Towards Circular Business Models in Swedish Rock and Soil Material Management : An Ecosystem-level Exploration

Abstract: The rapid growth of Swedish metropolitan regions, has led to increased demand for rock and soil materials for building construction and infrastructural work. Sweden's rock and soil material management industry extracts over 100 million tons of aggregate per year, while only succeeding in recycling 1% of it. Moreover, the industry generates excavated material, resulting in even more waste. This linear flow of materials has become unsustainable, prompting a need for more efficient resource management through circular solutions where the value is decoupled from resource consumption and environmental impact. To achieve a circular economy, companies need to innovate and rethink their business models. The value network becomes crucial in managing relationships with various actors to address the risks and responsibilities associated with the circular transition. By considering the value network dimension, the business model concept surpasses the firm boundaries and takes a holistic ecosystem-level perspective, which could facilitate a shift towards circular business models.  The purpose is to explore the possibilities of moving towards more circular business models within Swedish rock and soil material management with an ecosystem-level perspective. The study employs a qualitative case study as a research design to explore the opportunities to transition to circular business models. The data is collected through seven interviews with an abductive approach to allow an iterative process and explore themes and patterns of the industry. The respondents represent actors from all different business scopes of Swedish material management which are identified from a pre-study.  The material management industry in Sweden comprises diverse business models with varying use of circular strategies within the value capturing and value propositions. Despite circular strategies being established in the industry, their expansion is hindered by certain factors, resulting in a low recycling percentage. For instance, the influence of specific business relations on actors' business models impacts circular strategies, limiting their adoption. However, the study highlights that envisioning circularity often involves an ecosystem-level perspective, emphasizing collaboration between projects and value network members as a solution. Consequently, the ecosystem-level perspective can both limit and enhance circular strategies based on how relations with actors are managed. To bridge the gap between limiting and enhancing value networks, industry members need to actively manage relations with various actors, fostering collaboration and recognizing the broader ecosystem. Embracing these approaches can facilitate the adoption of more circular strategies within the material management industry in Sweden.