Circular Economy Initiatives: Strategic Implications, Resource Management, and Entrepreneurial Innovation in a Brazilian Craft Beer Ecosystem during the COVID Era

Marcia Cristiane Gruba, Danielle Denes, Rodrigo Cortopassi Goron Lobo and Andrew Isaak
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Marcia Cristiane Gruba: Departament of Business Administration, Graduate Program, Universidade Positivo, 5300 Professor Pedro Viriato Parigot de Souza, Curitiba, Paraná 81290-000, Brazil
Danielle Denes: Departament of Business Administration, Graduate Program, Universidade Positivo, 5300 Professor Pedro Viriato Parigot de Souza, Curitiba, Paraná 81290-000, Brazil
Rodrigo Cortopassi Goron Lobo: Department of Business Administration, College of Business, Montana State University Billings, 1500 University Drive, Billings, MT 59105, USA

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 19, 1-20

Abstract: A new brewery is founded in Brazil every two days. Yet with climate change, drinking water is increasingly scarce. Previous studies have begun exploring the brewing industry, but an examination of circular economy initiatives in Latin America is lacking, particularly during the COVID era. This study analyzes strategic implications of circular economy initiatives, together with their role in the coevolution of the craft beer sociotechnical system in Brazil from a resource perspective during the COVID pandemic. Using a qualitative methodology based on analytic induction, 11 in-depth semi-structured interviews were carried out with key actors from the craft beer sociotechnical system in Guarapuava. For the content analysis, we triangulated the interviews with an analysis of 74 related documents. We found evidence of circular economy practices and sociotechnical transitions with the simultaneous coevolution of the system actors. Increasing rejection of the linear take–make–waste economy was observed as subject organizations largely adopted a regenerative model reducing operational waste. Hence, entrepreneurial innovation was apparently crucial for resource allocation during the COVID era. This work contributes to further understanding resource configurations in the circular economy, with practical implications for integrating sustainability into strategy, business models, and production.

Keywords: craft beer; coevolution; circular economy; sociotechnical system; strategy; resources; entrepreneurial innovation; COVID (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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