California Management Review

Abstract

Supply chains are vital units of analysis of the circular economy (CE), and network orchestrators are central to fostering the CE’s essential interorganizational collaboration. However, orchestration mechanisms remain poorly understood. We explore supply chain orchestration (SCO) as an innovative business model to promote CE. Our analysis of The Lost Food Project—an eco-food bank that rescues surplus food to address hunger in Greater Kuala Lumpur—suggests the need to adapt SCO for circularity (as SCO-C). We highlight the challenges that arise when organizations focus on SCO-C: capturing the value of environmental and social profits, the necessity of supportive public policies, and plausible unintended consequences.

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