Uncovering Industrial Symbiosis Opportunities through Social Network Analysis: Case Study of Izmir Ataturk Organised Industrial Zone
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21045206Keywords:
Industrial symbiosis, social network analysis, circular economy, sustainabilityAbstract
Industrial symbiosis (IS) is a novel production system in which firms operating in different industries exchange resources (waste, by-products, energy, water, and information) to enhance resource efficiency and prevent waste. IS applications are primarily based on inter-firm cooperation. An important tool for understanding these collaborations or identifying potential partnerships is social network analysis (SNA). To analyse how SNA can be used in IS practices, the present study identified potential symbiotic relationships and constructed an IS network for firms operating within one organised industrial zone in Türkiye, the İzmir Atatürk Organised Industrial Zone (IAOIZ). In particular, centrality measures were used to reveal which sectors were central to the network and thus played key roles. The findings indicated that these central sectors (metal, cement, glass, and ceramics industries, electricity, chemical, agriculture, paper, plastic, and food sectors) both generate the largest amount of waste and use waste as raw material. The resulting industrial symbiosis network can assist regional policymakers in making decisions. Policymakers can provide support in areas such as legislation, incentives, and the establishment of eco-industrial parks for the sectors identified in this study as having a high ES relationship. Furthermore, such network-based analyses provide a methodological framework for future studies, thereby laying the groundwork for the widespread adoption of industrial symbiosis applications.
References
Alpar, N. (2023). Industrial symbiosis and regional development: A study on Eskişehir Organized Industrial Zone (Unpublished master’s thesis). Yıldız Technical University, Institute of Science.
Ashton, W. (2008). Understanding the organization of industrial ecosystems: A social network approach. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 12(1), 34–51.
Ataç, B. (2019). Evaluation of crime and criminals through social network analysis (Master’s thesis). İnönü University, Institute of Social Sciences.
Ayres, R. (1988). Self-organization in biology and economics. IIASA Research Report.
Ayres, R. (1989). Industrial metabolism. In Technology and environment, 23–49
Ayres, R. (1994).Industrial metabolism: Theory and policy. In The greening of industrial ecosystems, National Academy of Sciences.
Borgatti, S., Everett, M., & Freeman, L. (2002). UCINET 6 for Windows: Software for social network analysis. Analytic Technologies.
Borgatti, S., Everett, M., & Johnson, J. (2013). Analyzing social networks. SAGE Publications.
Borgatti, S. P. (2002). NetDraw: Graph visualization software (Version 2.41). Analytic Technologies.
Carrington, P., Scott, J., & Wasserman, S. (2005). Models and methods in social network analysis (Vol. 28). Cambridge University Press.
Chatterjee, A., Minsk, O., Triebe, M., Hapuwatte, B., Kietzer, D., Kittali-Weidner, S., et al. (2024). Investigating the use of network analysis metrics to benchmark industrial symbiosis development. Journal of Cleaner Production.
Chertow, M. (2000). Industrial symbiosis: Literature and taxonomy. Annual Review of Energy and the Environment, 25, 313–337.
Chertow, M. (2007). Uncovering industrial symbiosis. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 11, 11–30.
Chertow, M., & Ehrenfeld, J. (2012). Organizing self-organizing systems: Toward a theory of industrial symbiosis. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 16(1), 13–27.
Chertow, M., Ashton, W., & Espinosa, J. (2008). Industrial symbiosis in Puerto Rico: Environmentally-related agglomeration economies. Regional Studies, forthcoming.
Chopra, S., & Khanna, V. (2014). Understanding resilience in industrial symbiosis networks: Insights from network analysis. Journal of Environmental Management, 141, 86–94.
CEP (2020). Circular Economy Platform Retrieved from https://donguselekonomiplatformu.com/hakkimizda.html
Doménech, T., & Davies, M. (2011). Structure and morphology of industrial symbiosis networks: The case of Kalundborg. Journal of Cleaner Production, 19(10), 79–89.
Ehrenfeld, J., & Gertler, N. (1997). Industrial ecology in practice: The evolution of interdependence at Kalundborg. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 1(1), 67–79.
Eryılmaz, S. (2019). An industrial symbiosis approach for the iron and steel industry in İskenderun Gulf (Master’s thesis). Mersin University, Institute of Science, Department of Environmental Engineering.
Freeman, L. (2004). The development of social network analysis: A study in the sociology of science. Empirical Press.
Frosch, R., & Gallopoulos, N. (1989). Strategies for manufacturing. Scientific American, 261(3), 144–153.
Garner, A., & Keoleian, G. (1995). Industrial ecology: An introduction. In Pollution prevention and industrial ecology
Genç, O. (2020). Development and design of a sustainable eco-industrial park inspired by nature (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). İskenderun Technical University, Institute of Engineering and Natural Sciences.
Gibbs, D. (2009). Industrial ecology and eco-industrial development: The UK’s National Industrial Symbiosis Programme (NISP). In Environmental informatics and industrial environmental protection: Concepts, methods and tools
Gulipac, S. (2016). Industrial symbiosis: Building on Kalundborg’s waste management experience. Renewable Energy Focus, 17(1), 30–36.
Guo, B., Geng, Y., Sterr, T., Dong, L., & Liu, Y. (2016). Evaluation of promoting industrial symbiosis in a chemical industrial park: A case of Midong. Journal of Cleaner Production, 135, 995–1008.
Gürsakal, N. (2009). Social network analysis. Dora Publishing.
Huang, M., Wang, Z., & Chen, T. (2019). Analysis on the theory and practice of industrial symbiosis based on bibliometrics and social network analysis. Journal of Cleaner Production, 213, 956–967.
