000163935 001__ 163935
000163935 005__ 20251113160752.0
000163935 0247_ $$2doi$$a10.1108/SAMPJ-03-2025-0437
000163935 0248_ $$2sideral$$a146088
000163935 037__ $$aART-2025-146088
000163935 041__ $$aeng
000163935 100__ $$aAntelo, Fátima
000163935 245__ $$aCollaboration patterns in circular economy innovation ecosystems: evidence from the Horizon Europe programme
000163935 260__ $$c2025
000163935 5060_ $$aAccess copy available to the general public$$fUnrestricted
000163935 5203_ $$aPurpose
The transition to circular economy (CE) models requires robust innovation ecosystems (IEs) that foster collaboration among diverse actors. This paper aims to map collaboration patterns within IEs for the CE (IECEs) and to explain how different actors contribute to CE development and why structural bottlenecks emerge.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conduct a multilevel, directed network analysis of 276 Horizon Europe projects involving 2,364 organisations across 31 countries, examining macro (country) and micro (organisation/type-of-agent) structures. The authors compute centrality, modularity and density and assess dynamic robustness via targeted node-removal simulations.
Findings
Countries that are advanced in CE are not always the ones at the centre of collaboration. Coordination tends to sit with a small group of countries. At the organisational level, firms mainly secure and use funding and deliver projects, while universities and research centres connect partners and often lead coordination. The public bodies are less well integrated. The network holds together, but it leans heavily on a few highly connected players and leaves smaller clusters at the edges. If the key players step back, collaboration and the spread of CE solutions could slow.
Practical implications
The findings provide actionable insights for policymakers and funding bodies to refine collaboration frameworks, ensuring better alignment between innovation efforts and CE policy objectives.
Social implications
Strengthening collaboration within IECEs can accelerate the transition to sustainable economic models by fostering innovation-driven solutions to resource efficiency and waste reduction. Enhancing participation from diverse stakeholders, including public institutions, can contribute to more inclusive and effective CE policies.
Originality/value
The authors foreground the misalignment between actors’ transition mandates and their network positions and introduce role–centrality fit as a governance lens for assessing and improving IECE performance across macro- and micro-levels.
000163935 536__ $$9info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/AEI/PID2022-136983NB-I00$$9info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/AEI/PID2023-146084OB-I00$$9info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/AEI/PID2023-148350NB-C21$$9info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/DGA/S33-23R$$9info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/DGA/S64-20R
000163935 540__ $$9info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess$$aAll rights reserved$$uhttp://www.europeana.eu/rights/rr-f/
000163935 655_4 $$ainfo:eu-repo/semantics/article$$vinfo:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion
000163935 700__ $$aFerrer-Serrano, Marta
000163935 700__ $$aLópez-Manuel, Lucas
000163935 700__ $$0(orcid)0000-0002-5988-8433$$aSalesa, Aitor$$uUniversidad de Zaragoza
000163935 7102_ $$14002$$2230$$aUniversidad de Zaragoza$$bDpto. Contabilidad y Finanzas$$cÁrea Economía Finan. y Contab.
000163935 773__ $$g(2025), [31 pp.]$$pSustainability Accounting Management and Policy Journal$$tSustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal$$x2040-8021
000163935 8564_ $$s683758$$uhttps://zaguan.unizar.es/record/163935/files/texto_completo.pdf$$yPostprint
000163935 8564_ $$s1711814$$uhttps://zaguan.unizar.es/record/163935/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon$$xicon$$yPostprint
000163935 909CO $$ooai:zaguan.unizar.es:163935$$particulos$$pdriver
000163935 951__ $$a2025-11-13-14:58:09
000163935 980__ $$aARTICLE