TY - JOUR AB - Purpose– To delineate typologies that capture the relationship between closed‐loop supply chains and value‐added business models, and thereby to suggest a research agenda for the transition to sustainable business.Design/methodology/approach– Develops four new theoretical categories or typologies of closed‐loop systems and applies them to the context of the automotive industry. Conceptual, rather than empirical.Findings– That hybrid closed‐loop systems can be combined with innovative non‐linear value configurations to enable the transition to more sustainable production and consumption.Research limitations/implications– Identifies research agenda to explore how novel business models can integrate with various closed‐loop systems. Theoretical, but grounded in research into the automotive industry.Practical implications– That closed‐loop systems are best implemented outside traditional linear value added structures.Originality/value– Places closed‐loop systems at the heart of the (redesigned) business model rather than as an accessory that must be adapted to the demands of existing approaches. Suggests scholars should be part of this innovative process, not merely observers. VL - 10 IS - 4 SN - 1359-8546 DO - 10.1108/13598540510612712 UR - https://doi.org/10.1108/13598540510612712 AU - Wells Peter AU - Seitz Margarete PY - 2005 Y1 - 2005/01/01 TI - Business models and closed‐loop supply chains: a typology T2 - Supply Chain Management: An International Journal PB - Emerald Group Publishing Limited SP - 249 EP - 251 Y2 - 2024/04/25 ER -