Date of Conferral

2021

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Management

Advisor

Daphne Halkias

Abstract

The luxury fashion industry, forecasted to reach a value of 84.04 billion U.S. dollars by 2025, has stalled in adopting a circular economy (CE) business model to raise sustainable luxury consumption in mature markets. The purpose of this qualitative, multiple case study was to describe CE business experts’ views on how luxury fashion leaders can make a profitable shift from a linear to a circular business model in mature markets. This study was framed by two conceptual models: Donato et al.’s concept of sustainable luxury consumption and Chiaroni and Urbinati’s concept of adopting a circular business model. Data were collected from multiple sources to ensure the trustworthiness of evidence collected: semistructured interviews with seven CE business experts, reflective field notes, and archival data. Using cross-case synthesis, twenty-three themes embedded within six coding categories emerged from the data analysis: (a) initial effect of CE business model adoption on competitive advantage; (b) profit-making drivers for firms to increase sustainable luxury fashion consumption; (c) financial challenges for firms in the transition from a linear to a CE business model; (d) technology challenges for firms in the transition from a linear to a CE business model; (e) achieving the profitable shift from a linear to a CE model in mature markets; and (f) added value for customers after CE business model adoption. This study’s outcome may drive positive social change by providing fashion industry leaders with a better understanding of how a CE business model can generate a broader social contribution for the environment, employees, local communities of producers, and, as a consequence, to society at large.

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