tested the empirical suitability of our framework on a US company operating in the building sector to illuminate on the managerial practices a company in this industry is required to consider in its value network dimension. Accordingly, among the main results, we emphasize the valorization of natural waste through the harmonization of managerial practices, socio-economic regeneration, and sustainable behaviours among the actors of the supply chain, which have been identified as essential for value creation in circular economy business models in the building sector.