Is Business Research Shaping the Circle? Systematic and Bibliometric Review of Circular Economy Research
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Literature Review
2.1. Circular Economy Origins
2.2. Circular Economy Definitions and Conceptions
2.2.1. Cradle-to-Cradle
2.2.2. Permaculture
2.2.3. Biomimicry
2.2.4. Natural Capitalism
3. Methods
3.1. Content Analysis and Bibliometric Analysis
3.2. Sample to Perform the Analysis
3.3. A Systematic Review of Articles and Their Publishers
4. Results
4.1. Bibliometrics
4.1.1. Journals’ Analysis
4.1.2. Keywords Analysis
4.2. Content Analysis
4.2.1. Literature Review Articles
4.2.2. Frameworks
- Define a different business model to support components in the adoption of eco-design, but at the same time transition to a whole new conception of property, which is nowadays industry- or even firm-specific [25]
- The incorporation of ecosystem services into CE supports the inclusion of a better balance between economic growth and environmental concerns [86].
- Foster the inclusion of resource-efficient and clean energy sources [87]
- To determine the leading transformation, the main entities, public firms, and cities must engage in the process to migrate through to a CE. Several investigations bring to light the changes and processes firms must undertake [91].
- To identify the current leading sustainable indicators in order to transform them and obtain new sets of metrics that allow them to evaluate and assess the environmental value of the leading CE models proposed by researchers and practitioners [92].To define the different CE dimensions more deeply. It is essential to focus on the fact that the economic and environmental point of view is highly developed, but there is still a lack of research on the social perspective [34,72].
4.2.3. Empirical Studies
5. Discussion
5.1. Circular Economy Challenges and Limitations
5.2. Remanufacturing/Reprocessing
5.3. Product and Material Retrieval
5.4. Natural Materials or Highly Efficient Materials
5.5. Community Knowledge and Responsible Behaviour
5.6. Circular Economy Enablers
5.7. Public Policies: The Chinese CE Stimulation Policy
6. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Journals | Numbers |
---|---|
Sustainability | 172 |
Journal of Cleaner Production | 165 |
Resource Conservation and Recycling | 93 |
Business Strategy and The Environment | 38 |
Science of the Total Environment | 32 |
Waste Management | 31 |
Journal of Industrial Ecology | 28 |
Ecological Economics | 14 |
Journal of Environmental Management | 13 |
Environmental Science and Pollution Research | 13 |
Development of Circular Economy in China | 11 |
Waste and Biomass Valorization | 10 |
Quality-Access to Success | 10 |
Environmental Engineering and Management Journal | 10 |
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health | 10 |
Amfiteatru Economic | 10 |
Journals with 5 or more publications and less than 10 (12 journals) | 83 |
Journals with less than 5 publications (154 journals) | 219 |
Country | Iterations |
---|---|
China | 79 |
Spain | 71 |
Italy | 67 |
France | 63 |
UK | 63 |
The Netherlands | 55 |
Germany | 46 |
USA | 45 |
Denmark | 42 |
Sweden | 37 |
Finland | 34 |
Romania | 32 |
Australia | 25 |
Brazil | 21 |
Portugal | 20 |
Poland | 20 |
India | 18 |
Austria | 17 |
Belgium | 16 |
Greece | 15 |
Mexico | 15 |
Singapore | 10 |
Canada | 10 |
Keyword | Number |
---|---|
Circularity | 214 |
Sustainability | 135 |
Recycling | 69 |
Sustainable development | 57 |
Waste management | 47 |
Life Cycle Assessment | 42 |
Industrial Ecology | 37 |
Circular Business Model | 34 |
Eco-innovation | 34 |
China | 29 |
Resource efficiency | 26 |
Remanufacturing | 23 |
Industrial symbiosis | 20 |
Reuse | 17 |
Waste | 15 |
Resource Recovery | 14 |
Reverse logistics | 14 |
Groups | Keywords | Findings |
---|---|---|
Circular Economy Enablers |
|
|
Circular Economy Limitations/ Limiters |
|
|
Public Policies |
|
|
Groups | Methods | Theoretical Frames |
---|---|---|
Production models | Mixed-integer linear programming (MILP), dynamic numerical optimisation modelling, related matrices framework, backcasting and eco-design, Ramsey model, PDRI rating index | CLS synergies, non-renewable resources and optimisation, SDGs and sustainability dimensions, eco-design, Pigouvian taxation, optimal recycling, supply chain management |
Business models | Business model canvas, Hirsch and Levin’s notion, grounded theory, input–output matrixes | Industrial ecology, ecosystem services and eco-industrial parks, eco-design, value creation, circular economy business model, servitisation and inverse logistics |
Life cycle assessment | CVORR; LCA, LCSA, CBA | LCA and material Flow, waste management; resource recovery, durability and CE measurement, the sustainability of products and pollution |
Circularity measures | Index evaluation, longevity indicator, social objective, waste accumulation equation, environmental value propositions table, input–output matrixes | Eco-city, environmental assessment performance, agent-based model and consumer behaviour, stakeholder and financial perspective of CE, MFA; DEA, resource efficiency and tech advancement, free market assessment, latecomer |
Methods | Theoretical Framework | Source |
---|---|---|
Case study | Institutional analysis, material flow accounting, industrial ecology, business ecosystem, durability, 3R targets, stakeholder theory, eco-efficiency of industrial parks, industrial symbiosis, sustainability-driven innovation. | Case studies, SIAPA, Eurostat, FAO, SEPA, firms’ and enterprises’ reports |
Input/Output Matrix/ MRIO | Sharing economy, industrial symbiosis, urban industrial, green supply chain management, product–service systems, institutional theory. | ISTAT, questionnaires, Eurostat |
Interviews | Renewability, education for achieving CE, wastewater treatment, industrial ecology, Cradle-to-Cradle, eco-innovation, secondary raw materials and lean value chain, EU and green marketing systems, CE public awareness, consumer behaviour, awareness, internationalisation and EOL practices, dynamics of consumption. | Questionnaire and structured interviewing |
Material Flow Analysis | The flexible design of remanufacturing systems, eco-efficiency, substance flow analysis, green innovation and resource efficiency, EVR benchmarking and circular transition, landfill management and reuse, developed and applied social metabolism, city GHG emissions. | National Statistical Offices, GreenEcoNet, Eurobarometer Questionnaires |
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Salesa, A.; León, R.; Moneva, J.M. Is Business Research Shaping the Circle? Systematic and Bibliometric Review of Circular Economy Research. Sustainability 2022, 14, 8306. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14148306
Salesa A, León R, Moneva JM. Is Business Research Shaping the Circle? Systematic and Bibliometric Review of Circular Economy Research. Sustainability. 2022; 14(14):8306. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14148306
Chicago/Turabian StyleSalesa, Aitor, Raúl León, and José M. Moneva. 2022. "Is Business Research Shaping the Circle? Systematic and Bibliometric Review of Circular Economy Research" Sustainability 14, no. 14: 8306. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14148306