Navigational Agency of Cooperatives Deploying Technology for Circular Economies

Rafael Ziegler; Justine  Ballon; Rick  Hölsgens; Karina  Maldonado-Mariscal

doi:10.55845/joce-2026-4126

Authors

Rafael Ziegler HEC Montréal & Québec Circular Economy Research Network (RRECQ) Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7156-7042
Justine Ballon HEC Montréal & Québec Circular Economy Research Network (RRECQ) Author https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6560-7178
Rick Hölsgens TU Dortmund University Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0408-4438
Karina Maldonado-Mariscal TU Dortmund University Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4670-1182

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55845/joce-2026-4126

Keywords:

Cooperatives, Technology, Circular Economy, Cooperative Identity, Agency, Socio-Technical Systems

Abstract

The cooperative identity offers a normative yardstick for transformative change. It implies the democratic control of technology in transitions for just and sustainable circular economies but does not explicitly deal with technology. Since the choice and development of technology is embedded in socio-technical systems, the autonomous choice and cooperative embedding of technology is therefore in question. We explore this challenge as a question of navigational agency, or the capacity of cooperatives to choose and reform practices, and the technologies they involve, in their deployment of circularity strategies. We propose a novel typology of five stances of cooperatives deploying technology for circular economies: adopting technology, recoding technology and asserting alternative spaces as ideal types on a continuum from exported to self-made technology, complemented by political stances of advocacy and conversion to cooperatives. The typology advances the theoretical exploration of a complex, currently understudied topic, while also practically clarifying expectations regarding cooperatives and their capacity to deploy circularity strategies for transformative change.

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