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Industrial ecology and the boundaries of the manufacturing firm
Author(s) -
Magnusson Thomas,
Andersson Hans,
Ottosson Mikael
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of industrial ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.377
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1530-9290
pISSN - 1088-1980
DOI - 10.1111/jiec.12864
Subject(s) - industrial ecology , diversification (marketing strategy) , typology , business , industrial organization , outsourcing , strategic management , order (exchange) , organizational ecology , process management , process (computing) , knowledge management , environmental resource management , ecology , marketing , economics , sustainability , management , sociology , computer science , finance , anthropology , biology , operating system
Summary Decisions on organizational boundaries are critical aspects of manufacturing firms’ business strategies. This article brings together concepts and findings from industrial ecology and business strategy in order to understand how manufacturing firms engage in initiatives to facilitate recycling of process wastes. Based on a distinction between waste recovery and use of the recovered resources, the article introduces a typology of four different strategies: Closed, Outsourcing, Diversification, and Open. Each strategy has a unique set of organizational boundaries and is associated with different motives and benefits for the manufacturing firm. The typology of strategies provides a conceptual contribution to assist industrial managers in strategic decision‐making, and to support further studies on organizational boundaries in industrial ecology research.