Abstract:
The South African manufacturing sector is strategic to the country’s economic recovery
and future development. In the value chains, the sector is located centrally in such a way
that it can influence both down-production processes and upstream-consumption
processes. Hence, in this context, it is a suitable industry to lead the transformation to a
circular economy.
The manufacturing industry has been slow to adopt circular economy interventions,
despite the many benefits of a circular economy. In addition, some have attributed the
inability to adopt and implement such interventions and business models to barriers and
challenges.
The study investigated factors that could enable small, micro and medium enterprises
(SMMEs) within the manufacturing sector to adopt a circular economy using a qualitative
approach and semi-structured interviews to explore barriers and factors that could
enable SMMEs to adopt circular economy interventions.
From a socio-technical systems perspective, the study showed that most barriers,
enablers and drivers for SMMEs to adopt circular economy interventions are related to
the environment, specifically in the stakeholder dimension. As a result, the findings
emphasise the government's critical role in creating an environment that supports
circular economy adoption. Furthermore, the findings highlight the importance of
collaboration with other stakeholders to acquire the necessary competencies and
capabilities for implementing circular economy interventions.
The findings have practical implications for both the industry and policymakers. This
context calls for the government to balance its multiple roles as enablers and enforcers.
In this context, without cohesion and synergy within the government spheres, the
developed policies or lack of policy implementation could result in undesirable
consequences that favour linear economy models.
When considering circular economy initiatives, managers should realize that circular
economy is not an individual company’s initiative but requires the involvement of all
stakeholders, including those external to the business. Thus, to fill the existing capability
holes, they should consider collaborating with multiple stakeholders for complementary
support.
