Unraveling the Circular Startup Ecosystem in Germany: A Social Network Analysis Approach

Motivation

In recent years, circular economy (CE) has received increasing attention from practitioners, policy makers and scholars. CE is a way to move beyond the current linear "take-make-waste" economic model towards a more sustainable economy (Kirchherr et al., 2017). Since startups are a driving force to implement the principles of CE in a quick and easy way and contribute to the circular innovation system, they should be the source of investigation (Suchek et al., 2021). Nevertheless, research on those circular startups is still sparse. There is a gap in understanding how these startups have evolved during the growing interest in the topic of CE and the paradigm shift that has accompanied it in Germany. This includes understanding how these startups are contributing to the transformation towards a CE and whether they are living up to these expectations that come with their contribution. Finally, funding activities are also of interest to better understand the startup landscape within the CE in Germany. For this purpose, it is to be shown whether, in which form and in which areas of the CE investments flow into startups. To shed light on these issues within the context of CE startups in Germany, a network analysis must be carried out.

Research Question

How can startups acting circular be measured, characterized and classified based on typological company characteristics?

Which areas of CE are characterized by high innovation activity of the associated startups?

In which areas of the CE can increased financing activities in relation to startups be observed?

Methodology

• Literature Review
• Network analysis

Interested? Please send your grade statement, your curriculum vitae and a brief description of your motivation to Ann-Sophie Finner: ann-sophie.finner∂kit.edu

References

Henry, M., Bauwens, T., Hekkert, M., & Kirchherr, J. (2020). A typology of circular start-ups: An Analysis of 128 circular business models. Journal of Cleaner Production, 245, 118528. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.118528

Kirchherr, J., Reike, D., & Hekkert, M. (2017). Conceptualizing the circular economy: An analysis of 114 definitions. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 127, 221–232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2017.09.005

Suchek, N., Fernandes, C. I., Kraus, S., Filser, M., & Sjögrén, H. (2021). Innovation and the circular economy: A systematic literature review. Business Strategy and the Environment, 30(8), 3686–3702. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2834

Urbinati, A., Chiaroni, D., & Chiesa, V. (2017). Towards a new taxonomy of circular economy business models. Journal of Cleaner Production, 168, 487–498. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.09.047