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

doi: 10.3390/su14094960
handle: 11379/557204
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.
- University of Brescia Italy
- Luleå University of Technology Sweden
- University of South-Eastern Norway Norway
- Technical University of Denmark Denmark
Circular economy, literature review, TJ807-830, Business models, /dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/responsible_consumption_and_production; name=SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production, TD194-195, digitalization, /dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/decent_work_and_economic_growth; name=SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth, Renewable energy sources, GE1-350, business models, industry 4.0, Literature review, Environmental effects of industries and plants, circular economy, Digitalization, circular economy; digitalization; industry 4.0; literature review; business models; sustainability, Industry 4.0, sustainability, Environmental sciences, Sustainability, business models, circular economy, digitalization, industry 4.0, literature review, sustainability
Circular economy, literature review, TJ807-830, Business models, /dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/responsible_consumption_and_production; name=SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production, TD194-195, digitalization, /dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/decent_work_and_economic_growth; name=SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth, Renewable energy sources, GE1-350, business models, industry 4.0, Literature review, Environmental effects of industries and plants, circular economy, Digitalization, circular economy; digitalization; industry 4.0; literature review; business models; sustainability, Industry 4.0, sustainability, Environmental sciences, Sustainability, business models, circular economy, digitalization, industry 4.0, literature review, sustainability
citations This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).61 popularity This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.Top 1% influence This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).Top 10% impulse This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.Top 1%
