Research - Current
Vienna / Berlin, April 16, 2026
The Invisible Force:
Why Circular Economy Starts with the Entrepreneur
Despite growing pressure from regulation, market demands, and ESG requirements, the shift toward circular business models in SMEs remains rare.
Many companies develop concepts.
But only a few take the step to start.
The reason rarely lies in technology, capital, or market conditions.
It lies in how entrepreneurial decisions are actually made.
Recent empirical findings from European SMEs show:
External factors do not determine the initiation of circular business models.
What matters is the internal coherence of the entrepreneur’s personality.
High coherence leads to action.
Low coherence leads to hesitation.
This research was conducted within the academic framework of the WU Executive Academy Vienna and Tomorrow University Berlin.
What follows for entrepreneurial decision-making?
Transformation begins differently than expected
If the decisive lever does not lie in the market, in regulation, or in technology, the perspective on transformation shifts fundamentally.
No longer the question of which measures are right.
But how entrepreneurial decisions actually emerge.
This is where it is determined whether strategies turn into concrete action, or remain concepts.
This perspective changes how transformation is shaped.
My services
What truly matters.
Whether it is about the alignment of your corporate mission, a viable sustainability strategy, a future-proof business model or confidential sparring at eye level:
My task is to bring clarity where decisions are made and to ensure that concepts become tangible steps. Always with a clear view of the specific needs of medium-sized businesses.
With structure. With experience. And in a way that makes it truly achievable for entrepreneurs.
thomaskeppler consulting
Turning experience into direction.
I have led companies for more than 20 years – with everything that comes with it: making decisions under uncertainty, taiking responsible for people, balancing ambition and everyday reality.
These experiences shaped me.
Today, I support entrepreneurs at strategic turning points, in the quite moments before key decisions, between vision and reality. My work is guided by clarity in both analysis and execution.
My perspective has been further refined through my collaboration with the Executive Academy of the Vienna University of Economics and Business and Tomorrow University in Berlin.
The questions we work on go beyond individual industries. They are of growing relevance, both on a global scale and for the future of entrepreneurship itself.
Entrepreneurial
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I know how to think in opportunities
and to wrestle with reality.
I understand markets, customers and value creation.
And I understand how closely vision and feasibility are linked in everyday business.
Partnership on equal terms
I achieve clarity. Not as a simplification, but as a mindset and in the solution.
My work is people-centered and values-based.
I ask about the essentials and help to translate the confusing into the right direction.
Grounded and
up to date
I integrate cutting-edge research in sustainability, entrepreneurship, and AI into my consulting to bring depth, structure, and fresh perspective.
Effect before
perfection
My goal is to create impact through implementation - not perfection on paper.
Good strategy emerges from dialogue and grows with the company.
Partners & Experts
Strong partnerships. Shared values.
I work with people who have been pursuing their goals responsibly and with the utmost expertise for many years. This network is so good and so reliable because we know each other personally, work efficiently, and - highly relevant to the joint success of challenging projects - enjoy working together.
I bring a value-oriented and experienced team of experts, particularly for executive search, digital product development, product design, communication and branding.
Trust that lasts.
