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Circular Economy and Sustainable Firm Management

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 49431

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Linares Higher Polytechnic School, University of Jaén, 23071 Jaén, Spain
Interests: circular economy; sustainable development; business administration; strategy management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In today's increasingly competitive landscape, companies must seek a position that allows them to survive in the medium- and long-term. Today, in order to meet the above requirements, we have the added concern of the community for the deterioration of the planet, which has materialized in many different ways. This has lead companies to seek survival by minimizing the negative externalities they generate in their production, marketing, logistics, and so on, processes, thus minimizing their environmental impact. In this matter, the literature has evolved since its inception, where concern for sustainability and social responsibility were aspects of the second-order, to today's management models, of environmental and social governance, in which sustainability is a strategic aspect included in the mission of companies.

The literature on the subject highlights the importance of sustainability practices in companies, and the need to create new management models analysing the interactions between companies, their environment, and consumers, who demand less and less damage to the environment. Thus, the linear economy model, which treats the duration of resources and production factors as unlimited, has been exhausted, giving rise to the so-called circular economy, whose principles could be a reference to help companies make the transition to a more sustainable business model.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to study the evolution of sustainability within companies, how they are implementing the circular economy, and other sustainable strategies of companies as a first-order magnitude.

This Special Issue seeks to place sustainability within business management. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Transition to the circular economy;
  • New models of sustainable production;
  • Circular supply chain management;
  • Good practices and case studies of business sustainability and the circular economy;
  • Circular economy and innovation;
  • Changing the planning of the strategy as a result of sustainability;
  • Circular economy reports;
  • Circular economy assessment;
  • Circular economy and SME´s;
  • Marketing and sustainability;
  • Accounting for sustainability.

References:

Núñez-Cacho, P.; Molina-Moreno, V.; Corpas-Iglesias, F.A.; Cortés-García, F.J. Family Bus.es Transitioning to a Circular Economy Model: The Case of “Mercadona”. Sustainability 2018, 10, 538.

Zhu, Q.; Sarkis, J. The Moderating Effects of Institutional Pressures on Emergent Green Supply Chain Practices and Performance. J. Prod. Res. 2007, 45, 4333–4343.

Molina-Moreno, V.; Leyva-Díaz, J.C.; Llorens-Montes, F.J.; Cortés-García, F.J. Design of indicators of circular economy as instruments for the evaluation of sustainability and efficiency in wastewater from pig farming industry. Water 2017, 9, 653.

Núñez-Cacho, P.; Górecki, J.; Molina, V.; Corpas-Iglesias, F. How to measure and predict degree of circularity thinking in construction sector? Modern way to build competitive advantage. EU Res. Bus. Vol 2018, 1-16 2018. DOI: 10.5171/2018.909360

Moreno, M.; De los Ríos, C.; Rowe, Z.; Charnley, F. A Conceptual Framework for Circular Design. Sustainability 2016, 8, 937; doi:10.3390/su8090937.

Lieder M., Rashid A. Towards Circular Economy implementation: A comprehensive review in context of manufacturing industry", J. Clean. Prod. 2016, Volume 115, (1): 36–51.

Campopiano, G. & De Massis, A. Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting: A Content Analysis in Family and Non-family Firms. J. Bus. Ethics, 2015, 129 (3):511-534.

Zhu Q., J. Sarkis, K. Lai. Examining the effects of green supply chain management practices and their mediations on performance improvements. International J. of Prod. Res. 2012, 50(5): 1377–1394.

Dr. Pedro Núñez-Cacho
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sustainability
  • management
  • circular economy
  • CSR
  • sustainable marketing

