The French plastics industry’s path-dependent transition towards the circular economy

This article investigates adoption by French plastics industry companies of circular eco-innovation strategies, such as recycling of fossil-based plastics, production of bio-based copies of fossil polymers, and development of new bio-based plastics. Primary data were collected via interviews with various plastics value-chain stakeholders and were supplemented by a substantial amount of secondary data. Analysing these data through an evolutionary theoretical framework lens that combines the multi-level perspective on sociotechnical transitions with organisational path dependence theory addresses two limitations in the existing literature: the fragmented analyses of the determinants of circular eco-innovations and contradictory interpretations of the potential of new bio-based plastics to disrupt prevailing industrial structures in favour of the circular economy. Our results demonstrate the relevance of path dependence theory at the value chain level and highlight the importance of (inter-)organisational mechanisms in the industry circular transition.