Circular economy in the manufacturing sector: benefits, opportunities and barriers

Kumar, Vikas; Sezersan, Ihsan; Garza‐Reyes, Jose Arturo; González, Ernesto D.R. Santibañez; AL‐Shboul, Moh'd Anwer

doi:10.1108/md-09-2018-1070

Cited by 253 publications

(260 citation statements)

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“…SA8000 is also becoming popular for supplier selection (Malesios et al, ). There are several articles (Lee, ; Kumar et al, ) on green procurement that study the role of sourcing and inbound logistics in achieving sustainability (Blome, Hollos, & Paulraj, ; Testa, Annunziata, Iraldo, & Frey, ). Therefore, for a group of SMEs in a specific region deriving the relationship of take and sustainability performance reveals the current state of CE practices.…”

Section: Analytical Framework For This Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…CE is a concept widely studied in China and the European Union (EU), the adoption of the latter driven by legislation, but there is a big scope for analysis beyond those countries (Katz‐Gerro, Greenspan, Handy, & Lee, ; Zhu et al, ). Moreover, although there is research in larger organisations (Kumar, Sezersan, Garza‐Reyes, Gonzalez, & Al‐Shboul, ; Zhu et al, ), study on SMEs adoption of CE is scant. Only recently, research has been undertaken to facilitate implementation of CE in SMEs covering awareness, strategies, policy, barriers and challenges, benefits, and business models.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Circular economy to enhance sustainability of small and medium‐sized enterprises

et al. 2020

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The circular economy (CE) represents a major paradigm shift of moving from the concepts of linear to circular supply chains across multiple industries. Although some aspects of CE adoption within industrial supply chains have been researched extensively (particularly addressing challenges of design, implementation, and operations), the research that relates CE practices with sustainability performance to reveal the current state of CE practices within small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) is scant. The aim of this research was to facilitate SMEs to achieve greater sustainability through CE implementation. This research addresses three research questions—How are CE fields of action related to sustainability performance? What are the issues, challenges, and opportunities of adopting CE in SMEs? And what key strategies, resources, and competences facilitate effective implementation of CE in SMEs? This study adopts a mixed method approach (qualitative and quantitative) using survey research, focus group, and case studies; 130 randomly selected SMEs within the Midlands of the United Kingdom have been surveyed, and the responses are analysed using statistical tools along with findings from focus groups and case studies. The study reveals that all CE fields of action (take, make, distribute, use, and recover) of SMEs are correlated to economic performance, but only make and use are related to environmental and social performance. The study further derives strategies, resources, and competences for achieving sustainability across all the CE field of actions. Additionally, this research reveals the issues and challenges, strategies, resources, and competences required for implementing CE in SMEs.

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Section: Analytical Framework For This Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Circular economy to enhance sustainability of small and medium‐sized enterprises

et al. 2020

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“…Thus, CE involves a high degree of complexity as it encompasses all activities from extraction to production and beyond (Ghisellini, et al, 2016). Moreover, CE is an economy that aims to keep the value and utility of components, materials and products at their highest by creating the regenerative and restorative design (Howard, et al, 2018;Kumar, et al, 2018).…”

Section: Literature Review 21 Circular Economy and Supply Chain: Cirmentioning

confidence: 99%

Collaboration as an enabler for circular economy: a case study of a developing country

