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The concept of circular economy (CE) has been receiving a lot of attention over the past years from academics, practitioners and policymakers. This is particularly the case for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) who find in CE a way to overcome their resource scarcity. However, little is known about how embracing the CE perspective can contribute to meet the sustainable development goals (SDGs). The present chapter aims at answering this question. Through a single case study, we explore the drivers, managerial practices and collaborations implemented by SMEs to generate economic, social and environmental values.

The circular economy (CE) model is seen as an alternative model to the linear economy models, which seem to be reaching their physical limits. The CE business model aims to reuse materials and decrease the need for virgin materials. This requires the implementation of a reverse supply chain, close collaboration between actors, as well as well-organized logistics. For this reason, the CE companies have typically high demand for digitalized processes and the utilization of data on both operational and business development dimensions. Also the utilization of big data collected from the companies’ business environment can provide new opportunities for business development in CE. Despite the fact that utilization of data collected from the business environment and operations enables data-driven approaches for various decision-making functions in companies, many companies still struggle to figure out how to use analytics to take advantage of their data. In the small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in particular, the managers are facing difficulties with ever-increasing amounts of data and sophisticated analytics. Indeed, prior research identified several kinds of barriers to the effective utilization of data in SMEs. Still, research on data-driven decision-making remains scarce in CE context. This chapter presents a case study consisting of seven cases, all representing SMEs operating in the field of CE in Finland. In the case study, the barriers and practical challenges for data-driven decision-making in CE SMEs are investigated. Based on the case study results, this chapter proposes that utilization of data, lack of resources, lack of capabilities, and regulation are the main barriers to data-driven decision-making in CE SMEs.

In research on the circular economy, business models are often taken as a focal point since their essential functions are both to create value and to capture part of that value. This chapter investigates whether and how circular business models can be “opened up” to creating and capturing value by utilizing a firm’s main asset not only in its own operation but also in other firms’ businesses. We hereby take the perspective of producing companies which face various challenges over the entire product life cycle and empirically analyze a case of five companies which are part of a joint innovation toward circularity in the plastics industry. Building on a grounded theory approach, we propose a new framework for companies which combines insights about open business models with circularity. When moving toward circularity, producing companies are advised to expand their dyadic perspective of suppliers, on the one hand, and customers, on the other hand, to a network perspective and open their business models.

This is a troubled age for democracy, but the nature of that trouble and why it is a problem for democracy is an open question, not easy to answer. Widespread wishing for responsible leaders who respect democratic norms and pursue policies to benefit people and protect the vulnerable don’t help much. The issue goes well beyond library contexts, but it is important that those in libraries think through our role in democracy as well. Micro-targeting library-centric problems won’t be effective and don’t address the key issue of this volume. The author can only address the future if we recover an understanding of the present by building up an understanding of actually-existing democracy: (1) the scope must be narrowed to accomplish the task; (2) the characteristics of the retreat from democracy should be established; (3) core working assumptions and values – what libraries are about in this context – must be established; (4) actually-existing democracy should then be characterized; (5) the role of libraries in actually-existing democracy is then explored; (6) the source and character of the threat that is driving the retreat from democracy and cutting away at the core of library assumptions and values is analyzed; (7) the chapter concludes by forming a basis of supporting libraries by unpacking their contribution to building and rebuilding democratic culture: libraries are simultaneously less and more important than is understood.

This chapter explores how scholars have conceptualized the relationship between Latin American populism and democracy. It analyzes different approaches to populism such as modernization and dependency theory, and current approaches that focus on discourse analysis and/or political strategies. The chapter focuses on the current wave of radical populism to explore the continuities and differences between “classical” populism of leaders such as Juan Perón, the “neopopulism” of Alberto Fujimori, and the radical populism of Hugo Chávez, Evo Morales, and Rafael Correa.

To create circular economies, we need supply systems to convey materials between their use lives. Often, though, it is not possible to control an entire supply network. Without a coordinator to implement circular economy principles, how can circular supply systems come to be? This chapter sets out to build on complex adaptive systems (CAS) theory and circular economy research to conceptualize how information flows between actors can facilitate the emergence of a circular supply system. It begins by outlining why a supply network can be considered a CAS, as well as the CAS progression from information to adaptation to emergence. Next, it argues that information on local supply networks, extended supply systems, and biosphere impacts is particularly important for circular production. Finally, it concludes with two potential types of emergence that can stem from these information flows: (1) new actor roles and networks and (2) new spatial and temporal patterns. Ultimately, this conceptual overview aims to give researchers and practitioners a CAS frame for thinking about how continual adaptation to information flows can enable change toward circular supply systems.

Industry 4.0 with artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things, and automation are giving way to Industry 5.0 which places emphasis on workers' well-being, people, and society. The new era accentuates interaction between humans and smart machines to drive prosperity and induce sustainable contribution of industry to society. It must build a resilient economy to cope with future uncertainties or external shocks. Moreover, the sustainability effort of companies demanded by consumers, employees, shareholders, governments, and civil society requires sustainability transformation of business strategies. Applying sustainability principles in product design implies the consideration of a product's entire life cycle. Technologies accelerate sustainable production and support using natural resources efficiently taking into consideration planetary boundaries. This condition also makes for a novel perception of products, including financial products. Under the current circumstances of a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous environment, the focus on consumers and recognition of their dominance play a pivotal role in business models to maintain customer relationships. Thus, the digital, sustainable, human-centric industry is emerging. This chapter deals with digital products to enable twin transition and accomplish a sustainable business strategy simultaneously. It examines the reciprocal reinforcement of sustainability and digitalization and discusses the impact of digital sustainability on products. In this sense, this chapter also outlines the business contribution to sustainable development through digitalization. Finally, a holistic model for a hypothetical financial remittance product is offered to demonstrate how a digital product can contribute to sustainable development.