Collaboration among circular start-ups and incumbents in the circular economy context

Circular economy (CE) has emerged as a sustainable alternative to the current “take, make, waste” linear approach. Although prior studies have highlighted the salience of collaborative efforts between start-ups and incumbents, little is known about the mechanisms behind collaboration in a CE context. This study enhances our understanding of the topic by drawing on six cases of circular start-ups (CSUs) operating in the United Kingdom's business-to-business market and investigating the mechanisms by which start-ups collaborate with incumbents. Using the Context, Intervention, Mechanism, Outcome framework, the paper's findings demonstrate that CE does not necessitate high-risk and expensive changes and show that CSUs can collaborate with incumbents in low-risk ways by outsourcing and developing service contracts.