Exploring the role of contracts to support the emergence of self-organized industrial symbiosis networks: an agent-based simulation study

This paper explores the efficacy of contractual mechanisms for enhancing the formation of self-organized industrial symbiosis networks in environments characterized by diverse levels of uncertainty and turbulence. We propose a simple contract scheme designed to foster the formation of stable industrial symbiosis relationships and to guarantee that the industrial symbiosis is beneficial for all parties involved. Industrial symbiosis networks are framed as complex adaptive systems and an agent-based model is provided, to study the effect of the proposed contract on their emergence. In particular, we utilize a real case study and by means of simulation assess the benefits associated with the proposed contract in terms of emergence of stable industrial symbiosis relationships. The results show that the proposed contractual mechanism is a facilitator for establishing symbiotic relationships especially in scenarios characterized by low environmental uncertainty and high turbulence. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.