Family Businesses Transitioning to a Circular Economy Model: The Case of “Mercadona”

Pedro Núñez-Cacho, Valentín Molina-Moreno, Francisco A. Corpas-Iglesias and Francisco J. Cortés-García
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Pedro Núñez-Cacho: Polytechnic School of Linares, University of Jaén, 23071 Jaén, Spain
Valentín Molina-Moreno: Faculty of Business and Management, University of Granada, 18010 Granada, Spain
Francisco A. Corpas-Iglesias: Polytechnic School of Linares, University of Jaén, 23071 Jaén, Spain
Francisco J. Cortés-García: Faculty of Business and Management, Universidad Autónoma de Chile, 7500912 Santiago, Chile

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 2, 1-19

Abstract: Sustainability addresses environmental and social issues affecting this and future generations. When family businesses perceive that the community is disrupted, recognize an environmental problem and respond by implementing new environmental policies or regulations, the family business’s socio-emotional values press to transition to a more sustainable production system, such as the ‘Circular Economy.’ Drawing on the Dubin (1978) methodology—a paradigm for building models through deduction—we design a sustainable model, which shows family businesses’ responses to changes in the environment. It explains the reasons why family firms transition to the Circular Economy, based on the theory of Socio-Emotional Wealth (SEW). We check the model through the case study of the food retail leader in the Spanish market—Mercadona—which applies policies about energy, resources and waste to become a Circular Economy business model. Because of the strong family character of Mercadona, this case can be useful for the decision-making of other family businesses.

Keywords: Circular Economy; sustainability; family business; model; case study; Mercadona (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (48)

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