Background: The circular economy has emerged as an alternative to linear approaches to consumption and has the potential to solve the most pressing sustainability issues society faces today. SMEs have a central role in the transition towards a circular economy, as they make up the majority of businesses in Europe. However, the adoption of circular practices has been slower than expected. Researching what is affecting the adoption of these practices could provide answers and insights into how to accelerate this transition.  Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the role of organizational climate as a moderator when implementing circular business practices, given its potential to lead to organizational change.  Method: This study follows an interpretive approach through a multiple exploratory case study using two companies. Qualitative semi-structured interviews and observations from the company visits were used as primary data. The empirical data is analyzed through a general coding procedure, where explanation building was used as the approach. The research adds to existing theory through an abductive approach.   Conclusion: By exploring the challenges people face in SMEs, we have found that the organizational climate of the company is a critical factor that can affect the implementation of circular practices. Therefore, we propose that by creating the right climate, organizations could potentially accelerate this transition.

The textile industry has a substantial negative impact on the environment. In order to decrease the environmental impact, the industry needs to transition to a more sustainable and circular system. One way of doing so is to increase participation in circular practices, like participating in circular end-of-life practices or purchasing second-hand or recycled textile products. This Master’s thesis explores the consumer role in this transition and is structured in a two-step approach. The first part investigates how consumers’ value and risk perceptions of different circular practices in the textile industry are related to their consumption behaviour by conducting a consumer survey (N = 3000) in three European countries. The second part of the thesis then identifies from an organisational stakeholder perspective how the consumer survey results can be practically applied in the textile industry. The thesis follows a mixed method approach, combining a quantitative consumer survey with a qualitative stakeholder survey.The results show that in most cases, consumers’ value perceptions of circular textile practices are significantly positively related to their consumption behaviour or participation in these, whereas perceived risks are negatively related. The findings also show which individual value and risk dimensions are related to which specific circular practice. Based on these results, organisational stakeholders identify different possibilities on how these findings can be practically applied in the textile industry. Suggestions focus on encouraging specific circular practices shown to be important to consumers, adapting marketing strategies and developing new policies to increase participation in more sustainable and circular alternatives.

This exploratory study aimed to investigate how private tourist accommodation owners on Gotland perceive, value and act upon sustainability. The overall aim of the research was to examine their actions in the context of circular economy, to see if they share municipalities visions of becoming a sustainable society. A qualitative method, with semi-structured interviews and a online content research based on their accommodation offers was conducted. Challenges and value conflicts of owners were identified. This research concludes that awareness of entrepreneurial practices, knowledge and collaboration are needed to overcome challenges that these owners encounter and help foster sustainable development. This study offers ideas for future research.

[pt] O presente trabalho tem como objetivo identificar e propor alternativas para que os princípios e práticas da economia circular (EC) possam ser implementados nas MPMEs brasileiras. Uma revisão sistemática da literatura e entrevistas com startups brasileiras foi realizada para levantamento dos dados. Foram identificadas 65 startups, nas quais 7 foram entrevistadas. Existe uma lacuna entre a teoria e a prática que se traduz numa falta de entendimento sobre a implementação nas empresas dos princípios de EC. As entrevistas mostram que a formatação do negócio está relacionada, geralmente, com experiências profissionais anteriores dos sócios e não possui, inicialmente, foco nos princípios de circularidade. Um framework de implementação foi elaborado. As principais conclusões são: o processo de implementação é progressivo e avança com o ganho de conhecimento e, consequentemente, maturidade das empresas em relação ao tema; que as experiências com das startups podem inspirar as MPMEs no avanço da circularidade. / [en] This paper aims to not only identify, but also propose circular economy (CE) principles and practices that can be useful to Brazilian MSMEs. The methodology included a systematic literature review and interviews with Brazilian startups. A total of 65 startups were identified, from which 7 were interviewed. One finding is clear: the current gap between theory and practice that translates into a lack of understanding on how to implement CE principles in corporations. The interviews also showed that the business circular strategy is usually related to partners previous professional experiences and, at first, has no focus on the principles of circularity. To assist businesses through these first steps, an implementation framework was developed. The research main conclusions are: the process of implementation progresses as companies invest in knowledge, improving their perceptions and level of maturity; the experiences with startups can inspire MSMEs in the advancement of circularity.