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

29 pages, 5648 KiB  
Article
Private Firm Support for Circular Economy Regulation in the EU Policy Context
by Felicitas Pietrulla
Sustainability 2022, 14(14), 8427; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14148427 - 9 Jul 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1736
Abstract
As an empirical investigation of firm support for circular economy regulation in the European Union (EU) context, this paper is the first to connect the research field on corporate political activity with the growing research field on the circular economy. The paper presents [...] Read more.
As an empirical investigation of firm support for circular economy regulation in the European Union (EU) context, this paper is the first to connect the research field on corporate political activity with the growing research field on the circular economy. The paper presents these two research streams, draws on theories such as the resource-based view, and employs a hierarchical regression framework to formulate and test six hypotheses on what drives firms to support circular economy regulation. We find that smaller firms show more support for circular economy regulation than larger firms do and identify two moderating effects: the stock listing seems to moderate the relationship between firm size and a firm’s support for circular economy regulation; and a firm’s supply chain position has a counterintuitive negative moderating effect on the relationship between slack resources and a firm’s support for circular economy regulation. We discuss null findings and suggest avenues for future research at this under-researched intersection of policies and firms in the circular economy context. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy and Sustainable Firm Management)
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22 pages, 649 KiB  
Article
Greenwashing and Bluewashing in Black Friday-Related Sustainable Fashion Marketing on Instagram
by Astrid Sailer, Harald Wilfing and Eva Straus
Sustainability 2022, 14(3), 1494; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031494 - 27 Jan 2022
Cited by 26 | Viewed by 20124
Abstract
Growing awareness of the fashion industry’s negative impact on people and the environment has led to considerable growth of the sustainable fashion market. At the same time, Black Friday purchases increase annually as the sales event develops into a global phenomenon. As sustainable [...] Read more.
Growing awareness of the fashion industry’s negative impact on people and the environment has led to considerable growth of the sustainable fashion market. At the same time, Black Friday purchases increase annually as the sales event develops into a global phenomenon. As sustainable fashion brands are choosing to participate in the event, many communicate their offers via the social media platform Instagram. To gain a competitive advantage and maintain their sustainable corporate images, some brands use greenwashing and/or bluewashing strategies. The first part of this study explores which strategies were employed in Instagram content posted by sustainable brands, using quantitative and qualitative content analysis. We propose a research-based model of nine greenwashing/bluewashing strategies. The second part of the study examines predictive factors for consumer evaluations of Black Friday ads by sustainable brands, using an online survey and a stepwise multiple regression analysis. Findings show that consumers’ critical attitude towards Black Friday and high ad skepticism predict positive evaluations while sustainable purchase behavior predicts negative evaluations. These insights suggest that ‘sustainable’ Black Friday campaigns may appeal to consumers who show a general concern for the environment and issues of social sustainability, but not to those who exhibit actual sustainable behavior. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy and Sustainable Firm Management)
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18 pages, 2255 KiB  
Article
Transition to the Circular Economy in the Fashion Industry: The Case of the Inditex Family Business
by Karina Nicolle Esbeih, Valentín Molina-Moreno, Pedro Núñez-Cacho and Bruna Silva-Santos
Sustainability 2021, 13(18), 10202; https://doi.org/10.3390/su131810202 - 13 Sep 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 7100
Abstract
Society is increasingly concerned about aspects of work related to sustainability. This leads organizations to reflect on the economic, environmental, and social problems that affect both current and future generations. When companies identify an environmental problem, they try to respond to it through [...] Read more.
Society is increasingly concerned about aspects of work related to sustainability. This leads organizations to reflect on the economic, environmental, and social problems that affect both current and future generations. When companies identify an environmental problem, they try to respond to it through changes in their environmental policies, aiming at the transition towards sustainability. In this context, the circular economy appears as a regenerative industrial system that replaces the concept of “end of life” with that of “restoration”. It is oriented to the use of renewable energies, eliminating the use of toxic chemicals, which are harmful to reuse. The theory of socio-emotional wealth describes the behavior patterns of family businesses in response to the environmental changes that occur and the reasons derived from the family character that make them move towards the circular economy model. This article studies the case of the Spanish textile manufacturing and distribution multinational Inditex, analyzing the information collected in its environmental balances in the period 2013–2018. The analysis allows us to observe the speed of Inditex’s transition to the circular economy. For this, transition speed indicators were formed in each of the dimensions of the circular economy model. The results of the study indicate areas in which the company is moving faster and those in which more effort is needed. Finally, a collection of good practices related to the CE used by Inditex is provided. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy and Sustainable Firm Management)
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19 pages, 577 KiB  
Article
