Derivation of a Circularity Capability Maturity Assessment for Manufacturing Companies in the Circular Economy

Manufacturing companies face the challenge of systematically identifying and leveraging technological competitive advantages during the transformation to the circular economy. Therefore, companies need to take up strategic positions of success in the circular economy by correctly bundling their technological resources and capabilities. However, capabilities for the circular economy go beyond those in the past required for companies to establish a successful market position. These new differences in capabilities specifically manifest through the perspective of considering a product's full life cycle and the potential arising from not yet tapped life cycle phases. To this end, this paper presents foundational elements of a circularity capability maturity assessment for manufacturing companies. Therefore, an approach to assessing the circularity capabilities was developed, and circularity capabilities were systematically derived from literature. The elements were finally validated by industry partners. It supports companies in identifying which circularity capabilities are crucial to unlocking new circular value potentials and thus act as strategic positions for success.