Upscaling circular economy in foodtechs businesses in emergent countries: Towards sustainable development through natural resource based view

Simone Sehnem, Deivsson Souza Bispo, Jacinto Orlando João, Maria Aparecida Lima de Souza, Oscar Bertoglio, Rogério Ciotti and Simone Machado Deon

Sustainable Development, 2022, vol. 30, issue 5, 1200-1221

Abstract: This work adopts sustainable entrepreneurship as its scope of analysis, focusing on sustainable success through startups with operational excellence, technological innovation (TI) and whose business model aligns with the assumptions of circular economy (CE). By applying certain characteristics of the natural resource‐based view (NRBV) in the context of foodtech startups, this study assesses both TIs and CE assumptions adopted by Brazilian foodtech startups. We interviewed managers and owners of foodtech companies operating in the Brazilian economy. Thus, this study relates to CE business models, how well companies manage natural resources, and the influence of TI in promoting CE. After conducting an exploratory case study in Brazil with 15 startups, in addition to exploring the adequacy of four future research proposals, this article suggests that: (a) among the foodtech startups studied, the companies that are most disruptive and innovative also demonstrate a more efficient and optimized management of natural resources; (b) based on these units of analysis, a less proactive CE tends to compete with companies in the traditional segment of operation, not differing in terms of products and services offered to society, thus generating only a small contribution to sustainable development; (c) while our study shows that NRBV illustrates a relevant theoretical framework to confirm the progress of the CE supported by TI, the integration of these theoretical constructs in a startup proves to be original and unprecedented.

Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:30:y:2022:i:5:p:1200-1221

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