Promoting the Opportunity Identification of Industrial Symbiosis: Agent-Based Modeling Inspired by Innovation Diffusion Theory

Authored by Kaifang Zheng, Suling Jia

Date Published: 2017

DOI: 10.3390/su9050765

Sponsors: No sponsors listed

Platforms: NetLogo

Model Documentation: Other Narrative Flow charts Mathematical description

Model Code URLs: Model code not found

Abstract

Promotion of the emergence of synergistic linkages between different firms is crucial in the development of Industrial Symbiosis (IS) networks or Eco-Industrial Parks (EIP). Appropriate strategies for the promotion of inter-firm interactions are required to enhance the emergence of IS networks through institutional capacity building. This research draws on insight from Diffusion of Innovations (DoI) theory, and considers the emergence and development of IS as a process where the knowledge, attitude and implementation of IS synergies are gradually adopted by firms. Accordingly, we propose an Agent-Based Model (ABM) to investigate the influence of promoting strategies associated with various dimensions of institutional capabilities, on the identification of opportunity sets for IS synergies. The simulation results show that both ``Knowledge Coordination{''} and ``Relationship Coordination{''} have a positive impact on the identification of IS opportunities (represented by the adoption of positive attitudes). However, the performance of promoting strategies depends to a great extent on the mobilization capacity and the characteristics of the specific IS solutions. We believe the proposed research provides insights and implications for the design of the strategies to promote effective IS practice.

Tags

Evolution Dynamics Agent-Based Modeling and Simulation ecosystems Diffusion of innovation ecology Industrial symbiosis Small-world networks perspective Science Promoting strategies Institutional capacity Opportunity identification Park development