Cooperation of Manufacturing Companies with Stakeholders in Poland – In the Field of Circular Activities

The aim of the paper is to identify forms and areas of cooperation between manufacturing companies and their stakeholders in circular activities. The analysed forms of cooperation are: common norms and standards of operation; exchange of information; joint training; consultancy; exchange and sharing of equipment; cooperation in the acquisition of new technological and innovative solutions; agreement of partners to unannounced internal and external audits. The paper includes a theoretical part (research method: systematic review) and an empirical part (survey of 200 manufacturing enterprises in Poland, in 2024). The study found that (1) companies that declared the inclusion of CE in their business strategy were statistically more likely to declare cooperation in the scopes analysed; (2) cooperation in one area of business partners intensifies and encourages action in other areas, increasing the chances of achieving jointly agreed goals; (3) the implementation of CE in companies requires appropriate management of relationship capital – business to business (B2B), which is a strong catalyst for the development of innovation in supply chains. Involving suppliers in the co-creation of CE innovations through partnerships in different areas has a positive impact on the value and competitive advantage of these actors.