World Bank data from 2023 indicates that 75% of the global population resides in middle-income countries, mostly in the Global South. Improved living standards in these regions have led to increased consumption and environmental impacts, including pollution, land use changes, and resource over-extraction. Colombia, known for its biodiversity, heavily relies on landfilling for waste management with low recycling rates. With a projected population of 57 million by 2050, sustainable waste management is crucial.

This study addresses the lack of research on community-led circular economy initiatives and women's roles in such projects in Colombia. Focusing on the "Guardianas del Manglar" (GdM) project on Colombia’s Pacific coast, it employs the Circular Value Flower (CVF) framework to analyze the values generated by the initiative. The GdM project, involving 133 women, collects approximately 4000 kg of waste per month, demonstrating environmental, economic, cultural, aesthetic, and social values.

The study's methodology includes semi-structured interviews and workshops, adapted to the contextual realities of Buenaventura. This approach highlights the importance of flexible, participatory research methodologies and the role of companies like Organización Carvajal in integrating informal waste pickers into the industrial sector. Despite challenges such as outdated waste management plans and social stigmatization, the study underscores the potential of community-led initiatives in fostering sustainable development in the Global South.

Latin America faces significant environmental and socio-economic challenges due to its predominant "extract, transform, and dispose" economic model. The Circular Economy (CE) offers a crucial alternative by focusing on sustainability through rethinking and redesigning production processes to minimize waste and maximize resource efficiency. Within this framework, Circular Innovations (CIs) play a vital role in promoting sustainable practices. This research seeks to adapt the Technological Innovation Systems (TIS) framework to better identify and overcome barriers to CIs in Latin America. The study began with a comprehensive literature review, which provided a foundation for adapting the TIS framework to both the principles of circularity and the specific context of Latin America. This adapted framework was then applied through case studies in the region, offering a practical examination of the challenges and opportunities for CE in Latin America. The research synthesized insights from literature, case studies, and expert interviews to develop definitions of CE and CIs that are tailored to the Latin American context. The Circular Economy in Latin America is defined as the process of rethinking and redesigning production and consumption systems to minimize waste and maximize resource efficiency. This approach emphasizes waste management, recycling, and the transformation of waste into valuable resources throughout the entire lifecycle of products and services, aiming to achieve sustainability through regulatory alignment, technological innovation, and societal engagement. Circular Innovations are defined as innovations that align with these principles, focusing on waste minimization, resource efficiency, and sustainability. The application of the adapted TIS framework revealed several significant barriers to the diffusion of CIs in Latin America. These include challenges in scaling up circular production processes efficiently, inefficiencies in transportation and distribution networks, and a significant lack of customer awareness and understanding of circular economy products. Additionally, there is a low willingness to pay for sustainable products, exacerbated by the lack of alignment in regulatory frameworks and inconsistent environmental laws. The framework also highlighted issues such as unclear and overly stringent regulatory requirements, the absence of standardized norms, competitive pricing challenges, and a lack of supportive infrastructure and incentives for circular economy initiatives. To address these barriers, the research developed a series of niche strategies tailored to the specific challenges identified in the Latin American context. These strategies include the Demo, Experiment, and Develop Niche Strategy, which focuses on creating experimental spaces for innovation; the Subsidized Niche Strategy, aimed at providing financial support to emerging circular innovations; and the Geographic Niche Strategy, which targets specific regions with unique challenges and opportunities. Other strategies include the Educate Niche Strategy, which emphasizes the importance of raising awareness and knowledge among consumers and policymakers; the Top Niche Strategy, which focuses on leveraging high-impact innovations; and the Policy Advocacy Strategy, which involves engaging with regulatory bodies to align policies with circular economy goals. These strategies were derived from the adapted TIS framework by systematically analyzing how various influencing conditions affect the framework’s building blocks. The connection between these influencing conditions and the identified barriers provided a clear pathway for developing strategies that are both targeted and effective. The study highlights the critical role of niche strategies in promoting circularity in Latin America, ensuring that circular innovations can achieve large-scale impact and contribute significantly to sustainable development in the region.

