AbstractsBiology & Animal Science

Purpose – The aim of this project is to look at the advantages of industrial symbiosis model and see how it can be considered innovative solutions to the world’s economy. The project also pointed out the barriers and drivers for building a successful industrial symbiosis model. Design/methodology/approach – Based on the critical realism philosophy with a representative case of Kalundborg industrial symbiosis, we analyze the data collected in accordance with our theoretical framework. Findings – Industrial symbiosis is an innovative solution where economic profit, social and environmental benefits goes together. The drivers of building an industrial symbiosis consist of “hard” preconditions such as economic and technical factors and “soft” conditions such as institutional, field, social network factors, mental factors and organization embeddedness. All these conditions must be fulfilled at the simultaneously, since it would be considered a barrier otherwise. Practical implications – Our findings may serve as a guideline for the realization of successful industrial symbiosis projects around the world. Originality/value – This research have established a unique framework of the drivers and barriers which consist of “hard” and “soft” conditions.