2019

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to advance the knowledge of Circular Business Models (BMs) over linear models by focusing on new dynamics which are unique to developing countries and have mostly been overlooked by contemporary literature; and second, to bring to the fore aspects of human-sphere which are currently under-researched in the circular economy (CE) domain. Therefore, the research explores how collaboration can facilitate the transition of a developing country’s economy through the creation of value from circular BMs and human-sphere. Design/methodology/approach To fulfill the research objectives, the authors apply natural resource-based view (NRBV) theory to an in-depth case study. The authors draw the data from semi-structured interviews and observations in North African manufacturing companies. Findings It was found that multi-stakeholder collaboration is pertinent in implementing CE, especially in developing countries. Collaboration between companies, focusing on CE BMs, with other companies/SMEs could lead to technology transfer and organizational learning necessary for resource efficiency (RE) and clean technology (CT) – the basis for CE. The authors propose a model for collaboration as an enabler for CE. Research limitations/implications The analysis found multi-stakeholder collaboration to be an important antecedent to CE implementation in a developing country context. Furthermore, the authors found multinational companies who implement CE BMs generate a beneficial symbiotic relationship with local businesses. These benefits mainly revolve around technology transfer and organizational learning which is necessary for RE and CT – the basis for CE. Therefore, to advance knowledge and practice in this area, the authors propose a model for collaboration as an enabler for CE. Practical implications The authors argue for the importance of collaboration in advancing CE practices which can yield tangible benefits for developing economies. Originality/value This paper helps address the lack of theory driven research in CE. The paper is a pioneer in this research field as it proposes a theoretical framework for collaboration in CE drawing on from NRBV.

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“…However, due to the immaturity of the proposed measures, firms still mostly operate under the linear approach, rather than the CE model. Evidence shows that while governments and international institutions have understood the importance of CE and have made efforts towards promoting its implementation, those efforts are lacklustre, so far, and a lot more work needs to be put in them if firms are to abandon linear and adopt the CE approach (Kumar et al, 2019;Tam, Soulliere, & Sawyer-Beaulieu, 2019).…”

Section: Literature Review 21 Linear and The 3r's Principlesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Unarguably, the implementation of CE holds several benefits impacting environmental and economic strategies (Yuan, et al, 2006;Kumar et al, 2019). Yuan, et al (2006) and Zhijun & Nailing (2007) report that the Chinese Government has identified three steps/levels that needed to be put into action towards a successful and effective implementation of a CE.…”

Section: Ce Applications and Limitation Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding circular economy awareness and practices in manufacturing firms

Liakos

Kumar

Pongsakornrungsilp

et al. 2019

JEIM

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Purpose: Circular Economy (CE) has evolved as a result of the growing environmental awareness, environmental legislation and the need for social responsibility. However, awareness levels of CE are not as high as expected and practices are further behind than they should be, with a significant lack of research around the subject in the literature. This study therefore attempts to examine the current state of awareness levels and the practices around CE in manufacturing firms. Moreover, the study aims to empirically validate one of the earlier proposed CE models. Design/methodology/approach: The study adopts a quantitative survey questionnaire based approach. More than 500 people from various manufacturing organisations were contacted directly over a 40-day long sampling process through the FAME database, personal contacts and LinkedIn. The survey resulted in 103 completed responses. Given the exploratory nature of the study, the data was mainly analysed using descriptive statistics. To validate the CE model, a correlation analysis was also conducted. Findings: The research findings show that with the growing emphasis on CE across the globe by governing bodies, firms are becoming more aware of CE practices. The analysis also shows some useful insights on the state of each of the pillars (economic benefits, environmental impact and resource scarcity) of CE. Our findings also indicate that the environmental impact pillar of CE is at a more developed state than the other two pillars which are-mostlyin a research state. Research Implications and Limitations: The study provides manufacturing firms with a thorough understanding of the state of CE practices and importance of its successful implementation. The findings of the study advocates consideration of all three pillars of CE by managers as a guide to plan for an efficient strategy around CE implementation. Moreover, our study adds to existing efforts by the academic community to raise the awareness towards CE practice among all relevant stakeholders. The findings of this study are based on the responses from a limited 103 survey responses from manufacturing firms. Originality/value: This study adds to the very limited empirical literature on CE awareness and practices in manufacturing firms. This is also one of the first studies attempting to empirically validate an existing CE model.

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Circular economy in the manufacturing sector: benefits, opportunities and barriers

Cited by 253 publications

References 50 publications

Circular economy to enhance sustainability of small and medium‐sized enterprises

Circular economy to enhance sustainability of small and medium‐sized enterprises

Collaboration as an enabler for circular economy: a case study of a developing country

Understanding circular economy awareness and practices in manufacturing firms

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