Track Description

The transition to a Circular Economy (CE) is a complex challenge requiring significant changes at the organizational and societal levels (Del Vecchio et al., 2021; Merli et al., 2018; de Jesus et al., 2019). Companies need to rethink and innovate their business models to align them with sustainability and circularity principles while leveraging innovation to disrupt the way they operate (Bai et al., 2021). Disruptive transformations emerge through technological advances, regulatory shifts, and new business models, requiring organizations to be adaptive and resilient (Ghezzi, 2013; Nash et al., 2014).
The transition to a CE poses complex challenges at both organizational and societal levels, requiring business model innovation aligned with sustainability and circularity principles (Del Vecchio et al., 2021; Merli et al., 2018). This process is not linear but unfolds through patterns of continuity and disruption, driven by technological advances, regulatory shifts, and new collaborative models (Bai et al., 2021; Ghezzi, 2013). The transition towards the CE also involves large expenses, and it also associated with different financial instruments, including loans, green bonds, and impact investments (Xiao, 2025).
In this context, Innovation Ecosystems have emerged as strategic frameworks, often led by large corporations that collaborate with startups, suppliers, and spin-offs to co-create value (Konietzko et al., 2020; Ritala et al., 2013). These ecosystems help firms adapt to rapid environmental changes, especially when established players face difficulties reacting to discontinuities (Prashantham & Kumar, 2019). Startups, despite limited resources, are agile and innovative, making them key drivers of radical change in the transition toward circular and sustainable business models (Filippelli et al., 2025).
However, this evolution entails risks, particularly for startups, such as power asymmetries, loss of control over intellectual property, and restricted access to capital and credibility (Hora et al., 2018; Barile et al., 2024). Fintech emerges as a key enabler in this setting, helping SMEs overcome economic and organizational barriers to CE adoption through digital financial services and alternative funding models (Pizzi et al., 2020). As recently highlighted by Wagar, et al., (2025), the implementation of fintech adoption by SMEs has to become a standard approach to advancing green innovation, to consolidate investments in sustainable projects, and green performances.
Circular startups, born with circularity at their core, differ from incumbents in that they do not need to restructure existing models but can embed CE principles from inception (Cullen & De Angelis, 2021). Their success, however, depends on balancing the stability of core sustainability principles with the flexibility to adopt disruptive technologies and new forms of collaboration (Sentuti & Cesaroni, 2021).
Open Innovation practices, such as accelerators, incubators, and corporate venture capital, act as bridges between startups and large firms (Steiber & Alänge, 2020), but they require careful governance to ensure mutual benefit and innovation continuity (Avila-Robinson et al., 2022). Meanwhile, digital technologies (IoT, AI, blockchain, collaborative platforms) offer new ways to optimize resource use, improve transparency, and reconfigure relationships among ecosystem actors (Roshan et al., 2024).
Yet, despite growing interest in Innovation Ecosystems, research on how advanced technologies support integration and co-evolution within circular innovation ecosystems is still limited (Autio & Thomas, 2014). Digital tools sustain long-term innovation continuity, while also triggering disruptions that challenge incumbents and redefine value creation logics. This track explores how innovation ecosystems, Fintech solutions, and circular startups interact to foster sustainable business transformations. Startups, thanks to their agility and technological focus, are emerging as pivotal actors in implementing CE principles from the ground up. Yet, they face structural barriers—limited access to capital, technology, and markets—which hamper their growth and systemic impact.
Fintech innovations represent a powerful lever to overcome these barriers, enabling new financing models and data-driven services tailored to the needs of SMEs engaging in circular practices. By combining digital technologies (e.g., AI, blockchain, IoT) with sustainable finance tools, Fintech can support the development of scalable, resilient, and inclusive circular business models.
This track welcomes contributions exploring:

• How startups balance continuity and disruption when collaborating with large firms in innovation ecosystems;
• The role of digital technologies and analytics in enabling circular business models and ecosystem resilience;
• Strategies for circular-born startups to manage risks and protect their innovation potential in open ecosystems;
• The role of Fintech in facilitating access to capital and enabling CE adoption in SMEs;
• Key capabilities needed to orchestrate Open Innovation in circular contexts;
• Emerging digital tools that foster effective startup–corporate collaboration in sustainable innovation ecosystems.

By focusing on the convergence of disruptive digital finance, startup innovation, and sustainable ecosystem thinking, this track aims to enrich the academic dialogue on how organizations can co-evolve toward a more circular, inclusive, and resilient economy—especially in times of uncertainty and accelerated change. This proposal contributes to the academic debate on sustainability in a digitally transforming world, where strategic alliances and innovation ecosystems are essential for responding to environmental, social, and financial challenges. Adopting a systems perspective allows us to better grasp the complexity and interdependencies shaping the future of circular business models.