This study explores how independent cafés, specialty coffee shops and micro-roasters in Thailand implement circular economy (ce) business models across five strategies: Reduce, reuse, repurpose, recycle and recover, focusing on packaging and spent coffee grounds. Using qualitative interviews with key stakeholders and thematic analysis guided by institutional theory, the study examines how coercive, normative and mimetic pressures influence circular practices and their links to value creation for stakeholders and value capture for firms. Findings show that reduce and reuse are the most common strategies, as they are manageable within cafés and deliver operational savings and customer engagement. Repurpose activities, such as transforming coffee waste into fertiliser or community products, generate social and reputational value but limited direct revenue. Recycle and recover remain underdeveloped due to weak infrastructure, unclear policy and insufficient collection systems. The study proposes a framework linking institutional pressures, circular strategies and business outcomes, recommending stronger reuse systems, formalised repurpose partnerships and improved regulatory capacity to enhance small enterprises’ participation in circular value creation.
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