Circular Business Model Value Dimension Canvas: Tool Redesign for Innovation and Validation through an Australian Case Study

Circular business models (CBMs) are integral to the concept of the circular economy (CE). The aims of the study are to (1) redesign a canvas for CBM and (2) validate it through a single case study. The developed canvas is called the Circular Business Model Value Dimension Canvas. For the validation, a semi-structured interview with a social enterprise (SE) operating in hybrid CBM (i.e., resource recovery, sharing platform, and product use extension) in Australia has been performed. Results showed that a successful hybrid CBM for a SE necessitates the integration of forward and reverse supply chains through partnerships with new product retailers and resource recovery companies. Other important factors include the presence of physical stores, an effective product return strategy, initial funding support from the government, the employment of young individuals with special needs, and the promotion of behavioral change among low-income customer segments. Although the canvas was applied to the enterprise, it can also be applied to other organizations as the canvas integrates all essential components for business modeling. The proposed canvas serves as a supportive tool for CBM innovation (CBMI) and provides a framework for researchers to investigate the CBMI process in organizations transitioning from linear to circular.

Automated summary

The aim of this study is to redesign a canvas for circular business models (CBMs) and validate it through a case study. The developed canvas, called the Circular Business Model Value Dimension Canvas, was validated through a semi-structured interview with a social enterprise operating in hybrid CBM in Australia. The results showed that a successful hybrid CBM requires integration of forward and reverse supply chains and various other factors such as physical stores, effective product return strategy, government funding support, employment of individuals with special needs, and promotion of behavioral change among low-income customer segments.