The focal article by Schilling et al. (Reference Schilling, Ritter, Kühner, Hirschberger, Zacher and Kauffeld2026) advances an important discussion of how industrial-organizational psychology can enable circular economy implementation within established organizations and deepen our understanding of how these processes work. Much of the discussion in the focal article on circular economy implementation focuses on how incumbent organizations can adapt their existing production and management systems. Less attention has been given to which types of companies and contexts are likely to adopt and test circular economy elements. Organizations of all sizes share a responsibility in advancing the circular economy. Large established corporations and organizational ecosystems have established processes and supply chains that rely on significant workforces trained and rewarded to operate within them. A circular economy does not emerge solely through scale but through distributed adaptation. Implementing a circular economy in such well-established companies or ecosystems is a difficult task beyond small-scale pilots or experiments.
Although we need to understand circular economy implementation in such organizations, we argue that it is as important to examine entrepreneurial ventures. Entrepreneurial organizations can create the bedrock of the organization from the ground up to align with circular economy principles while also developing a corporate identity and structure that motivates workers to engage in circular economy behavior.
For example, the company Terracycle has built into its mission and processes making preconsumer and postconsumer waste the raw materials for its products, with the brands it reuses actually supporting its recycling mission. It also organizes collection directly from consumers of what is waste to them (ex. unused sauce packets from Taco Bell, empty juice containers from Capri Sun) that is used to make Terracycle products (Stodart, Reference Stodart2025). Polywood began as a small entrepreneurial business focused on recycling plastics to make durable outdoor furniture and currently is a fully circular process that is reported to be 99% waste free (Polywood, 2025). The entrepreneurial business Thrilling sources vintage and secondhand wardrobe items from stores nationwide for film and television productions and costume designers, allowing items to be reused and authentic rather than recreated for such clients (Shop Thrilling, 2026). For these entrepreneurial enterprises, the circular economy is not an add on or a corporate social responsibility initiative; it is built into the basic nature of organizational mission, reward structures, and process design. This makes them particularly valuable to examine as we consider the nature of successful circular economy implementation.
Entrepreneurs may also have a unique affinity for the circular economy, as they frequently operate under conditions of scarcity and uncertainty, which encourages them to recombine and repurpose resources already at their disposal. This idea is captured by the concept of bricolage, which refers to making do by combining resources on hand to address new problems and seize new opportunities (Baker & Nelson, Reference Baker and Nelson2005). Although commonly associated with new or resource-constrained ventures, bricolage is not limited to small firms. Similar processes are observed in established organizations through boundary units, innovation teams, and supply chain adaptations, where resource constraints are locally experienced. Behavior classified as bricolage closely mirrors the logic of circular economy systems, extending beyond firm size and reflecting a constrained problem-solving condition that seeks to extend resource life and reduce waste through reuse and recombination. Thus, a significant aspect of the entrepreneur identity fits with the methods of a circular economy, positioning bricolage as important to businesses implementing circular systems.
In the rest of this commentary, we highlight potential connections among entrepreneurship, bricolage, and the circular economy and how these connections could inform I-O psychology’s contributions to understanding the circular economy.
Entrepreneurial bricolage and circular economy emergence
Entrepreneurial bricolage provides a useful lens for understanding how circular economy systems emerge in practice. Bricolage focuses on people finding solutions to problems with existing or no/low-cost resources, often through new combinations (Davidson et al., Reference Davidson, Baker and Senyatd2017). The need for bricolage arises because entrepreneurs often start with few existing resources, and globally, many entrepreneurial businesses are launched in resource-scarce environments (Mateus & Sarkar, Reference Mateus and Sarkar2024). Entrepreneurs engage in problem solving to develop innovative solutions to address their own resource scarcity and that of their community. Entrepreneurs engaging in bricolage may view waste materials as low- or no-cost options to achieve their entrepreneurial goals and solve business problems. Entrepreneurial businesses may offer fertile ground for I-O research on organizations engaged in the circular economy and on the factors related to successful implementation.
There is some existing research examining firms operating under resource constraints that finds entrepreneurial bricolage can facilitate the implementation of the circular economy. Bricolage encourages experimentation with available inputs and new combinations of resources, with waste products a fertile place for such experimentation (Dost et al., Reference Dost, Lee and Umrani2024). The circular economy thus becomes a major means to engage in successful bricolage and discover new resources to try to use for entrepreneurial benefit. Entrepreneurs can do this in concert with other parts of the related business ecosystem, doing collective bricolage where parts of that ecosystem share what is waste to one group but can be a valuable resource for combination for another (Suchek et al., Reference Suchek, Ferreira and Fernandes2022). For example, a thrift store in one area might have a piece of vintage clothing of little local interest but that a company like Thrilling can facilitate that piece of clothing be reused by a movie company in a different area who has a production where the clothing has significant use value. The entrepreneurial business is a key link in the circular economy reuse of an item.