This research addresses the revitalization of Balinese cultural values, which inherently embody circular economy principles and support sustainable communities. The key problem tackled is the decline in communal sharing and the shift towards individualistic behaviors, exacerbated by modernization and tourism, which undermine traditional practices and increase waste. Using a Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach, the study involved desk research, interviews, and a community workshop to co-create an intervention. A major finding is the effectiveness of a barter market intervention, which aligns with traditional values like Ngayah and Tri Hita Karana, promoting non-monetary exchanges and fostering community bonds. The study recommends employing pulling, facilitating, and matching strategies to enhance participation and integration of well-being aspects in the Circular Value Flower (CVF) framework. This research provides practical insights for fostering sustainable practices and emphasizes the need for collective responsibility in climate change adaptation, making it relevant for researcher, policymakers and community leaders aiming to promote circular economies in culturally diverse contexts.

The study embarks on a comprehensive investigation into the domain of circular innovation within Dutch high-tech firms, probing the dynamics of drivers, barriers, and the strategic impact of niche strategies. The research methodology builds upon the adaptable foundation of the Technological Innovation System (TIS) framework, adapting it to the unique contours of circular innovation. This framework guides the research objectives, which encompass discerning the propulsive forces driving circular innovation, unraveling the contextual intricacies, and critically evaluating the applicability of the adapted TIS framework.

Guided by this framework, the research addresses three pivotal sub-questions that delve into the nuances of drivers, barriers and the strategic potency of niche strategies within the circular innovation landscape. The methodology seamlessly interweaves an expansive literature review with in-depth case studies of four distinct Dutch circular high-tech firms. Through rigorous qualitative analysis, recurrent drivers emerge, including the catalytic influence of emerging regulations, collaborative partnerships, strategic product design and value proposition, and intrinsic motivation. On the flip side, barriers encompass the complexities of production systems, complementary products and services, network formation and coordination, and the intricate maze of customer engagement challenges.

Embedded within the empirical insights are four distinct niche strategies, meticulously tailored to specific contexts: the Redesign Niche Strategy, the Decentralization Niche Strategy, the Turnkey Product-Service System (PSS) Niche Strategy, and the Compliance-Driven Stepping-Stone Niche Strategy. These strategies come to light as potent tools in surmounting the entrenched barriers, underscoring the significance of strategic alignment with regulatory shifts, the formation of collaborative networks, and the innovation-driven approach to product design in propelling circular innovation.

The strategic adaptation of the TIS framework to circular innovation not only enriches analytical depth but also highlights its pragmatic relevance. Consultations with experts from HollandCircularHotspot - a platform driving the advancement of the circular economy by facilitating collaboration, knowledge sharing, and representing Dutch circular companies on an international stage, serve to validate the framework's utility, affirming its efficacy in dissecting the ever-evolving landscape of circular innovation. Acknowledging its limitations, such as the limited scope of case studies and the geographical focus on Dutch high-tech companies, the study sets the stage for future research endeavors.

In summation, this thesis offers a substantial contribution to comprehending the dynamics of circular innovation within Dutch high-tech enterprises. It underscores the pivotal role of specific strategies and reaffirms the pertinence of the adapted TIS framework. With its blend of empirical insights and theoretical foundations, the study illuminates potential pathways for circumventing barriers to circular innovation, paving the way for transformative change within the high-tech circular landscape.

