The role of organizational culture in the transition towards the circular economy – a practical perspective

In order to achieve long-lasting changes and institutionalize Circular Economy (CE), current organizational ‘business-as-usual’ cultures need to be challenged beyond technological or managerial changes. However, we identified that Organizational Culture (OC) is not considered an essential aspect to foster organizational transformations towards the CE. Thus, the aim of this paper is to analyze what role plays the OC concepts in the transition towards the CE. In order to accomplish this goal, we conducted a literature review seeking evidence that corroborates with the affirmation that OC is essential for CE transition. In addition, we conducted 13 semi-structured interviews with people from different areas from a multinational steel company located in Brazil. Our literature review showed us the role that OC plays in the transition towards the CE. We identify that OC is extremely important in supporting long-lasting changes as confirmed by the interviews. We observed that the managers were aware of the impact that the wrong culture could have in the implementation of CE strategies; however, they also affirm that the organization must work harder and develop more organizational actions in order to disseminate a circular culture throughout its entire ecosystem. We concluded that OC has a high impact in the transition journey towards the CE, and that organizations must put efforts in the change and adaptation of their culture towards one that supports CE.