The Drivers of Employees’ Active Innovative Behaviour in Chinese High-Tech Enterprises
by Chuanhao Fan, Mingyue Hu, Ziheng Shangguan, Chunlan Ye, Shuting Yan and Mark Yaolin Wang
Sustainability 2021, 13(11), 6032; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13116032 - 27 May 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2957
Abstract
High-performance work systems are being increasingly used in organisational management. However, such system development over time has resulted in increasingly complex impacts on employee innovation behaviour. How to stimulate innovation in the technological talent pool of individuals at high-tech enterprises has gradually become [...] Read more.
High-performance work systems are being increasingly used in organisational management. However, such system development over time has resulted in increasingly complex impacts on employee innovation behaviour. How to stimulate innovation in the technological talent pool of individuals at high-tech enterprises has gradually become a research hotspot. Based on an effective sample of 351 technological individuals from high-tech enterprises in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces, this paper discusses the mechanism and boundary conditions of a high-performance work system affecting the active innovation behaviour of such individuals based on self-determination theory. The empirical results show the following: (1) Informational practices and controlled practices in a high-performance work system have mutually exclusive effects on active innovation behaviour, with significant positive and negative effects. (2) The need for autonomy and competence play mediating roles between informational practices and active innovation behaviour; the need for autonomy plays a masking effect between controlled practices and active innovation behaviour. (3) The need for relatedness negatively moderates the effects of a high-performance work system which is focused on the needs for autonomy and competence. The findings reveal the internal mechanism and boundary conditions of high-performance work system influencing active innovation behaviour, which provides a reference for high-tech enterprises to encourage technical talents to innovate, and have important practical significance for improving the core competitiveness of high-tech enterprises. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy and Sustainable Firm Management)
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23 pages, 13241 KiB  
Article
Circular Economy. A Review and Bibliometric Analysis
by Enric Camón Luis and Dolors Celma
Sustainability 2020, 12(16), 6381; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12166381 - 7 Aug 2020
Cited by 64 | Viewed by 6441
Abstract
The aim of the study is mapping the thematic structure of the circular economy research by mapping research outputs related to it. The methodology consists of developing a bibliometric study based on data obtained from the Web of Science and the Scimago Journal [...] Read more.
The aim of the study is mapping the thematic structure of the circular economy research by mapping research outputs related to it. The methodology consists of developing a bibliometric study based on data obtained from the Web of Science and the Scimago Journal & Country Rank from 2016 to 2019. Some descriptive and bibliographic maps and strategic diagrams are shown; they are generated by SciMAT and VOSViewer. In addition, there is also a bibliometric analysis using alternative metrics. The analysis highlights a new perspective on the subject, analysing the concept from the business administration perspective and not only from the traditional viewpoint of the environmental sciences and industrial production. Finally, the analysis identifies future implications of the circular economy linked to the field of business management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy and Sustainable Firm Management)
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31 pages, 10682 KiB  
Article
Circular Economy in China: Translating Principles into Practice
by Marco Pesce, Ilaria Tamai, Deyan Guo, Andrea Critto, Daniele Brombal, Xiaohui Wang, Hongguang Cheng and Antonio Marcomini
Sustainability 2020, 12(3), 832; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12030832 - 22 Jan 2020
Cited by 48 | Viewed by 10068
Abstract
The concept of circular economy (CE) has recently gained momentum in the political, scientific, and economic debate, especially in China and Europe. As a result, organizations and scholars have started to establish different sets of principles for its adoption. For this reason, it [...] Read more.
The concept of circular economy (CE) has recently gained momentum in the political, scientific, and economic debate, especially in China and Europe. As a result, organizations and scholars have started to establish different sets of principles for its adoption. For this reason, it is important to identify and assess the differences and similarities among existing sets of CE principles, and how organizations and individuals understand and translate them into practice. In this paper, we firstly present a brief review and analysis of the coherence among six existing sets of principles. Our analysis finds that, despite the mixed degree of coherence, all sets describe the necessity to implement CE principles at all levels of a company. We then present the results of an in-depth qualitative survey that investigates how 19 key informants representing small, medium, and multinational companies based in China understand and carry out the CE principles laid out by the BSI standard BS 8001:2017; how these principles can transform the culture and processes of these companies; and what are the opportunities and threats that such transformation can bring. Results describe a good awareness and knowledge of the CE principles and an optimistic outlook concerning their adoption. At the same time, numerous barriers and threats that the implementation of these principles might entail are presented. Overall, respondents confirm the complexity of implementing the principles of the CE in an integrated and consistent way in the management and strategies of Chinese companies and highlight the challenges that might arise during their implementation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy and Sustainable Firm Management)
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