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This chapter investigates the process of institutional field formation of circular economy (CE), by looking at how rulemaking and taking emerge in ‘contracts’ necessarily for supporting circular business. In this process, it focuses on the role of institutional intermediaries and thus use the literature on institutional field formation and the role of institutional intermediaries in that process for theoretical guidance. CE entails profound institutional processes to foster socio-economic transitions beyond business strategies and practices. The chapter theorizes about the emergence and formation of CE as institutional field and focuses on the role of institutional intermediaries through a qualitative case study approach. It then presents how circular value proposition elements and professional regulatory principles, ostensibly at odds with one another, are reconciled to make CE business activities feasible. Based on this evidence and analysis, the chapter presents findings on the role of the intermediary in the process of rulemaking and taking, and the formation of a regulatory landscape for CE.

We propose to analyze the supply chain not (just) as interconnected firms where products move from primary production, through processing, down to final consumer (user), but rather as collaborating firms that exchange information in order for each to function. This opens the analysis of supply chains up for institutional economic analysis and also allows one to acknowledge that information can be used strategically. Yet, information exchange can also be hampered because of a supply chain’s structure—we focus on this. The difficulty of exchanging information is particularly important when an industry and its supply chain newly emerges or is disrupted. In such circumstances the way in which information is presented and used is not institutionalized yet in a way that works for the parties involved. We show the relevance of this approach to understanding supply chains by referencing the agrifood supply chain as it is on the cusp of being disrupted by the extensive use of Information Technology.