Project‐Based Enactment of Circular Economy (CE) Business Models: A Systematic Literature Review of the CE–Project Research Nexus

Ambisisi Ambituuni, Oluyomi A. Osobajo, Xebiso Blessing Kamudyariwa and Douglas A. Adu

Business Strategy and the Environment, 2025, vol. 34, issue 8, 10942-10961

Abstract: Projects are platforms for circular economy (CE) experimentation and innovation on the one hand, and CE can be integrated into projects to improve their sustainability performance on the other hand. This CE–project nexus is useful for scholars and practitioners to understand how projects can drive CE transition. However, research in the CE–project nexus is dispersed, and it is unclear how the CE–project research intersections are conceptualised in the literature. In this paper, we address this gap using a systematic literature review (SLR). We provide an analysis of the theoretical lenses useful in investigating the CE‐project nexus. We find four forms of CE–project nexuses, namely, CE in projects, CE by projects, CE for projects and CE through projects. We further present a framework for project‐based enactment of circular business models (CBMs) across micro, meso and macro CE levels and discuss the critical role of project professionals in overcoming CE implementation barriers. Theoretically, our work contributes to literature by presenting how scholars can theorise research in this domain to bridge the gap between the temporary, goal‐specific nature of projects and the systemic transformations required for CE.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.70143

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:34:y:2025:i:8:p:10942-10961

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://onlinelibrary ... 1002/(ISSN)1099-0836

Access Statistics for this article

Business Strategy and the Environment is currently edited by Richard Welford

More articles in Business Strategy and the Environment from Wiley Blackwell
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Wiley Content Delivery ().