Mapping the path of an inclusive transition towards circular economy: Local accelerator hubs as enablers of circular business model innovation?

While the goal of the circular agenda is clear, the path to circularity is anything but mapped out. On a regional level, Local Accelerator Hubs (LAHs) can play a key role in leading this transition by connecting important players to collectively solve local challenges that pose obstacles to the implementation of wholesome circular practices. To ensure the success and longevity of LAHs, it is important to understand the critical success factors that allow such (business) networks to exploit their full potential and evolve from the founding stage to established circular ecosystems. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how LAHs collaborate with multiple actors to develop sustainable, circular business products and practices while focusing on circular business innovation. Particular attention is given to inclusive and comprehensive approaches, which ensure that the needs of all stakeholders are considered during the transformation. A participatory, intercultural social experiment based on a meso-level approach is conducted to analyze the effectiveness of LAHs as enablers of circular business innovation. In detail, the social experiment covers four different European locations and intends on building one LAH on each site. The LAHs will each create a network consisting of 10+ businesses and other key stakeholders. Data will be collected through interviews and focused participant observations, which will identify good practice cases. A comparative analysis will be conducted to derive learnings based on cultural, geographical, and social outcomes. In addition, the experiment expects to deliver valuable insights on how to implement inclusive, behavioral change on the individual and collective levels. Furthermore, practical insights on how to support companies in their circular transition efforts and how to align different key groups to achieve co-production and acceptance will result in important findings. This short abstract has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Grant Agreement No. 101036640 (Shared Green Deal).