2.5 Research gaps
Whilst there is a relationship between these two concepts, there has been a lack of academic research into this relationship and the aforementioned similarities and differences remain under-researched (Geissdoerfer et al 2017). This research gap therefore provides an opportunity for an increased level of understanding in terms of increasing conceptual clarity and the rationale for the definition and use of these concepts by stakeholders including government, business and societal stakeholders (Feil and Schreiber 2017; Geissdoerfer et al 2017). By undertaking this research gap, this dissertation aims to address how the concepts of sustainability and the Circular Economy can be more successfully integrated to support social equality and inclusion; increase environmental resilience and support economic prosperity (Lewis and Maslin 2018; Geissdoerfer et al 2017; Moreno et al 2016).
This research gap also needs to address how the relationship between sustainability and the Circular Economy is being perceived by policy makers and businesses in order to gain a better understanding of the influence of this relationship on business models, supply chains and innovation systems (Geissdoerfer et al 2017). This also needs to consider a widening of the concepts of sustainability and the Circular Economy to include emerging concepts such as the Performance Economy (Stahel 2010) and the Sharing Economy (Bocken et al 2014). There is also a need to evaluate how the actual impacts of the Circular Economy are being evaluated and analysed against performance measurements, such as the triple bottom line; the strength of the sustainability and the impact on consumption, such as slowing down resource use (Bocken et al 2016).
2.6 Research aim and objectives
The aim of this research is to build on the current level of research to explore the relationship between sustainability and the Circular Economy by considering its impacts on business models and innovation.
Based upon this research aim, the research objectives for this research are therefore:
Objective 1: To examine the similarities and differences between sustainability and the Circular Economy.
Objective 2: To investigate the impacts of sustainability and the Circular Economy on business models and innovation.
Objective 3: To evaluate the relationship between Sustainability and the Circular Economy.
Chapter 3: Methodology
3.1 Research paradigm and assumptions
The selected research paradigm is the interpretivist approach which supports the evaluation and exploration of complex relationships which contain a range of variables (Cresswell and Cresswell 2018; Saunders et al 2016; Bryman and Bell 2015). Interpretivism allows for a range of perspectives to be undertaken and, in the context of this research, supports the range of perspectives which are explored in both the literature review and the findings chapter (Saunders et al 2016; Neuman 2013).
This range of interpretations which form the basis of the interpretivist paradigm are also related to the selected philosophical outlook and assumptions of the researcher (Cresswell and Cresswell 2018). Within this research, these assumptions include both the ontological and epistemological outlook (Cresswell and Cresswell 2018; Saunders et al 2016; Bryman and Bell 2015). The ontological (nature of reality) assumption within the interpretivist paradigm enables the development of multiple meanings which are gathered from the research process and thus require a flexible approach to ensure that these meanings are communicated (Cresswell and Cresswell 2018; Bryman and Bell 2015).
