Towards a framework for ecological stategic change in business networks

The objective of the paper is to identify major strategic issues for a firm aiming for change towards ecologically sustainable activities in its network. One purpose is to develop and apply a theoretical approach that takes the strategic actions of the firm and its network context into consideration. Empirically, the aim is to identify, describe and categorize various strategic issues when an actor aims to introduce waste recycling activities in its network. The framework is applied to a case describing a food retail chain’s ecological re-positioning in a system for the recycling of waste. The paper identifies a set of strategic issues including managerial implications for a firm that takes on the role of change agent in its industrial network.