People at the heart of circularity: A mixed methods study about trade-offs, synergies, and strategies related to circular and social organizing

An important promise of the circular economy (CE) is the creation of social value alongside increased resource circularity. Yet, while synergies between social value and resource circularity are possible, the trade-offs between social value and resource circularity, and strategies for transforming trade-offs into synergies, are under-investigated. In this paper, we look at trade-offs, synergies and strategies through the lens of stakeholder theory, and we adopt a mixed methods approach to reveal the trade-offs, synergies and strategies related to the CE in the Netherlands. We report the results of (1) a three-stage policy Delphi study involving a panel of 47 circularity experts from different sectors (academia, business, government, civil society), and (2) interviews with 27 strategic leaders in circular organizations. The findings show that in the Netherlands, circular organizations create synergies at the organizational and value network level but face significant trade-offs between circularity and social value at the societal level. Synergies are fostered by an ethically motivated communal sharing strategy and impeded by economic motivations. These findings advance current debates in stakeholder theory and unearth conditions that enable and hinder the CE to live up to its social promise.