Prior research on circular economy transitions similarly highlights the role of entrepreneurial experimentation in developing new circular business models (Geissdoerfer et al., Reference Geissdoerfer, Savaget, Bocken and Hultink2017). Entrepreneurial businesses can be seen as a major space for innovation related to circular economy systems in practice. If I-O psychologists seek to understand how circular business models can be successfully created, bricolage could be a key piece. Entrepreneurial processes are shaped by contextual constraints, including gendered access to resources and networks, which could influence how circular practices are enacted across different populations. For one example, research has found that for female entrepreneurs, bricolage is a moderator of the positive empowerment–entrepreneurship performance relationship, strengthening it (Digan et al., Reference Digan, Sahi, Mantok and Patel2019). Women entrepreneurs are more successful when empowerment is paired with bricolage behaviors, which could suggest that entrepreneurial business circular economy implementation will be similarly affected. Future studies by I-O psychologists can examine the demographic and identity characteristics that have relevant impact on circular economy implementation and success.
Frugal innovation as a mechanism for circular implementation
The related concept of frugal innovation also points to the connection between entrepreneurship and the circular economy, especially when circular practices are operationalized under resource-scarce constraints. Frugal innovation refers to the development of affordable, resource-efficient products and services that minimize the use of financial and natural resources while maintaining core functionality (Weyrauch & Herstatt, Reference Weyrauch and Herstatt2017). Such companies may come up with generating totally new innovation solutions or implement innovations that others have already done with the company’s own context. Thrilling uses much of the existing innovations of online sales platforms and information technology, but it does so for a unique market (film and TV productions) with a particular group of resource providers (independent thrift stores). The core function of providing the needed wardrobe items is done in a way that uses existing resources in an efficient new process. Thus, existing and new innovations allow for new circular economy activities to flourish and be cost effective (Perera & Badir, Reference Perera and Badir2025).
The circular economy similarly emphasizes reducing resource consumption while preserving value creation. Empirical work suggests that entrepreneurial bricolage often leads to frugal innovation outcomes, which, in turn, can facilitate the adoption of circular economy practices within firms (Dost et al., Reference Dost, Lee and Umrani2024). This relationship suggests that entrepreneurial resourcefulness may serve as a microlevel mechanism for enacting circular economy systems. In turn, frugal innovation concepts and existing research, perhaps in concert with bricolage, may be useful starting points for I-O psychologists to examine personality and attitudinal constructs that relate to intentions to engage in circular economy creation and ultimate success.
Opportunity creation and the development of circular markets
Entrepreneurship research also highlights how circular economy opportunities may be constructed through iterative processes of opportunity creation, rather than simply discovered. Entrepreneurs identify undervalued resource streams and reframe waste as input while establishing new exchange relationships that redefine market boundaries. Existing research on green entrepreneurship highlights the roles of institutional enablers, cognitive framing, and network formation in facilitating these transitions (Mondal et al., Reference Mondal, Singh and Gupta2023).
Many circular ventures operate in contexts where markets for recycled materials, product recovery systems, or service-based ownership models are still emerging. Under such conditions, entrepreneurs must construct opportunities through experimentation, partnership formation, and stakeholder engagement (Alvarez & Barney, Reference Alvarez and Barney2007; Sarasvathy, Reference Sarasvathy2001). These activities resemble the institutional work required to establish new industries and legitimize alternative production models (DiMaggio, Reference DiMaggio and Zucker1988). Circular economy implementation may therefore depend on entrepreneurs who help construct new systems of value creation that the market acknowledges and builds on.
Importantly, circular practices are not limited to ventures explicitly positioned within sustainability domains or particular stages of the circular economy. Small businesses in construction, food service, logistics, and similar sectors frequently adopt circular practices as a function of cost management. For instance, independent contractors repurpose materials across projects, restaurants innovate inventory systems to reduce waste, and local logistics companies adjust routing to minimize unused capacity, practices that demonstrate how circularity can emerge as more of an operational response than a strategy. These examples reinforce the argument that entrepreneurship provides a practical entry for circular implementation across sectors and circular economy stages. Extending analysis across these phases strengthens alignment with the systemic perspective advanced by Schilling et al., and situates entrepreneurship within the full circular value chain rather than within isolated stages.
The I-O psychologist call for entrepreneurship within the circular economy
The perspectives above suggest that implementing the circular economy may be closely linked to entrepreneurial behavior. Entrepreneurs have characteristics that may predispose them toward circular economy systems, and the common entrepreneurship process itself has elements that strongly connect with the circular economy. Entrepreneurs already engage in practices that resemble circular logic, such as recombining existing resources, extending the usefulness of materials, and generating innovation under constraints. Taking the concepts of bricolage and frugal innovation to be paired with behavioral work perspectives from industrial-organizational psychology may therefore improve understanding of how circular economy systems emerge, attract employees, gain legitimacy, and ultimately scale.
