Explore openly accessible research papers, working papers, and scholarly outputs from CISR. All publications are peer-vetted or faculty-approved working documents distributed under Open Access licenses.
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Open Access • CC BY 4.0Sustainability & Responsible BusinessWORKING PAPER
Prof. Eleanor Vance, Dr. Marcus Thorne•Published 2026•CISR Working Paper Series
While circular economic paradigms have been broadly studied within multinational corporations, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face distinct resource asymmetries, structural rigidities, and capital constraints when operationalizing circularity. This study investigates the institutional conditions, organizational capabilities, and technology integration mechanisms required for manufacturing SMEs to transition successfully toward closed-loop industrial ecosystems. Employing an empirical mixed-methods design, we examine survey data from 142 enterprise owners and executive directors across Sweden, Denmark, and Finland, triangulated with 18 in-depth qualitative field audits of advanced manufacturing facilities conducted between 2023 and 2025.
Our findings reveal that while 68% of surveyed firms maintain strategic intent toward product remanufacturing and material recovery, fewer than 22% have embedded circular performance metrics into their capital expenditure authorizations or supplier appraisal frameworks. We identify cross-tier reverse supply chain transparency, digital product passport infrastructure, and collaborative multi-stakeholder municipal hubs as paramount determinants for commercial viability. Conversely, regulatory friction in waste taxonomy classification persists as the primary institutional impediment across Nordic jurisdictions. We conclude by presenting an actionable 4-phase circular transition archetype for enterprise management alongside 3 policy directives for European industrial decarbonization frameworks.
Prof. Eleanor Vance, Dr. Marcus Thorne•Published 2026•CISR Policy Briefs
Corporate directors face heightened exposure to transition risks under emerging corporate governance directives. This policy brief analyzes legal standards across European jurisdictions, examining how corporate boards balance short-term shareholder return expectations with long-cycle capital expenditure required for multi-decade net-zero compliance.
Prof. Eleanor Vance, Dr. Marcus Thorne•Published 2025•Journal of Sustainable Finance & Banking
We examine secondary market transactions of 3,400 corporate debt securities issued across European exchanges between 2020 and 2025. Applying propensity score matching and firm-level fixed effects, we isolate a statistically significant green premium of 4.2 basis points for investment-grade issuers with verified third-party taxonomy alignment. However, this premium dissipates entirely among issuers exhibiting substantial ESG rating divergence across major rating providers, suggesting investor skepticism toward ambiguous sustainability disclosures.
Prof. Eleanor Vance, Dr. Marcus Thorne•Published 2025•CISR Research Report Series
The European Union’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) establishes Digital Product Passports (DPPs) as mandatory compliance mechanisms. This research report details architectural frameworks for decentralized material tracking, analyzes data governance models, and documents implementation costs across 45 mid-market European suppliers in industrial machinery and textiles.
Prof. Eleanor Vance, Dr. Marcus Thorne•Published 2025•Journal of Banking & Management Technology
Examines algorithmic governance, auditability, and regulatory compliance under the EU AI Act within commercial banks and asset management organizations. We evaluate risk management structures and identify key vulnerabilities in third-party model dependency.
