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plementations. These aspects haven’t –according to the author’s knowledge- not
yet been pointed out in other studies.
Third, this research project contributes to the literature on challenges of cir-cular economy implementation. Challenges which have already been repeatedly
described by a number of scholars on Chinese circular economy are: lack of public
awareness, lack of financial support/weak economic incentives, shortage of advanced
technology, lack of reliable information, poor leadership and management, poor
enforcement ability of legislation, and lack of standard system for performance
assessment (Naustdalslid 2014; Liu and Bai 2014; Su et al. 2013; Xue et al. 2010;
Geng et al. 2009; Hong-Chun 2006). Since data has been exclusively collected in
organizations from Western countries, the first contribution is an additional per-
spective in challenges the companies in USA, Canada and Europe are facing. The
comparison shows both analogies and contrasts, which are elaborated on in the
following paragraphs. Common challenges, such as need for augmented awareness
of the concept, increased entrepreneurial efforts, and technological limitation
confirm findings from previous studies. Results show that there is also a list of
challenges that have solely been mentioned in Chinese studies but have not been
identified in the data of this research. When looking at the detailed descriptions of
these topics it becomes clear that all of these challenges go back to the expectation
of highly involved governments (Su et al. 2013). Since these impediments have not
been found in the data of this research project, the assumption suggests that there
is a difference in the role of governments in China and the role of those in Western
countries. Moreover, there are also hindrances that have only been identified in
this research project. These challenges are closely related to the fact that cases in
this study are mainly in an early stage of their transition to a circular economy.
In order to stay competitive, organizations feel the pressure to produce products
comparable to conventional versions in design, quality, and price. In contrast, for
Chinese organizations market pressure is not the primary factor affecting decisions
and behavior (Liu and Bai 2014) which might be a starting point to explain this
difference.
6.3 Implications for Management
6.3 Implications for Management
Besides the more theoretical implications for research described in the previous
chapter and extension of existing literature, several practical findings for managers
can be derived from this study. The results illustrate different approaches towards