CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2021
| Author | Bajnóczki, Csongor |
|---|---|
| Title | Transition in a Time of Turmoil: Barriers and Enablers for Hungarian SMEs' Shift from the Linear towards the Circular Economy |
| Summary | Given Earth’s depleting raw materials, decreasing biodiversity, ever-increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and climate change, the Anthropocene has almost reached the ecosystem’s tipping points from where there is no turning back, which could lead to an extinction cascade. In response to the contemporary treatment of our natural resources and its unsustainable side effects, the notion of the circular economy (CE) has gained grounds in the past decade to resolve the ecological deterioration. While the principles of the CE have been widely known for decades, the mere 9% of global circularity demonstrates that its actual application causes headaches to experts, scientists, and policymakers as well. Hungary has been handling natural resources even worse than the rest of the European Union (EU) thus the adequate implementation of the CE is more urgent here than elsewhere. While small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are often forgotten, more than 670,000 Hungarian SMEs constitute a crucial part of the economy: they produce over half of Hungary’s gross domestic product and employ over 70% of all employees. The aim of the present thesis is to explore what barriers Hungarian SMEs need to face and what enablers could support their transition towards the realm of the CE. Upon an extensive literature review to assess global trends and build a theoretical framework, in-depth structured interviews with SME managers, CE experts, and the Hungarian government are to provide cross-cutting findings among the three stakeholder groups. This novel research evaluates what capacities and factors Hungarian SMEs need to begin their circular transitions. It explains their current state and struggles to keep up with the rest of the market that is often dominated by multinational corporations (MNCs). Most importantly, this study assesses which macro-, meso-, and micro-level elements could influence these firms at the first place to make their way towards circularity. |
| Supervisor | Illés, Zoltán |
| Department | Environment Sciences and Policy MSc |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2021/bajnoczki_csongor.pdf |
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