Circular business model canvas: Proposing the business model design options in a circular economy

Today, excessive waste generation, severe resource scarcity and environmental damages are serious problems of current business models. Designing circular business models is not only a good solution to these problems, but also a good opportunity to gain a competitive advantage and achieve economic benefits. The purpose of this study was to comprehensively identify the building blocks of circular business models and provide a framework for the circular business models. We used the Sandelowski  and Barros  7-step meta-synthesis method to identify the building blocks of circular business models and the thematic analysis to analyze  and combine the findings. Based on the findings of the study, the building blocks of the circular business model are classified into 3 main categories, 9 sub-categories and 40 final codes. In addition, our design options has introduced the practical instances to be used  for implementing the circular business models. Also, the proposed canvas of the research can be applied as a facilitator tool to lead the way that the professionals and managers design circular business models in   organizations.