The multiple market-exposure of waste management companies: A case study of two Swedish municipally owned companies

This paper describes how the business model of two leading Swedish municipally owned solid waste management companies exposes them to four different but related markets: a political market in which their legitimacy as an organization is determined; a waste-as-material market that determines their access to waste as a process input; a technical market in which these companies choose what waste processing technique to use; and a commercial market in which they market their products. Each of these markets has a logic of its own. Managing these logics and articulating the interrelationships between these markets is a key strategic challenge for these companies.

► Swedish municipally owned waste management companies are active on political, material, technical, and commercial markets.
► These markets differ in kind and their demands follow different logics.
► These markets affect the public service, processing, and marketing of Swedish waste management.
► Articulating these markets is a strategic challenge for Swedish municipally owned waste management.