97
begun to uncover the mechanisms and processes of industrial symbiosis from complex theory and network science (Shi and Shi 2014 ).
Overall, the role of the Chinese government has been crucial in fi nancing and
promoting EIPs and opening up space for experimentation and exchange. With the
currently perceived need for updating and “eco-transformation,” Yu et al. ( 2014b )
found that the planned EIP model is most useful in the early stage of development,
but later it should be combined with a facilitation model to achieve long-term goals
with more fl exibility. Further, it has become clear that industrial parks cannot succeed without being effectively embedded into the capital, labor, and resources of
their local regions. China continues to work toward turning eco-industrial niches
into mainstream development, both through practice and through industrial symbiosis research (Gibbs 2009 ; Shi and Yu 2014 ).
3.6 Organizational Drivers and Barriers
An ongoing quest in industrial symbiosis is the search for a more defi nitive understanding of what drives and what hinders it. Since 2011, there have been three
review articles with emphasis on the social science side (Boons et al. 2011 ; Jiao and
Boons 2014 ; Walls and Paquin 2015 ). Walls and Paquin analyzed 121 industrial
symbiosis articles focused on organizational and institutional issues. Using content
analysis, they analyzed the factors that authors mention most frequently to explain
(1) what facilitates industrial symbiosis in the fi rst place (antecedents), (2) what
factors generally help industrial symbiosis to grow over time (lubricants), (3) what
inhibits industrial symbiosis over time (limiters), and (4) what are the outcomes of
industrial symbiosis (consequences). Table 5.2 lists the top six factors determined
by Walls and Paquin in each of the four categories, illuminating where organizational and institutional research in industrial symbiosis has focused. Walls and
Paquin’s review highlights the role of the social sciences to contribute to a deeper
theory of industrial symbiosis, by taking into account the complex interactions,
motivations, and dynamics that occur within and among organizations. A greater
understanding of these aspects and dynamics is increasingly important for facilitating and developing robust industrial symbiosis, especially in the policy realm, as
industrial symbiosis grows more diverse in typology, geography, and organizational
contexts (Jiao and Boons 2014 ).
4 Part III: Industrial Symbiosis in Both
Scholarship and Practice
This section covers scholarship and practice, two integrally related strains of industrial symbiosis. At one level, the rise of bibliometrics has given us a convenient way
to analyze the rapidly developing academic area of focus where peer-reviewed
5 Scholarship and Practice in Industrial Symbiosis: 1989–2014
begun to uncover the mechanisms and processes of industrial symbiosis from complex theory and network science (Shi and Shi 2014 ).
Overall, the role of the Chinese government has been crucial in fi nancing and
promoting EIPs and opening up space for experimentation and exchange. With the
currently perceived need for updating and “eco-transformation,” Yu et al. ( 2014b )
found that the planned EIP model is most useful in the early stage of development,
but later it should be combined with a facilitation model to achieve long-term goals
with more fl exibility. Further, it has become clear that industrial parks cannot succeed without being effectively embedded into the capital, labor, and resources of
their local regions. China continues to work toward turning eco-industrial niches
into mainstream development, both through practice and through industrial symbiosis research (Gibbs 2009 ; Shi and Yu 2014 ).
3.6 Organizational Drivers and Barriers
An ongoing quest in industrial symbiosis is the search for a more defi nitive understanding of what drives and what hinders it. Since 2011, there have been three
review articles with emphasis on the social science side (Boons et al. 2011 ; Jiao and
Boons 2014 ; Walls and Paquin 2015 ). Walls and Paquin analyzed 121 industrial
symbiosis articles focused on organizational and institutional issues. Using content
analysis, they analyzed the factors that authors mention most frequently to explain
(1) what facilitates industrial symbiosis in the fi rst place (antecedents), (2) what
factors generally help industrial symbiosis to grow over time (lubricants), (3) what
inhibits industrial symbiosis over time (limiters), and (4) what are the outcomes of
industrial symbiosis (consequences). Table 5.2 lists the top six factors determined
by Walls and Paquin in each of the four categories, illuminating where organizational and institutional research in industrial symbiosis has focused. Walls and
Paquin’s review highlights the role of the social sciences to contribute to a deeper
theory of industrial symbiosis, by taking into account the complex interactions,
motivations, and dynamics that occur within and among organizations. A greater
understanding of these aspects and dynamics is increasingly important for facilitating and developing robust industrial symbiosis, especially in the policy realm, as
industrial symbiosis grows more diverse in typology, geography, and organizational
contexts (Jiao and Boons 2014 ).
4 Part III: Industrial Symbiosis in Both
Scholarship and Practice
This section covers scholarship and practice, two integrally related strains of industrial symbiosis. At one level, the rise of bibliometrics has given us a convenient way
to analyze the rapidly developing academic area of focus where peer-reviewed
5 Scholarship and Practice in Industrial Symbiosis: 1989–2014