The 6 New Archetypes of Digital Circularity
Why the Next Generation of Circular Platforms Won’t Compete on Technology , but on Execution Intelligence
Digital platforms are at the heart of circularity, yet 60% fail due to a lack of strategic architecture and execution intelligence.
Based on the research by Petrik, Hiller, and Morar (Electronic Markets, 2025), this article identifies six archetypes and four competitiveness levers to make circularity a viable economic infrastructure at the European scale.
It also explains how, in a fragmented context, the ability to execute complexity and to mobilize the right partners at the right time has become the new frontier of European competitiveness.
Europe is multiplying circular initiatives, yet no European platform truly rivals the global digital giants.
The problem is not a lack of innovation, it’s the absence of a shared architecture and coherent execution logic.
The circular economy has become an economic infrastructure in its own right: an interconnected network of flows, data, and relationships between public and private actors.
At the center of this transformation, digital platforms play a pivotal role. They coordinate, orchestrate, and monetize circularity at scale.But as local initiatives proliferate, a tension emerges:
How can Europe move from isolated circular projects to a truly shared value system without repeating the mistakes that doomed 60% of platforms launched since 2020?
Execution Intelligence: The New Frontier of European Circularity
The future of circularity will not depend on technology, but on the ability of actors to execute complexity with rigor and agility.
In a fragmented market, execution intelligence has become the rarest resource: the ability to orchestrate data, partners, and regulatory frameworks to turn diversity into competitive advantage.
Where some multiply pilot projects, others build architectures of growth.
And that difference, between innovation and orchestration, is what separates short-lived initiatives from lasting infrastructures.
The Research Contribution: Six Models to Map the Complexity
In 2025, researchers Dimitri Petrik, Simon Hiller, and Dominik Morar published in Electronic Markets the first systematic mapping of the global landscape of circular economy platforms.
Drawing from 129 real-world cases, they identified six archetypes, each representing a specific logic of circular value creation.
But the study also reveals 12 strategic dimensions, 56 configuration features, and massive failure rates for poorly calibrated platforms from the start.
Diversity is not just a source of strength, it’s also a minefield for decision-makers who don’t understand the implications of each strategic choice. Regardless of archetype, no model scales alone. The most successful platforms are those that activate the right partners through coordinated execution, integrators, industrial hubs, regional clusters, or data specialists.
Circular scalability, more than ever, is an exercise in collective engineering.
| Archetype | Value Logic | Scabality | Pitfall to Avoid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Material Marketplaces | Transactional optimization of resource flows (B2B, traceability, certification) | High | Opening the ecosystem too early dilutes value before critical mass |
| Product-as-a-Service | Monetization of use instead of ownership (leasing, subscription) | Medium to High | Unanticipated return rates can destroy the business model within 18 months |
| Recycling & Reverse Platforms | Coordination of reverse logistics and recycling among multiple actors | High | Without control over reverse supply chains, quality collapses |
| Industrial Symbiosis Networks | Energy and material sharing among enterprises | Medium | Low local density makes synergies unprofitable |
| Knowledge & Data Hubs | Valorization of circular knowledge and data | Very High | Monetizing raw data fails — only derived services create real value |
| Ecosystem Orchestration Platforms | Governance and interconnection of multiple platforms | Very High | Becoming a neutral infrastructure means giving up control — a cultural challenge |
From Startup to Infrastructure: Changing Scale, Changing Role
For Circular Tech companies, understanding these archetypes means knowing where they fit in the circular digital value chain and how to evolve.
The actors that successfully scale redefine their role as they grow:
- Material Marketplaces become orchestrators of transactional intelligence.
- Product-as-a-Service players turn impact measurement into a competitive differentiator.
- Knowledge Hubs evolve into decision infrastructures for investors and policymakers.
Circular scalability is not random, it’s a process of strategic and collective engineering.
Four Competitiveness Levers for European Circularity
1° Standardization: From Compliance to Convergence
With the Digital Product Passport and the CSRD, standardization is now a competitive edge.
Platforms that structure data and interoperability capture long-term value.
Standardization is no longer a constraint, it’s a scale and trust strategy.
2°Connectivity: Building Collaborative Infrastructures
European platforms must be designed as open architectures, able to integrate partners, APIs, and trusted third parties.
But connectivity extends beyond technology: it’s an execution strategy.
Actors leveraging local partners to adapt and deploy their models gain speed, legitimacy, and resilience.
In an economy of scarcity, connectivity becomes the new wealth.
3° Trust: The Invisible Capital of Circularity
Tomorrow’s platforms must embody market neutrality — neither dominant players nor simple intermediaries, but systemic trusted orchestrators. This neutrality is not moral; it’s economic. Trust becomes the architecture of circular value.
4° Economic Viability: The Taboo to Break
Less than 10% of circular platforms include financing mechanisms in their architecture.
Circularity requires intelligent monetization of coordination.
Viability is not a financial issue, it’s a strategic design challenge.
Execution Intelligence: The True Differentiator
The most successful circular platforms are not those that cooperate the most, but those that orchestrate execution the best.
They transform partners into efficiency levers, data into decisions, and complexity into measurable growth.
Execution intelligence is not an abstract concept — it’s a strategic capability.
It’s about designing growth architectures where cooperation is sequenced, guided, and aligned with clear objectives.
Toward an Orchestrated Circular Economy
The research by Petrik, Hiller, and Morar reminds us of one thing: circularity cannot be decreed, it must be configured.
And that configuration depends on one new core skill: architecting execution.
Europe already has the bricks,technological, industrial, and human.
What it still lacks are the architects able to assemble them into competitive, regenerative systems.
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