The Dutch horticulture sector (Dhc sector) is a significant contributor to the country's GDP and a global leader in horticultural production and trade. However, despite government efforts, the sector faces challenges in achieving sustainable targets. Sustainable startups, the suppliers of innovative solutions, also encounter barriers hindering the implementation of their sustainable business models. This study aims to identify these barriers and propose niche strategies to help sustainable startups effectively implement their business models in the Dutch horticulture sector.
To address the research question, the study develops the Sustainable Transition Navigator (STN) model, which integrates the Sustainable Business Model Canvas (SBMC), Technological Innovation Systems (TIS) framework, and niche strategies. The model assists startups in visualizing and optimizing the impact of their niche strategies on their sustainable business models.
The STN model is validated and applied to two sustainable startups in the Dhc sector. Through stakeholder analysis and qualitative interviews, the study identifies six clusters of innovation barriers specific to the sector. These findings are incorporated into the STN model to highlight the barriers that sustainable startups must overcome.
The practical implementation of the STN model reveals its benefits. Startups find the model valuable for assessing technological viability and selecting appropriate niche strategies. The visual representation of the model facilitates communication within startup teams, emphasizing the importance of regularly revisiting and adjusting strategies. The STN model serves as an online tool for iterative evaluation and adjustment.
The flexibility of the STN model allows startups to adapt it to various stages of their journey. By accurately assessing hindering building blocks and influential factors within the TIS framework, startups can identify areas for improvement and formulate relevant niche strategies. Multiple niche strategies can be organized into a timeline, creating an implementation plan that can be continually revisited.
This study contributes to scientific and managerial fields by expanding the applicability of the TIS framework, introducing the STN model, and providing practical insights for startups and business leaders. The findings offer guidance for navigating barriers and driving sustainable transitions in the Dutch horticulture sector and other industries.

This thesis serves as an attempt to establish the initial empirical linkage between environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors and startup valuation by venture capitalists. While substantial academic work has addressed the ESG topic and how firms’ ESG characteristics impact their financial performance and valuations, relatively little ink has been spilled on the issue in the entrepreneurial finance literature. An important impediment for researchers and for investors in the entrepreneurial finance markets wanting to adopt the practice of responsible investing has been the lack of a unified framework for the assessment and quantification of startups’ ESG characteristics. This thesis proposes a startup ESG framework that is based on the status quo of existing ESG frameworks and related literature. The study then analyses a proprietary dataset of 47 technological startups that seek funding from the Dutch venture capital (VC) firm FORWARD.one, to empirically investigate whether the positive relationship between firms’ ESG characteristics and financial valuation, found in the public market setting and the crowdfunding and token offering setting, also holds in the VC context. Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) analysis and Independent Sample t-Tests are used to examine the impact of the startups’ ESG risk scores on their financial valuations. The results indicate that the amount of ESG risk in a startup is negatively correlated to its financial valuation, meaning that venture capitalists do value startups’ ESG characteristics. As a result also those entrepreneurs that seek funding from venture capitalists have an economic incentive to work on their sustainability performance. However, this study finds that sustainability performance is only valued to the extent that it concerns ESG risk management, i.e. minimizing ESG-related negative externalities. The creation of ESG-related positive externalities is not valued by purely financially driven venture capitalists. The study does not attempt to establish a causal mechanism. The findings contributes to the still emergent literature around the role of ESG in entrepreneurial finance markets and several promising avenues for further research are suggested.

Nature-based solutions are solutions that (partly) consist of, or contribute to, living nature, which can provide economical, social and environmental benefits. Especially in the building sector they can have huge benefits over conventional (grey) solution as this sector uses a lot of resources and energy. The benefits that nature-based solutions can offer range from air purification to carbon sequestration to insulation. Even though nature-based solutions are known to have these benefits, large scale diffusion of nature-based solutions has not yet happened. The EU states that in “order for NbS to be implemented effective new business and partnership models should be created”. To foster the creation of these business models an appropriate business model framework is necessary. However, this framework was not yet existing. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis was to create a novel sustainable business model framework for nature-based solutions in the Dutch building sector. The novel framework was created through performing first literature research followed by a creation phase. This led to a preliminary framework which was then improved with the use of a focus group consisting of 7 experts from the Dutch building sector, who are currently working with, or involved with, nature-based solutions. With valuable insights and tips from the focus group the framework was then improved. This led to a framework consisting of a business model canvas supported by a few sections providing extra information. These extra sections help the user to fill in the business model canvas. On top of the improvements the focus group meeting also gave insights in how, and by who, the framework should be used. It became clear that the framework should primarily be used for creating an overview of an organisation, rather than for ideation. The framework should be used by organisations working with nature-based solutions and especially organisations who care about their impact and their ‘raison d’être’. The framework is a big improvement compared to the alternatives mainly because it is compact, but also comprehensive. It offers the user a way to perform a thoroughly impact assessment and the canvas includes many aspects/elements which are of high importance for implementing nature-based solutions.