Collaborative governance between public and private sectors has emerged as a key strategy to address sustainability challenges, often focusing on specific industries with significant environmental impacts. This paper explores how place-based cross-sector collaboration interacts with broader collaborative governance regimes, particularly in the context of systemic sustainability goals like the circular economy (CE). Drawing on a longitudinal five-year study of the textile sector in Finland, we examine how local cross-sector collaborations shaped the implementation of EU CE regulations over time. We identify three dynamic processes that influence collaborative governance: (1) reinforcing collective action, which fosters shared goals and collective momentum; (2) local interpretation and adjustment, which adapts broad governance frameworks to fit local contexts; and (3) institutional gridlock, which poses risks to the continuity of collaborative systems. These findings highlight the reciprocal relationship between collaborative governance and place-based cross-sector collaboration, emphasizing the importance of local contexts in shaping governance regimes. Our study contributes to the literature by advancing understanding of how collaborative dynamics through interactions between cross-sector collaborations and places.
