An Exploratory Study on Implementing Circular Economy in Rural Family Businesses

Despite recent efforts to promote family businesses as ameans of socioeconomic development, the allocation and expenditure of resources in this regard remains inequitable for rural areas. The purpose of this study is to investigate what the perceived needs of family businesses in rural regions, as exemplified by Romania, are, with a focus on circular economy. A total of 155 responses were collected via an web-based questionnaire. Our findings show that product and service marketing training and support (47.7%), as well as financial management training (41,3%) are two of the most important training requirements for engaging in entrepreneurial action. Furthermore, respondents favor training in practices that enable the circular economy, such as repair and reuse. More than half of the sample (58.6%) reported that they would implement actions to reduce waste minimization if they were to start a family business in a rural area. From a practical standpoint, local stakeholders might take this finding into consideration to create training programs that are especially adapted for the rural setting and its unique economic and social conditions. Finally, limitations and further research directions are discussed.