Advancing the Circular Economy

Introduction

The Role of Marketing, Special issue of the Australasian Marketing Journal; Deadline 31 Oct 2025

INTEREST CATEGORY: SUSTAINABILITY
POSTING TYPE: Calls: Journals

Posted by: Joya Kemper

CALL FOR PAPERS

Special Issue: The Role of Marketing in Advancing the Circular Economy

Full-length paper submission deadline: 31 October 2025

Guest Editors:

  • Joya A. Kemper, University of Canterbury, New Zealand
  • Julia A. Fehrer, University of Auckland Business School, New Zealand
  • Roderick J. Brodie, University of Auckland Business School, New Zealand
  • Leena Aarikka-Stenroos, University of Tampere, Finland
  • Jenni Kaipainen, ETH Zürich, Switzerland

Background and Motivation:

The study of sustainability within the marketing discipline has gained prominence (Peterson, 2022). However, despite progress, the field still faces numerous challenges and unresolved issues. The urgency of addressing these challenges is underscored by the escalating climate crisis, with recent years being among the warmest on record (Lindsey & Luann, 2023). Concurrently, society is grappling with increasing polarisation (Boxell, Gentzkow, & Shapiro, 2022), populism (O’Shaughnessy, 2022), and economic challenges such as inflation and the rising cost of living (World Economic Forum, 2022). These complex environmental, social, and economic issues require urgent and integrated solutions.

A significant shift in sustainability discourse has been towards the circular economy, with emerging discussions in marketing (e.g., Kemper & Ballantine, 2024; Leenders, van Bueren & Nguyen, 2024; Mostaghel, Oghazi, & Lisboa, 2023; Verleye et al. 2024). Unlike the traditional linear model of take-create-waste, the circular economy emphasises closed-loop systems that mimic natural cycles, promoting resource efficiency and sustainability (Fehrer, Kemper, & Baker, 2024). This paradigm shift calls for transformative changes across various levels of practice and policy (Kirchherr, Reike, & Hekkert, 2017). This special issue aims to bridge the current research gap by exploring how marketing can drive the transition to a circular economy

The marketing discipline has a critical role to play in advancing the circular economy. Despite its potential, the concept of the circular economy is underrepresented in the marketing discipline (Kemper & Ballantine, 2024). Some key observations include:

  • Research is needed to understand how marketing can influence customer lifestyles towards less consumption and more sustainable practices. This includes examining concepts like anti-consumption (Lee at al., 2020), mindful consumption (e.g., Gupta & Sheth, 2023), and voluntary simplicity, and their implications for marketing strategy.
  • Understanding how customer experience shapes and influences the adoption of circular economy practices is crucial. Insights into actors’ experiences within the circular economy can inform this area (Karpen et al., 2023; Verleye et al. 2024). Additionally, understanding customer journeys, particularly post-purchase stages such as product maintenance, disposal, or recycling, is critical (Parsons & Maclaran, 2009).
  • The shift towards service models and reuse or second-hand offerings can significantly alter value propositions. Research is needed to explore how these changes impact both providers and customers (Karpen et al., 2023; Fehrer & Wieland, 2021; Fehrer & Vargo, 2023).
  • There is a need for research on how marketing communications, sales strategies, and branding can effectively promote circular products and services (e.g., Muranko et al., 2019). This includes communicating the benefits of remanufactured or refurbished products and influencing environments to make circular choices more desirable.
  • Firms must rethink their operations and materials across the entire product life cycle and within their service ecosystem (Fehrer et al. 2024), including relationships and supply chain networks. Lifecycle integration and collaboration are critical to achieving circular economy goals and represent an emerging area of focus in B2B marketing (Aarikka-Stenroos et al., 2022; Kaipainen et al., 2022; Sairanen et al., 2024).
  • The circular economy may demand new marketing skills, capabilities, and roles. Research should explore how marketing practices, organizational structures and strategies might need to evolve to support circular economy transitions.
  • While the circular economy presents significant opportunities for marketing, it also comes with challenges and limitations. There is a need for critical research to ensure that the circular economy does not become another means for greenwashing but instead drives genuine and substantial change.

This special issue aims to foster a deeper understanding of how marketing can lead and support the transition to a circular economy, addressing both theoretical and practical dimensions.

We invite researchers and practitioners to contribute their insights and findings to this special issue, helping to advance the role of marketing in creating a more sustainable future.

Objectives and Topics:

