biostudies-literatureUnknownBocken NEuropean Research CouncilEngineering and Physical Sciences Research CouncilCircular economy has become an important goal for companies to address climate change and pressing resource issues. Yet, the process of circular business experimentation is highly uncertain. While the lean startup has been applied to the circular experimentation process, the concept of effectuation has only been used to a limited extent, despite its potential. We investigate the following question: To what extent can lean startup and effectual thinking be combined to support the circular business model innovation process? We conducted 10 workshops where we combined these concepts with circular economy thinking. A novel process - the Circular Experimentation Workbench - was developed and evaluated to inspire participants to start experimenting with the circular economy. We found that lean sCircular economy and sustainability1-23https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC9734756biostudies-literatureThe Circular Experimentation Workbench - a Lean and Effectual Process.PMC9734756850159EP/I019308/1EP/L010917/1EP/K000314/1Bocken NCoffay MfalseThe Circular Experimentation Workbench - a Lean and Effectual Process.Circular economy has become an important goal for companies to address climate change and pressing resource issues. Yet, the process of circular business experimentation is highly uncertain. While the lean startup has been applied to the circular experimentation process, the concept of effectuation has only been used to a limited extent, despite its potential. We investigate the following question: To what extent can lean startup and effectual thinking be combined to support the circular business model innovation process? We conducted 10 workshops where we combined these concepts with circular economy thinking. A novel process - the Circular Experimentation Workbench - was developed and evaluated to inspire participants to start experimenting with the circular economy. We found that lean s2022-01-01T00:00:00Z2022 Dec2025-04-18T19:20:27.558Z2025-02-19T01:32:56.947ZS-EPMC97347563653165710.1007/s43615-022-00239-w