Dear Colleagues,
we are pleased to share the third issue of Industry & Innovation for 2026, a special issue entitled Innovation Ecosystems for a Circular Economy. The contributions examine how stakeholder collaborations shape open circular innovation ecosystems, the capabilities required to orchestrate such ecosystems, and how circular business models interact with innovation networks to drive economic growth. They also explore how firms navigate tensions between circular economy strategies and intellectual property rights, as well as the role of environmental policies in supporting SMEs' transition towards renewable energy in the EU.
We hope you enjoy the reading:
Editorial
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13662716.2026.2626376. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Innovation ecosystems for a Circular Economy
https://www.tandfonline.com/author/Piscitello%2C+Lucia. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lucia Piscitello, https://www.tandfonline.com/author/Quatraro%2C+Francesco. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Francesco Quatraro, https://www.tandfonline.com/author/Rasmussen%2C+Einar. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Einar Rasmussen & https://www.tandfonline.com/author/Srai%2C+Jagjit+Singh. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jagjit Singh Srai
Research articles
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13662716.2025.2563678. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tailoring collaborations with stakeholders for open circular innovation ecosystems
https://www.tandfonline.com/author/Dorrego-Viera%2C+Juan+I. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Juan I. Dorrego-Viera, https://www.tandfonline.com/author/Urbinati%2C+Andrea. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Andrea Urbinati & https://www.tandfonline.com/author/Lazzarotti%2C+Valentina. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Valentina Lazzarotti
Abstract
This article explores how stakeholder collaboration within ecosystems supports the implementation of Circular Economy (CE) principles through Open Innovation (OI). Integrating insights from CE, OI, and innovation ecosystem literatures, it introduces the concept of Open Circular Innovation Ecosystems (OCIEs). Using a mixed-methods approach combining surveys and interviews, the study examines how different stakeholder groups-such as public agencies, academia, and civil society-address contextual, technical, economic, and cultural barriers to circularity. The findings reveal distinct yet complementary roles among actors, highlighting how open, multi-stakeholder networks operate in practice. The study advances understanding of OCIEs and provides actionable insights for policymakers and industry leaders aiming to design more targeted and inclusive collaboration strategies to accelerate CE implementation.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13662716.2025.2524517. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Circular innovation ecosystem orchestrators: a capabilities-as-routines-bundles framework
https://www.tandfonline.com/author/Battistella%2C+Cinzia. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cinzia Battistella & https://www.tandfonline.com/author/Attanasio%2C+Giovanna. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Giovanna Attanasio
Abstract
Sustainability transition can create novel opportunities for innovation. Creating a circular innovation ecosystem helps firms acquire diverse and novel knowledge, finding partners and configuring environmental and social solutions through collective efforts, ultimately boosting sustainability success. Through a multiple embedded case study of initiatives (routines) of an orchestrator of a circular innovation ecosystem in the coffee industry, this study investigates the bundles of routines that form capabilities required for the development and orchestration of a circular innovation ecosystem. We develop a 'capability as routines bundle' framework finding three circular orchestration aggregated capabilities – namely, strategy towards a purpose, organising for stakeholders' alignment, end to end solution configuration and deployment. Our findings have implications for the literature on circular innovation ecosystems and related capabilities, as well as for ecosystem orchestrators.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13662716.2025.2494608. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Unleashing economic growth through circular business models and innovation networks: a configurational analysis
https://www.tandfonline.com/author/Blasi%2C+Silvia. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="13" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Silvia Blasi, https://www.tandfonline.com/author/Sedita%2C+Silvia+Rita. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="14" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Silvia Rita Sedita & https://www.tandfonline.com/author/Galeazzo%2C+Ambra. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="15" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ambra Galeazzo
Abstract
This study investigates the impact of combining circular business models and innovation networks on economic growth. Using data collected in 2017 through a collaboration between Legambiente and the University of Padova, we empirically examine 47 Italian firms engaged in circular business practices. Employing fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), we explore various pathways to economic growth. Surprisingly, having an extensive collaboration network or relying on in-depth partnerships isn't always essential for success; in some cases, they are ineffective. Additionally, we find that circular practices can be effective when adopted independently, with a trade-off between reuse/recycling and selling waste to other companies. This study offers practical insights for managers in developing a thriving circular economy business ecosystem, emphasising the interplay between circular business practices and innovation networks. It contributes to moving beyond circular stagnation and utopian ideals, providing actionable recommendations for businesses aiming to achieve economic growth through circular strategies.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13662716.2024.2449262. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="16" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Beyond business as usual? How organisations navigate tensions between circular economy and intellectual property right strategies
https://www.tandfonline.com/author/Capponi%2C+Giovanna. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="17" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Giovanna Capponi, https://www.tandfonline.com/author/Castaldi%2C+Carolina. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="18" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Carolina Castaldi & https://www.tandfonline.com/author/Piscicelli%2C+Laura. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="19" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Laura Piscicelli
Abstract
Intellectual property rights (IPRs) play a key role in the business strategies of innovators, hence also for companies innovating towards a circular economy (CE). IPRs can allow circular companies to benefit economically from their innovations but can also create tensions with their CE ambitions. However, a clear picture of such tensions and the way circular companies deal with them is missing. Our exploratory research aims to fill this gap by conducting in-depth qualitative interviews with frontrunner circular companies. Our results show that many firms experienced no tension between their CE and IPR strategies. If they did experience tensions, they found strategies to suppress, accept or resolve them. Instances where firms responded to tensions by clearly deviating from usual IPR strategies were rare. These findings suggest that most circular innovators embrace a 'business case' approach to circularity, which might limit the impact and transformative promises of a CE.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13662716.2025.2554707. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Towards a climate neutral European Union: the impact of environmental public policies on SMEs carbon energy phase-out
https://www.tandfonline.com/author/Di+Stefano%2C+Cristina. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="21" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cristina Di Stefano
Abstract
This study examines how environmental taxation and fossil fuel subsidies influence manufacturing SMEs' intention to adopt renewable energy (RE) in the European Union (EU). While the RE transition is a priority of the EU Green Deal, limited research examines how misaligned policies affect firm-level adoption. Drawing on path dependence theory, we conceptualise environmental taxation as a factor supporting firms' shift away from carbon-based trajectories and fossil fuel subsidies as path-maintaining factors. We also assess whether firms' prior investments in resource efficiency moderate these effects. Using data on 2,438 manufacturing SMEs across 27 EU countries and applying a multilevel mixed-effects probit model with Heckman correction, we find that environmental taxation significantly increases RE adoption intentions, particularly among firms already committed to sustainability, while fossil fuel subsidies have no significant effect. These results highlight the importance of aligning firms' internal commitments with external pressures, providing both policy and managerial implications.
Best regards
Alessandra Perri and Vera Rocha
Co-Editors-in-Chief, Industry and Innovation
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Vera Rocha
Copenhagen Business School
Kilevej
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