The Importance of Individual Actor Characteristics and Contextual Aspects for Promoting Industrial Symbiosis Networks

Lovisa Harfeldt-Berg, Sarah Broberg and Karin Ericsson
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Lovisa Harfeldt-Berg: Division of Environmental and Energy Systems Studies, Faculty of Engineering, Lund University, SE-22100 Lund, Sweden
Sarah Broberg: RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, Ideon Beta 5, Scheelevägen 17, SE-50115 Lund, Sweden
Karin Ericsson: Division of Environmental and Energy Systems Studies, Faculty of Engineering, Lund University, SE-22100 Lund, Sweden

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 9, 1-21

Abstract: Factors that affect and influence industrial symbiosis (IS) collaborations have been researched extensively in the literature, where they are mostly reported at a network level or for IS in general, and lack the individual actor’s perspective. This review article contributes to and expands knowledge of influencing factors and their effect on the individual actor. In a systematic review, guided by the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, this study reviews 53 scientific papers examining planned or existing IS networks. It examines literature from 1 January 2000 to 28 March 2022, and it identifies drivers, barriers, and enablers influencing actors to participate in IS. It explores whether and how the perception and impact of these factors differs depending on the characteristics of individual actors and their specific context. The main findings of this study reveal that an actor’s specific characteristics and the network’s context have a significant impact on decision making and how actors both perceive and are affected by factors influencing collaboration. Furthermore, an additional novel contribution to this field of research is that the study identifies three underlying and recurring considerations that actors appear to find critical, namely, perceived business opportunities/risks, regulatory and political setting, and potential inequalities in the network. The results show that an actor’s take on these critical considerations determines whether the actor is willing to engage in IS.

Keywords: industrial symbiosis; urban symbiosis; drivers; barriers; enablers; literature review (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:9:p:4927-:d:797632

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