Challenges of demographic changes and digitalization on eco-innovation and the circular economy : qualitative insights from companies

Hojnik, Jana (author), Ruzzier, Mitja (author), Konečnik Ruzzier, Maja (author), Sučić, Boris (author), Soltwisch, Brandon William (author)

The overuse of natural resources through excessive consumptions has led to environmental problems. As a result, there have been calls for a more sustainable, circular and digital future. Research on the topics of eco-innovations and the circular economy have made significant headways toward identifying sustainable solutions, however, the influence of demographic changes and digitization remain underexplored. Therefore, the current study investigates how demographic changes and digitization effect business practices related to eco- innovations and the circular economy. Semi-structured interviews are conducted with ten companies in Slovenia that actively adopt and develop eco-innovations, and moreover employ the principles of a circular economy. These semi-structured interviews specifically explore the impact of digitalization and demographic changes on eco-innovation and how these impacts enable the development of the circular economy. Results suggest that companies are adjusting their products and services to meet changing demands from demographic trends. Relatedly, digitization has allowed them to create new products and optimize existing ones in more sustainable ways, i.e., having less harmful effects on the environment. Specifically, digitization gave them better control over the eco-innovation process, increasing transparency, control, and manageability of the technological process in a way that reduced energy consumption and lessoned the environmental impact. These results are integrated with the existing literature to identify new insights related to the adoption and implementation of eco-innovations in the circular economy.

• Language: English
• Keywords: investment company, circular economy, innovations, sustainable development, eco-innovation, digitalization, demographic changes, companies
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: EF - School of Economics and Business
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2023
• Number of pages: 9 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 396, art. 136439
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-148003
• UDC: 502.131.1
• ISSN on article: 0959-6526
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.136439
• COBISS.SI-ID: 141898755
• Publication date in RUL: 18.07.2023

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Journal of cleaner production
• Shortened title: J. clean. prod.
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 0959-6526
• COBISS.SI-ID: 15470597

Licences

• License: CC BY-NC 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
• Description: A creative commons license that bans commercial use, but the users don’t have to license their derivative works on the same terms.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: investicijsko podjetje, krožno gospodarstvo, inovacije, trajnostni razvoj

Projects

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: J5-3106
• Name: Eko inovacije in krožno gospodarstvo – pot do bolj trajnostne in vključujoče prihodnosti: vloga demografskih sprememb in digitalizacije