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Jenny Palm

Jenny Palm

Head of department

Jenny Palm

How Organization Models Impact the Governing of Industrial Symbiosis in Public Wastewater Management. An Explorative Study in Sweden

Author

  • Karolina Södergren
  • Jenny Palm

Summary, in English

The industrial symbiosis (IS) landscape is evolving rapidly. While previous studies have argued for the importance of municipalities participating in the governing of IS, research on the implications of different forms of municipal organization is still lacking. This paper aims to investigate how municipal administration and municipally-owned corporations, as two forms of organization, impact the governing of IS in the water and sewage sector. This is explored in relation to the Swedish municipality Simrishamn, which recently underwent changes in the form of organization. Results show that municipal administration contributes to a more inclusive process where many actors can influence and bring ideas and perspectives on how to develop an IS. The risk, however, is that other issues within the municipality are seen as more pressing and, therefore, get prioritized before IS. In corporate form, the development of IS becomes more business-like as the focus is kept on core business. Technology development is strengthened as skills and competencies are promoted through the expertise of the employees. Drawbacks include processes becoming less transparent and political goals, such as citizen welfare not receiving the same level of priority as within municipal administration. There is also a risk that fewer perspectives are included in the process of developing IS, which may inhibit innovation, even if the results also indicate that an increased business focus of the corporate form strengthens the innovation capacity.

Department/s

  • The International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics

Publishing year

2021-03-17

Language

English

Publication/Series

Water

Volume

13

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

MDPI AG

Topic

  • Economics and Business
  • Social Sciences Interdisciplinary

Keywords

  • industrial symbiosis
  • urban water
  • wasterwater reuse
  • municipal administration
  • municipally owned corporation
  • municipal corporation

Status

Published

Project

  • Smart symbiosis - collaboration for common resource flows

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 2073-4441