Cooperation of Manufacturing Companies with Business-to-Business Stakeholders in Poland in the Field of Circular Activities

Katarzyna Kowalska and Marzena Jankowska-Mihułowicz ()
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Katarzyna Kowalska: Department of Economics and Economic Policy, Institute of Law, Economics and Administration, University of the National Education Commission, 30-084 Kraków, Poland
Marzena Jankowska-Mihułowicz: Department of Enterprise Management, Faculty of Management, Rzeszów University of Technology, 35-959 Rzeszów, Poland

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 17, 1-24

Abstract: The paper aims to identify areas and forms of cooperation between manufacturing companies and their business-to-business (B2B) stakeholders in CE. The paper includes a theoretical part (the literature review) and an empirical part (a survey of 200 manufacturing enterprises in Poland, in 2024). The study found that (1) companies that declared the inclusion of CE in their business strategy were statistically more likely to declare cooperation in the scopes analysed; (2) cooperation of business partners in one area intensifies and encourages action in other areas, increasing the chances of achieving jointly agreed goals; and (3) the implementation of CE in companies requires appropriate management of B2B relationship capital, which is a strong catalyst for the development of innovation in supply chains. Involving suppliers in the co-creation of CE innovations through partnerships in different areas has a positive impact on the value and competitive advantage of these actors. In Poland, there are publications available on the general condition of the SME sector and studies on the principles and examples of CE implementation—including in the SME sector—but there is a lack of targeted studies and reports on the activities of these entities in the field of CE—the proposed study fills this research gap.

Keywords: circular economy; sustainable management; stakeholders; business cooperation; corporate strategy; innovation; technology; Industry 4.0 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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