Designing and testing a new sustainable business model tool for multi-actor, multi-level, circular, and collaborative contexts.

No project for the transition to the circular economy can be carried out by a single organisation. This research addresses a gap by presenting a process and a set of tools to facilitate the development of circular business models. It contributes to building circular ecosystems by visualizing the parties involved, connecting and aligning their business models. Applying our framework can train people and help organizations achieve collective outcomes. Credence can be given to our claims as they have been tested in various contexts. 400 students and practitioners were involved in 9 business cases. An application is presented using data from a real case and a combination of role games. • The paper presents a process to develop circular business models for sustainability. • It identifies and justifies the gaps which this circular business model addresses. • It helps visualize, connect and align the circular business models of organizations. • 15 workshops with 400 students and practitioners provided positive feedback. • One of the 9 cases is presented as an illustration of how our model can be applied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]