Innovation and Networks in the Bioeconomy: A Case Study from the German Coffee Value Chain

Terese E. Venus (), Caroline Beale and Roberto Villalba
Additional contact information
Terese E. Venus: University of Passau
Caroline Beale: Technical University of Munich
Roberto Villalba: Technical University of Munich

Circular Economy and Sustainability, 2024, vol. 4, issue 3, 1751-1772

Abstract: Abstract The transition to a circular bioeconomy requires innovation across many sectors, but social dynamics within a sector’s network may affect innovation potential. We investigate how network dynamics relate to the perceptions and adoption of bioeconomy innovation using a case study from the food processing sector. Our case study of the German coffee value chain represents a technologically advanced sector with a strong sustainability focus and potential for residue valorization, which is an important dimension of a sustainable circular bioeconomy. We identify three distinct views (pioneers, traditional and limited users) related to residue valorization, map linkages between actors using social network analysis, and highlight barriers to innovation. We collected data through an online survey and semi-structured interviews with key actors in the coffee roasting sector. Within the social network analysis, we find that public waste managers are closely linked to the most influential actors, state actors such as the customs and tax offices can quickly interact with others in the network and promote the spread of information (highest closeness centrality) and specific roasters play an important role as intermediaries for efficient communication (highest betweenness centrality). Finally, we identify four main barriers including the structure of the coffee network, inconsistencies in federal waste regulations, economies of scale, and visions of sustainability. To support a sustainable bioeconomy, we recommend that policy makers revise the primary regulatory frameworks for waste (e.g., German Recycling Act) to clarify how to classify food residues, their disposal structures and broaden their use streams.

Keywords: Bioeconomy; Coffee; Value chain; Germany; Social network analysis; Residue valorization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s43615-024-00357-7 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

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:spr:circec:v:4:y:2024:i:3:d:10.1007_s43615-024-00357-7

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.springer.com/journal/43615

DOI: 10.1007/s43615-024-00357-7

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Circular Economy and Sustainability from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().