The primary objective of this call is to explore the role of marketing in advancing the goals of the circular economy from different perspectives such as marketing strategy, customer behaviour, and product and service design. We invite research that delves into various aspects of strategy, tactics, and frameworks that align with the principles of the circular economy. We welcome all methodologies, including conceptual works. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • Customer experiences and perception with circular economy products, services and processes.
  • Understanding customer awareness and motivations for participating in the circular economy.
  • Leveraging digital marketing and digital platforms to foster circular transitions.
  • What is the role of product passports in promoting circularity to consumers and others businesses?
  • The impact of branding and advertising on customer behaviour towards circular products, services and processes.
  • Evaluating the effectiveness of marketing campaigns focused on circular economy initiatives.
  • The role of influencers and thought leaders in shaping customer perceptions of the circular economy.
  • Marketing’s role in promoting products and services that aligns with circular economy principles.
  • How does the concept of ‘enoughness’ or sufficiency function in a circular economy?
  • How does degrowth play a role in the circular economy?
  • Understanding rebound and other adverse effects of circular economy campaigns.
  • Ethical considerations in marketing circular economy products and services.
  • Greenwashing and addressing other customer concerns and perceptions related to reused, repaired, and refurbished products.
  • The role of marketing in shaping public policy and institutional environment towards the circular economy.
  • Relationships management and B2B marketing to drive circular transitions
  • Service marketing, service business models and servitization fostering circular economy practices
  • Sales strategies supporting circular economy principles
  • Marketing strategy and initiatives driving action and interplay at multiple levels of the society, spanning from the organizational boundaries to value chains and ecosystems
  • Interdisciplinary approaches to integrating circular economy principles in marketing.
  • Case studies highlighting the successes and challenges of circular economy marketing initiatives.

Submission Guidelines:

Submissions should follow the journal’s standard guidelines and be submitted by 31 October 2025. For further information, please contact the guest editors.

Guest Editors:

References

Aarikka-Stenroos, L., Chiaroni, D., Kaipainen, J., & Urbinati, A. (2022). Companies’ circular business models enabled by supply chain collaborations: An empirical-based framework, synthesis, and research agenda. Industrial Marketing Management, 105, 322-339.

Andrews, D., Chaer, I., & Newton, E. J. (2019). Circular economy and behaviour change: Using persuasive communication to encourage pro-circular behaviours towards the purchase of remanufactured refrigeration equipment. Journal of Cleaner Production, 222, 499-510.

Boxell, L., Gentzkow, M., & Shapiro, J. M. (2024). Cross-country trends in affective polarization. Review of Economics and Statistics, 106(2), 557-565.

Fehrer, J. A., & Kemper, J. A., & Baker, J. J. (2024). Shaping circular service ecosystems. Journal of Service Research, 27(1), 49-68.

Fehrer, J. A., & Vargo, S. L. (2023). Rethinking service in a circular economy. SMR-Journal of Service Management Research, 7(3), 130-146.

Fehrer, J. A., & Wieland, H. (2021). A systemic logic for circular business models. Journal of Business Research, 125, 609-620.

Gupta, S., & Sheth, J. (2023). Mindful consumption: Its conception, measurement, and implications. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 1-19.

Kemper, J., & Ballantine, P., (2023). Where to next? How marketing needs to take a lead in the circular economy. Journal of Sustainable Marketing, 4 (2) 239 – 245.

Kaipainen, J., Urbinati, A., Chiaroni, D., & Aarikka-Stenroos, L. (2022). How companies innovate business models and supply chains for a circular economy: A multiple-case study and framework. International Journal of Innovation Management, 26(09), 2240024.

Karpen, I. O., Edvardsson, B., Tronvoll, B., Jaakkola, E., & Conduit, J. (2023). Circular service management: Toward conceptual understanding and service research priorities for a more sustainable future. Journal of Service Management, 34(6), 50-69.

Kirchherr, J., Reike, D., & Hekkert, M. (2017). Conceptualizing the circular economy: An analysis of 114 definitions. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 127, 221-232.

Lee, M. S., Ortega Egea, J. M., & García de Frutos, N. (2020). Anti‐consumption beyond boundaries: From niche topic to global phenomena. Psychology & Marketing, 37(2), 171-176.

Leenders, M. A., van Bueren, B. J., & Nguyen, N. (2024). The Marketing Systems Approach for Designing Effective Marketing Interfaces and a Circular Economy. Journal of Macromarketing, 44(2), 339-344.

Lindsey, R. & Luann, D. (2023). Climate Change: Global Temperature. .

Mostaghel, R., Oghazi, P., & Lisboa, A. (2023). The transformative impact of the circular economy on marketing theory. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 195, 122780.

Muranko, Z., Andrews, D., Chaer, I., & Newton, E. J. (2019). Circular economy and behaviour change: Using persuasive communication to encourage pro-circular behaviours towards the purchase of remanufactured refrigeration equipment. Journal of Cleaner Production, 222, 499-510.

O’Shaughnessy, B. (2022). The Rise of Populism. Keough School of Global Affairs.

Parsons, E., & Maclaran, P. (2009). ‘Unpacking disposal’: introduction to the special issue. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 8(6), 301-304.

Peterson, M. (2022). Where Are We Now in Our Sustainability Journey. Journal of Sustainable Marketing, 3(2), 118-144.

Sairanen, M., Aarikka-Stenroos, L., & Kaipainen, J. (2024). Customer-perceived value in the circular economy: A multidimensional framework. Industrial Marketing Management, 117, 321-343.

World Economic Forum (WEF). (2022). The cost-of-living crisis is having a global impact. Here’s what countries are doing to help.

Verleye, K., De Keyser, A., Raassens, N., Alblas, A. A., Lit, F. C., & Huijben, J. C. (2024). Pushing forward the transition to a circular economy by adopting an actor engagement lens. Journal of Service Research, 27(1), 69-88.