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

Sustainability

Vinit Parida¹  Gianmarco Bressanelli²  Federico Adrodegari²  Daniela C. A. Pigosso³ 

[1] Department of Business Administration, Technology and Social Sciences, Lulea University of Technology, 97187 Lulea, Sweden;RISE Laboratory, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Brescia, 25123 Brescia, Italy;Section of Engineering Design and Product Development, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark;

关键词: circular economy;    digitalization;    industry 4.0;    literature review;    business models;    sustainability;   

DOI  :  10.3390/su14094960

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

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.

【 授权许可】

Unknown