Connecting Thoughts and Actions: A Managerial Process Model on Circular Business Model Innovation
Journal
Business Strategy and the Environment
Type
journal-article
Date Issued
2026-04-01
Author(s)
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Addressing environmental grand challenges such as resource scarcity requires circular business model innovation (CBMI) that enables firms to efficiently close and slow resource cycles through novel activity systems. Drawing on a grounded theory approach based on 59 in‐depth interviews with top managers from Swiss SMEs, we developed a process model that explains how cognitive and behavioral managerial antecedents interact to drive CBMI. Anchored in dynamic capability (DC) theory, the model conceptualizes CBMI as a three‐phase process and identifies six key managerial antecedents. We show how perceived environmental embeddedness and collaborative ideation support the sensing of circular opportunities, how foresighted thrift and cultivating organizational change enable the seizing of resources, and how enduring commitment and continuous experimentation drive business model reconfiguration. We contribute to the CBMI literature by advancing a processual understanding of managerial agency and applying DC theory to explicate the cognitive‐behavioral dynamics through which DCs are activated and sustained.
Addressing environmental grand challenges such as resource scarcity requires circular business model innovation (CBMI) that enables firms to efficiently close and slow resource cycles through novel activity systems. Drawing on a grounded theory approach based on 59 in‐depth interviews with top managers from Swiss SMEs, we developed a process model that explains how cognitive and behavioral managerial antecedents interact to drive CBMI. Anchored in dynamic capability (DC) theory, the model conceptualizes CBMI as a three‐phase process and identifies six key managerial antecedents. We show how perceived environmental embeddedness and collaborative ideation support the sensing of circular opportunities, how foresighted thrift and cultivating organizational change enable the seizing of resources, and how enduring commitment and continuous experimentation drive business model reconfiguration. We contribute to the CBMI literature by advancing a processual understanding of managerial agency and applying DC theory to explicate the cognitive‐behavioral dynamics through which DCs are activated and sustained.
Language
English
Keywords
circular business model innovation
circular economy
dynamic capabilities
managerial antecedents
small-and medium-sized enterprises
HSG Classification
None
Refereed
No
Book title
Business Strategy and the Environment
Publisher
Wiley
Start page
1
End page
22
Subject(s)
Division(s)
File(s)![Thumbnail Image]()
Name
Takacs & Frankenberger_2026_Connecting Thoughts and Actions A Managerial Process Model on Circular Business Model.pdf
Size
3.11 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
73be7ebcb68bd8a1db92f92d09d93524