Sharing is Caring - Information and Knowledge in Industrial Symbiosis: A Systematic Review

In recent years, sharing information and knowledge has been emphasized as a prerequisite, driver and essential activity of industrial symbiosis. Uncovering, implementing and sustaining business models in industrial symbiosis requires the exchange of information and knowledge between industrial actors, third parties and technologies. Yet, despite information and knowledge sharing being considered pivotal, few researchers investigate this matter in depth. Therefore, this paper examines the current state of industrial symbiosis research, focusing on knowledge sharing and the role of information and communication technology (ICT) by reviewing and synthesizing the scientific literature. Thereby critical points and research gaps are highlighted. Findings are, that the majority of researchers studies the exchange of information/knowledge related to ICT, with a trend towards semantic web technologies. However, these tools are not integrated into the overall business process to join industrial symbiosis activities. Furthermore, the complexity of knowledge sharing as a whole is hardly investigated nor implemented.