Closed-loop supply chain design for the transition towards a circular economy: A systematic literature review of methods, applications and current gaps

MahmoumGonbadi, Azar; Genovese, Andrea; Sgalambro, Antonino

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.129101

Cited by 97 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 203 publications

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“…Research within CE scope has received increasing attention from scholars, as evidenced by reviews addressing different perspectives in recent years. These reviews comprise studies analysing CE and issues as CE concept (Homrich et al, 2018; Kirchherr et al, 2017; Prieto‐Sandoval, Jaca, & Ormazabal, 2018), business models (Centobelli et al, 2021; Hina et al, 2021; Pieroni et al, 2019a), innovation (de Jesus et al, 2019; de Jesus & Mendonça, 2018; Suchek et al, 2021), industry 4.0 (Agrawal et al, 2021; Awan et al, 2021; Dantas et al, 2021; Rosa et al, 2020), supply chains (MahmoumGonbadi et al, 2021; Masi et al, 2017), and others. However, Hofstetter et al (2021) noted that CE research is still fragmented, and a particular challenge in researching CE from a business or economic perspective is that circular economies are largely nonexistent, although there are examples of regional industrial symbiosis or internal company configurations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of entrepreneurship and circular economy research: State of the art and future directions

2022

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The circular economy (CE) emerged as an alternative model to the linear system to foster sustainable development. Entrepreneurship represents a key factor in capturing new circular business opportunities. Research on circular entrepreneurship remains at an early phase and is correspondingly somewhat dispersed. Thus, the research objective here is to bring entrepreneurship into the focus of discussions on CE through a systematic literature review. In the absence of any systematic review on this theme, this work aims to map the relevant research and identify the themes discussed in the literature straddling entrepreneurship and the CE currently dispersed across the existing literature. Based on a sample of 102 articles collected from the Scopus and Web of Science databases, this approach identified four thematic groups: growing circular SMEs, born circular firms and start-ups, social entrepreneurship in CE, and support ecosystem for circular entrepreneurship. A greater emphasis on the study of growing circular SMEs to the detriment of other groups is observed. Also, research in the field is mainly focused on European countries. We then propose a future research agenda and a conceptual model for the entrepreneurial process in CE as a point of departure for further developing and deepening the literature on circular entrepreneurship.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of entrepreneurship and circular economy research: State of the art and future directions

2022

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“…The belief that the circular economy results achieved through digital technologies will offset their intrinsic environmental costs is yet to be investigated (and proven). Therefore, future research should deepen our understanding of the environmental impact of digital technologies-see, for instance, Obringer et al [75]-in relation to the potential benefits achieved through the circular economy by analyzing, quantifying, and comparing environmental gains and pains using life cycle assessment to consider potential trade-offs and rebound effects connected to the implementation of such digital technologies [76]. Thus, we encourage future studies to closely examine how digitalization provides a higher degree of transparency through the sharing of data across organizations, leading to the communication of sustainability performance and benefits.…”

Section: Assess the Environmental Impact Of Digital Technologies On T...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards the Smart Circular Economy Paradigm: A Definition, Conceptualization, and Research Agenda

et al. 2022

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The digital age we live in offers companies many opportunities to jointly advance sustainability and competitiveness. New digital technologies can, in fact, support the incorporation of circular economy principles into businesses, enabling new business models and facilitating the redesign of products and value chains. Despite this considerable potential, the convergence between the circular economy and these technologies is still underinvestigated. By reviewing the literature, this paper aims to provide a definition and a conceptual framework, which systematize the smart circular economy paradigm as an industrial system that uses digital technologies during the product life-cycle phases to implement circular strategies and practices aimed at value creation. Following this conceptualization, the classical, underlying circular economy principle, ‘waste equals food’, is reshaped into an equation more fitting for the digital age—that is to say, ‘waste + data = resource’. Lastly, this paper provides promising research directions to further develop this field. To advance knowledge on the smart circular economy paradigm, researchers and practitioners are advised to: (i) develop research from exploratory and descriptive to confirmatory and prescriptive purposes, relying on a wide spectrum of research methodologies; (ii) move the focus from single organizations to the entire ecosystem and value chain of stakeholders; (iii) combine different enabling digital technologies to leverage their synergistic potential; and (iv) assess the environmental impact of digital technologies to prevent potential rebound effects.

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“…Structural tensions and their management is of uttermost importance in the transition toward circular economy (CE), an emerging economic model that is based on restoration and regeneration of energy and natural resources, where the formation of CLSC plays a key role (see for example, [10,40]). The CE may be viewed as an evolutionary economic paradigm that is expected to alter the conventional linear production and consumption model of the current industrial-economic system (see for example, [35,35,36,36], Chirazyfard et al 2020).…”

Section: Structural Tensions In the Context Of Circular Materials Sys...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Uneven evolution and misalignment among the actors within the system (e.g., Geels, 2002) Overall, structural tensions within CLSC may be related to a variety of issues, including market and demand uncertainties, customer acceptance and participation in product acquisition, lack of required infrastructure, unclear and conflicting regulations at national and international levels, and lack of technical and operational capabilities [27,40]. Of course, actors perceive these tensions differently, depending on their position along the value chain [10], their business capabilities, and their business dependencies on the other actors' resources and capacities (Bouzon et al, 2018).…”

Section: Sources Of Structural Tensionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is most apparent when we look at the issue of incapability of actors to deliver essential materials, components, or services that are critical for the development and diffusion of batteries. Unlike exploration, which concerns mainly upstream actors, the development of a closed-loop material system relies on the engagement of all actors along the value chain [40]. Therefore, the lack of engagement of some actors creates necessities and sometimes opportunities for others to adopt strategies to increase their involvement in the undeveloped parts of the CLSC system and fill the gaps.…”

Section: Managing Multi-level Structural Tensionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Managing Structural Tensions in the Transition to the Circular Economy: the Case of Electric Vehicle Batteries

2022

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The circular economy (CE) has recently gained attention as a key transformative strategy. However, as with previous transformation processes, the transition towards the CE is not a smooth process since there are underlying structural tensions in incumbent systems that need to be overcome. One industry that is currently undergoing transformative pressure is the automobile industry where the transition to electric vehicles that use lithium-ion batteries is creating structural tensions. In this paper, we adopt a multi-actor perspective and analyze the strategies that different actors pursue to manage the structural tensions that are induced by the transition towards lithium-ion batteries with the goal of creating and sustaining a closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) model. Through a case study of the key actors (mining firms, material manufacturers, vehicle manufacturers, and recyclers), we reveal the particularities of managing structural tensions which are influenced by temporal, spatial, and contextual factors. We demonstrate our claim by first expanding the application boundary of the concept of structural tensions to show the interconnection between strategic choices made by actors at operational and technological levels; and second, unfolding the dynamics of managing structural tensions in the CE transitions from a multi-actor perspective. The results of this study may support industrial actors to achieve a better understanding of the consequences of their short- and long-term CE transition strategies, and resolve conflicts in visions and priorities during the transition process.

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Closed-loop supply chain design for the transition towards a circular economy: A systematic literature review of methods, applications and current gaps

Cited by 97 publications

References 203 publications

A review of entrepreneurship and circular economy research: State of the art and future directions

A review of entrepreneurship and circular economy research: State of the art and future directions

Towards the Smart Circular Economy Paradigm: A Definition, Conceptualization, and Research Agenda

Managing Structural Tensions in the Transition to the Circular Economy: the Case of Electric Vehicle Batteries

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