Circular modes of production, known as the circular economy, are welcomed in political and business circles to overcome the shortcomings of traditional linear operating models. Academic literature on the circular economy is nascent however and little attention is given to supply chain management implications, regardless of the relevance of supply chain innovation towards a more resource efficient and circular economy. Based on a review of the literature, this article presents preliminary propositions concerning implications for the development of what we term 'circular supply chains', defined here as the embodiment of circular economy principles within supply chain management. Our propositions are based on the following arguments: a) a shift from product ownership to leasing and access in supply chain relationships; b) the relevance of structural flexibility and start-ups in regional/local loops; c) open and closed material loops in technical and biological cycles; d) closer collaboration within and beyond immediate industry boundaries; and e) public and private procurement in the service industry as a lever for the scaling up of circular business models. We discuss what these circular economy principles mean in terms of supply chain challenges and conclude with limitations and future research agenda.

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International audiencePurposeThis research reflects on recent closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) practices using a natural resource-based (NRBV) and dynamic capabilities (DC) perspective.Design/methodology/approachTwo empirical case studies of CLSC exemplars are used to discuss the theoretical relevance of these views.FindingsShows how strategic resources help companies in two sectors achieve successful CLSC designs. Strategic supply chain collaboration is an important success factor but also presents a number of challenges. The NRBV is used to explain the importance of new resources in technology, knowledge and relationships, and stresses the role of DCs to constantly address changes in the business environment to renew these strategic resources.Research limitations/implicationsThis research elaborates on NRBV theory related to CLSCs and reinforces the inclusion of DCs. It specifies the application of NRBV in the context of textiles and carpet manufacture, and highlights the inherent conflicts in seeking value while moving toward sustainable development.Practical implicationsInvestments in technical and operational resources are required to create CLSCs. Pure closed-loop applications are impractical, requiring relationships with multiple external partners to obtain supply and demand for recycled products.Originality/valueProvides insights into the constituent resources needed for successful CLSCs. Helps move CLSC research from a tactical logistics problem to a problem of strategic resources and relational capabilities: what we term ‘dynamic supply chain execution’. Our paper develops a framework for transitioning towards CLSCs, underlining the importance of co-development and forging new relationships through commitment to supply chain redesign, co-evolution with customers and suppliers, and control of supply chain activities

Improved sustainability of industrial activities and measurement of its performance are becoming prime topics of discussion among policy-makers and industrial decision-makers. The current literature proposes a number of performance measurement systems and related indicators, but mainly lacks a real capability to address all sustainability pillars and their intersections, as well as scalability to firms of different sizes, availability of internal resources, and maturity over sustainability issues, suggesting that further research is needed in this area. Building on the literature, our work develops a new framework for the evaluation of industrial sustainability performance, proposing three different Industrial Sustainability Performance Measurement Systems (ISPMSs), with a decreasing number of indicators suitable in different contexts of application. In the framework, selection mechanisms have been conceived and used to reduce the number of indicators considered, while still guaranteeing complete and adequate coverage of all sustainability pillars, as well as their intersections. The framework has been tested through semi-structured case studies in heterogeneous Northern Italian manufacturing firms. The preliminary results are sound as the different ISPMSs proved to be complete, useful, and easy to use. The proposed ISPMSs provide industrial decision-makers with a scalable framework applicable in different contexts, allowing benchmarking and development of specific implementation strategies for increased sustainability, and provide policy-makers with a framework to develop a more effective regulatory policy, better understanding how sustainability performance can be addressed in an integrated manner across industrial firms.

Measuring industrial sustainability performance in manufacturing firms is still a major challenge for both policy and industrial decision makers, with many firms, particularly small and medium enterprises, struggling to properly engage with them. Hence, to understand the level of adoption of industrial sustainability indicators and the issues preventing their effective measurement, and stimulate further research in this area, a multiple case analysis of 26 small and medium manufacturing enterprises across Germany and Italy operating in the chemical and metalworking sectors was conducted. The findings show that only 18 indicators are in place on average. Furthermore, too many firms still focus almost exclusively on the economic pillar of sustainability, while social and environmental pillars are addressed almost exclusively for compliance with legislation. Moreover, the research suggests that contextual factors may influence the firms' perspective on sustainability and the way it is managed, as well as the certifications held by firms, influencing, in turn, the number and types of indicators considered. An exploratory investigation allowed identification of several important open issues, leading to future research avenues, and in particular towards the development of a novel model to gauge sustainability in industrial activities, as well as adoption of policy-making measures for further emphasis on environmental and social pillars when promoting the adoption of sustainability indicators.

Purpose -The aim of the paper is to identify and review the impact and challenges of new contractual arrangements on UK military procurement and other limited or oligopolistic markets. Design/methodology/approach -The unit of analysis is the large-scale procurement programme. Two cases of major military platforms (naval and air defence) examine through-life maintenance or "contracting for availability" and build theory on procuring complex performance (PCP). Propositions are developed from the literature then tested and extended from the case analysis, supported by 35 interviews from buyer and supplier representatives. Findings -Examining UK military platform procurement reveals a perspective not present in fast moving high volume supply chains. In oligopolistic markets such as defence, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) represents a market of one, seeking ambitious and non-incremental innovation from the prime contractor during the procurement process. The new contractual arrangements show an increasing shift in responsibility to the prime contractor who coordinates service support and supply chain incentivisation over extended, often multi-decade platform lifecycles.Research limitations/implications -The cases were conducted separately and later compared. Whilst based on defence sources, the paper concludes with general recommendations for all public-private complex procurements and seeks to explore other industry sectors as part of further research into PCP. Originality/value -Examined from a theoretical and practical perspective, the cases reveal the challenges facing procurement in major public-private projects. The changing role identified reflects extended timescales and the quasi-market military procurement environment, compounded by current economic and politically charged conditions. Procurement by default increasingly plays a new shaping role in large-scale programme management driven by outcome-based contracting. Customers such as the MOD must re-evaluate their role under these new contractual arrangements, providing leadership and engaging with future contracting capability and innovation.

This paper explores the dynamic interplay of formal/informal governance mechanisms, in terms of functional and dysfunctional consequences for both sides of the dyad, in longterm inter-organizational relationships. Using two longitudinal cases of UK defence sector procurement (warship commissioning) we move beyond notions of complementarity and substitution in governance towards a more nuanced view where the governance mix of inter-organizational relationships can be convergent or divergent. Our findings, showing that relationships can exhibit functional and dysfunctional behaviour simultaneously, lead us to conclude that mismatches in governance mechanisms can be positive as well as negative. In building a context-dependent understanding of governance we both summarize the (dys)functions associated with formal and informal governance mechanisms and explore their impact on relationship exchange performance over time.

There are widely differing experiences and practices in the development of indicators to monitor, report and communicate progress towards the implementation of the circular economy (CE). We present a framework for developing CE indicators which link to the core goals, principles and building blocks of a CE. To do this we utilise the Ellen MacArthur Foundation butterfly model as a coherent systems overview of key material stocks and flows, and representation of relationships between inputs, outputs, recovery processes, emissions, energy and value loops in physical and financial measures which constitute the CE supply chain. Based on nine multinational organisations and four cases of leading companies engaged with CE activity, we address the types of indicators being used and make recommendations for indicators to reflect key goals and principles of CE. Our research on the development and expansion of circular practices leads to the question of what new opportunities and challenges CE raises for such companies in terms of competitive business advantage and resultant requirements for supply chain redesign and indicator development, over and above pre-existing closed-loop production.