IAOIZ. (2025). Izmir Atatürk Organized Industrial Zone. Retrieved from https://www.iaosb.org.tr/iaosb-firmalar
IDA. (2022). Green transformation and blue opportunities perspective in İzmir. İzmir Development Agency.
Jacobsen, N. (2006). Industrial symbiosis in Kalundborg, Denmark: A quantitative assessment of economic and environmental aspects. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 10, 1–2.
MAESTRI. (2025). A H2020-project under the SPIRE-PPP initiative. Retrieved from https://maestri-spire.eu/
Mirata, M., & Emtairah, T. (2005). Industrial symbiosis networks and the contribution to environmental innovation: The case of the Landskrona industrial symbiosis programme. Journal of Cleaner Production, 13, 993–1002.
Mirata, M. (2004). Experiences from early stages of a national industrial symbiosis programme in the UK: Determinants and coordination challenges. Journal of Cleaner Production, 12, 967–983.
OECD. (2020). Resource efficiency and circular economy. Retrieved from https://www.oecd.org/en/topics/resource-efficiency-and-circular-economy.html
Paquin, R., Busch, T., & Tilleman, S. (2015). Creating economic and environmental value through industrial symbiosis. Long Range Planning, 48, 95–107.
Paquin, R. L., & Howard-Grenville, J. (2009). Facilitating regional industrial symbiosis: Network growth in the UK’s National Industrial Symbiosis Programme. In The social embeddedness of industrial ecology
Park, H., & Behera, S. (2014). Methodological aspects of applying eco-efficiency indicators to industrial symbiosis networks. Journal of Cleaner Production, 64, 478–485.
Scott, J. (2000). Social network analysis: A handbook. SAGE Publications.
Song, X., Geng, Y., Dong, H., & Chen, W. (2018). Social network analysis on industrial symbiosis: A case of Gujiao eco-industrial park. Journal of Cleaner Production, 193, 414–423.
Symbiosis, K. (2024). Retrieved from https://www.symbiosis.dk/en/
Şenel, İ. (2023). Investigation of industrial symbiosis opportunities in Kastamonu Province (Master’s thesis). Kastamonu University, Institute of Science.
Taddeo, R., Simboli, A., Loppolo, G., & Morhante, A. (2017). Industrial symbiosis, networking and innovation: The potential role of innovation poles. Sustainability, 9(2), 169.
TSI. (2022). Turkish Statistical Institute, Waste statistics. Retrieved from https://data.tuik.gov.tr/Bulten/Index?p=Atik-Istatistikleri-2022-49570
Tüzüntürk, S. (2012). Organizational network analysis in firms and an application (Doctoral dissertation). Uludağ University, Institute of Social Sciences.
UNEP. (2024). Beyond an age of waste – Global waste management outlook 2024. United Nations Environment Programme.
Vahidzadeh, R., Bertanza, G., Sbaffoni, S., & Vaccari, M. (2021). Regional industrial symbiosis: A review based on social network analysis. Journal of Cleaner Production, 280, 124–139.
Valentine, S. (2016). Kalundborg Symbiosis: Fostering progressive innovation in environmental networks. Journal of Cleaner Production, 118, 65–77.
Wasserman, S., & Faust, K. (1994). Social network analysis: Methods and applications. Cambridge University Press.
WWF. (2024). World Wide Fund for Nature. Retrieved from https://www.wwf.org.tr/?14920/limit-asim-gunu-2024
Yeşilbaş, Y. (2023). How to conduct social network analysis with UCINET program in educational research. Journal of the Pursuit of Excellence in International Education (UEMAD), 3(2), 69–92.
Zhang, Y., Zheng, H., Shi, H., Yu, X., Liu, G., Su, M., et al. (2016). Network analysis of eight industrial symbiosis systems. Frontiers of Earth Science, 10, 352–365.
Zhu, O., Lowe, E., Wei, Y., & Barnes, D. (2007). Industrial symbiosis in China: A case study of the Guitang Group. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 11(1), 31–42.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 International Journal of Contemporary Economics and Administrative Sciences
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The Author(s) must make formal transfer of copyright for each article prior to publication in the International Journal of Contemporary Economics and Administrative Sciences. Such transfer enables the Journal to defend itself against plagiarism and other forms of copyright infringement. Your cooperation is appreciated. You agree that copyright of your article to be published in the International Journal of Contemporary Economics and Administrative Sciences is hereby transferred, throughout the World and for the full term and all extensions and renewals thereof, to International Journal of Contemporary Economics and Administrative Sciences.
The Author(s) reserve(s): (a) the trademark rights and patent rights, if any, and (b) the right to use all or part of the information contained in this article in future, non-commercial works of the Author's own, or, if the article is a "work-for-hire" and made within the scope of the Author's employment, the employer may use all or part of the information contained in this article for intra-company use, provided the usual acknowledgements are given regarding copyright notice and reference to the original publication.
The Author(s) warrant(s) that the article is Author's original work, and has not been published before. If excerpts from copyrighted works are included, the Author will obtain written permission from the copyright owners and shall credit the sources in the article. The author also warrants that the article contains no libelous or unlawful statements, and does not infringe on the rights of others. If the article was prepared jointly with other Author(s), the Author agrees to inform the co-Author(s) of the terms of the copyright transfer and to sign on their behalf; or in the case of a "work-for-hire" the employer or an authorized representative of the employer.
The journal is registered with the ISSN : 1925-4423.
IJCEAS is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
This license lets others distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon your work, even commercially, as long as they credit you for the original creation. This is the most accommodating of licenses offered. Recommended for maximum dissemination and use of licensed materials.
