The transition towards a circular economy puts pressure on organizations to purchase in a circular manner. The aim of this research is to investigate the role, behaviors, and characteristics of purchasers in the circular purchasing process, and the contextual factors that influence circular purchasing. To address this aim, we interviewed purchasers, supervisors and policy makers of seven Dutch organizations. The results of the comparative case-study show that the main roles of the purchaser are those of coordinator, facilitator and advisor, and that the successful circular purchaser can best be described as intrapreneurial, sustainability-minded and knowledgeable about the circular economy. Purchasers are successful in implementing circular purchasing when they share responsibility with budget holders and when they are part of organizations that have processes in place to ensure the inclusion of circularity in their purchasing projects. The drivers that influence the success of circular purchasing can be described as creating a sense of direction and grasping the complexity of the circular economy. Furthermore, the market, organizational, legal, conceptual and cultural constraints that limit the success of circular purchasing were identified.

向循环经济的转型给组织带来了以循环方式采购的压力。本研究的目的是调查购买者在循环购买过程中的角色、行为和特征，以及影响循环购买的背景因素。为了实现这一目标，我们采访了七个荷兰组织的采购员​​、主管和政策制定者。比较案例研究的结果表明，购买者的主要角色是协调者、促进者和顾问，成功的循环购买者最好被描述为具有内部创业精神、可持续发展意识和对循环经济的了解。当采购者与预算持有者分担责任，并且当他们是具有适当流程以确保将循环纳入其采购项目的组织的一部分时，他们成功地实施循环采购。影响循环采购成功的驱动因素可以描述为创造方向感和把握循环经济的复杂性。此外，还确定了限制循环采购成功的市场、组织、法律、概念和文化约束。