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Although previous studies have identified several regularities in buying behavior, no integrated view of individual differences related to such patterns has been yet proposed. The present research examined individual differences in patterns of buying behavior of fast-moving consumer goods, using panel data with information concerning purchases of 4 product categories by approximately 1,600 British consumers, over 52 weeks. Eight measures of buying patterns were adopted, and their stability across time and products was examined, based on within-measure between-period Pearson correlations. Correlations between all pairs of measures within periods were also examined. Results showed positive and significant correlations, across periods, for all measures, indicating stable individual differences in buying patterns. Some correlations, across measures, were also significant. Such results replicated previous findings concerning buying patterns and suggest that individual differences are stable over time, forming higher level purchase patterns that result from the combination of different measures of buying behavior. (Contains 8 tables and 1 figure.)

This paper explores the role of institutional capacity-building through industrial symbiosis in the development of a circular economy. Actors directly or indirectly involved within the National Industrial Symbiosis Programme (NISP) in the UK, including companies, government agencies, industrial symbiosis promoters, academia, the media and NGOs, were interviewed. Content analysis was used to make inferences from the interviews. Our results indicate that institutional capacity is created through interactions between a favorable institutional field and the identification of business opportunities by actors. It was found that NISP increased its institutional capacity to develop industrial symbiosis by increasing knowledge and relational resources and by promoting its capacity for mobilization. We identified the forces that are driving the shift from the current and traditional linear material and energy flows to a circular economy. Overall the study indicates that the UK government is playing a vital role in building and maintaining an industrial symbiosis coordination network, but that ultimately other actors and driving forces will be necessary if the cyclical flow of materials and energy and systemic thinking are to be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]