From emerging consumption practices to the development of dynamic capabilities in the era of the circular transition: evidence from the Italian context

Abstract

The Ph.D. thesis work aims to investigate different modes to move towards the circular economy, that is the modalities through which to implement a system capable of regenerating itself by minimizing the consumption of resources and the production of waste and pollution. In particular, the study was conducted following a bottom-up approach that examined both the consumer and firm domains, in the Italian context. Among the practices of sustainable consumption, an emerging consumption practice has been identified in upcycling, as an example of product reuse. Alongside the more traditional ones (such as second-hand), in fact, new forms of reuse are spreading and make consumers an integral part of a circular economy. Consumers, in fact, have an increasingly active role in the process, in terms of self-producing and co-creative phenomena. Nevertheless, the end-stages of consumption have often been under theorized and have received even less attention in empirical research. Further, numerous Italian online communities and initiatives concerning these practices have emerged in the last decade, which also enable to explore in detail consumer upcycling. Regarding the firm domain, “how” to transform business models of established firms (growing-circular firms) is still an open question and environmental orientation is a key aspect for born-circular firms, but scarce attention has been given to competences. Thus, two empirical investigations have been conducted. The first is aimed at exploring with a netnography, on the one hand, the individual dimension of consumer upcycling, focusing on motivational drivers (drawing on Self-Determination Theory) and identifying different types of upcyclers. On the other hand, the collective dimension of the phenomenon is explored, focusing on shared knowledge, collaborative ideas and creation of value in online communities (drawing on Practice Theory). The second empirical investigation aims to explore, with a multiple-case study, the dynamic

capabilities that firms are developing to address circular transition. For this purpose, the Natural Resource-Based View (NRBV) and the Dynamic Capabilities Framework have been integrated. The research context consisted of firms in the textile and clothing sector, as one of the most polluting, but also the most strategic, in countries such as Italy. [...] [edited by Author]