2023

Heikkilä, Sarianna; Ghoreishi, Malahat; Deviatkin, Ivan

In a circular economy (CE), extensive systemic change is required in building innovative solutions and business models. This can be best achieved within collaborative and innovative ecosystems. A systemic approach, close cooperation, and openness are the fundamentals for circular value creation in an ecosystem of actors which are strongly interdependent in cocreating value for both customers and shared business. This chapter investigates circular value creation in municipal solid waste (MSW) management ecosystems for the end customers by using artificial intelligence (AI)-powered robots. The main research question is how to create and capture circular value in an AI-powered MSW sorting facility. To answer the research question, semistructured interviews were conducted with different ecosystem actors from the network of the focal actor in Finland. The findings highlight the role of communication and knowledge sharing between industries, policymakers, and customers to unlock the full potential of the CE. In addition, to improve the coherency of the entire ecosystem improved and supported coopetition is required from the actors within the whole ecosystem.