Innovating toward circular markets: The role of digital technologies and platforms

Although research into ‘markets’ is foundational to the marketing discipline, they remain underexplored in circular economy research. Traditionally viewed as ‘given’ outcomes governed by supply-demand dynamics and transactional efficiency, markets are increasingly viewed as malleable and plastic systems. In circular economy research, much of the existing literature remains limited to operational or organisational strategies—such as circular product design or business model innovation—while the market, or ecosystem-wide processes that drive improved circularity, are less discussed. This thesis addresses this gap by adopting a market-shaping perspective and conceptualizing circular markets as complex adaptive ecosystems. From this view, circular innovation is understood not as a linear outcome of technological adoption, but as a co- evolutionary process involving diverse actors—including firms, institutions, consumers, and technologies—who interact through shared practices, institutional arrangements, and infrastructures. This (eco)systemic lens highlights the need to understand how markets are (re)formed and (re)configured to enable circularity at scale. In particular, the thesis explores how digital technologies and industry platforms contribute to the innovation and orchestration of circular market systems—areas that remain underdeveloped in current research. The thesis consists of three interrelated studies. Study 1 presents a systematic literature review across seven circular economy domains through a market-shaping lens. It conceptualises circular markets as evolving systems shaped by exchange, representational, and normalizing practices and outlines future research pathways. By proposing a processual framework for understanding how circular markets take shape, this study establishes the conceptual foundation for the subsequent empirical investigations. Study 2 draws from a paradox-informed, service ecosystem perspective to uncover how digital technologies simultaneously enable and constrain circular market transitions, revealing multi-level tensions and offering a forward-looking theorization through a Disaggregative Delphi approach. Study 3 adopts an inductive, longitudinal case study of a prominent agri-tech industry platform in China to investigate how platforms drive ecosystem-level circular innovations in response to changing industry conditions.

Name thesis:degree_name

PhD

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Marketing

Grantor dc:publisher

ResearchSpace@Auckland

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Wang, Qi (Eva)

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Fehrer, Julia
• Brodie, Roderick
• Nenonen, Suvi

• Circular Economy
• Digital Innovation
• Sustainability
• Market Shaping

Statement dc:rights

• Items in ResearchSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htm

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/2292/74778

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:researchspace.auckland.ac.nz:2292/74778