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

Abstract

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.

Circular Economy in the Digital Age

“…Finally, we are aware that several research questions remain unanswered in the complex domain of the Smart Circular Economy paradigm. We, therefore, reinforce our call for new research on Circular Economy in the Digital Age, especially following the research directions drafted in [6] about the need to: (i.) Develop research objectives and methodologies from exploratory to confirmatory purposes-e.g., by postulating hypotheses and constructs of the Smart Circular Economy theory and by statistically testing them-and from descriptive research to prescriptive frameworks to support decision-making activities, also relying on a variety of research objectives and methods.…”

“…To advance the discussion on these aspects, the Special Issue 'Circular Economy in the Digital Age' called for a more critical discussion on the emerging Smart Circular Economy paradigm [6]. In response, eight articles were received and published, with original contributions to both theory and practice.…”

“…The paper by Bressanelli, Adrodegari, Pigosso, and Parida [6] reviewed the literature to provide a definition of the Smart Circular Economy paradigm as an emergent phenomenon. The authors define the Smart Circular Economy paradigm as 'an industrial system that uses digital technologies along the product lifecycle phases to implement circular strategies, leading to an increased environmental, social, and economic performance for the value chain ecosystem.'…”

Concept of High-Tech Enterprise Development Management in the Context of Digital Transformation

“…Thus, if we systematize and generalize the main directions of research on the digital transformation of enterprises, it is possible to identify the following: strategies for digital transformation [13]; sustainability and circular economy [2,14]; models of digital maturity of enterprises [15,16]; digital capability models [17,18]; strategic roadmaps [19]; formation of new business models [20]; reforming organizational structures [4].…”

Improving the Material and Financial Circularity of the Plastic Packaging Value Chain in The Netherlands: Challenges, Opportunities, and Implications

“…In its place, the EU and the United Nations (UN) are calling for the circular economy model to become the standard around the globe. Within the context of this study, the circular economy is defined as a concept to advance the sustainability and competitiveness of value chains, decoupling economic growth from resource consumption and waste generation [2]. This model promotes a circular 'make-usereturn' of resources so that there is much less waste in what we consume and produce.…”