Financing the Digital Circular Economy: Business Models, Risk, and Economic Perspectives in Industry 5.0
A special issue of Journal of Risk and Financial Management (ISSN 1911-8074). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainability and Finance".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 March 2026 | Viewed by 12
Special Issue Editors
2. Department of Management and Marketing, Pryazovskyi State Technical University, 49000 Dnipro, Ukraine
Interests: risk management & assessmentsustainability studies; environmentally sustainable development; transnational repression; industrial production; renewable resources; circular economy
Interests: social responsibility; energy economy; circular economy; consumer behavior; economic security
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The move towards a circular economy is not only a technological or environmental transition—it is also a financial and economic transformation. Businesses adopting circular strategies must rethink how they create and capture value, while investors, financial institutions, and policymakers face new challenges in assessing risks, allocating capital, and supporting sustainable growth. At the same time, digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, IoT, and data analytics are shaping new forms of financing, risk management, and performance evaluation.
This Special Issue of JRFM is an attempt to bring together cutting-edge research that explores the intersection of circular economy and digital innovation, highlighting both the economic opportunities and the financial, managerial, and regulatory risks involved.
We particularly encourage contributions that combine strong theoretical foundations with practical insights for business, investors, and politics.
Topics of interest include (but are not limited to):
- Financing models and investment strategies for circular and digitally enabled businesses.
- Risk assessment, valuation, and performance measurement of circular economy projects.
- The role of capital markets, banks, and venture capital in supporting Industry 5.0 business models.
- Digital finance and FinTech solutions (e.g., blockchain, tokenization, green bonds) as enablers of circular innovation.
- Case studies linking digital transformation, financial performance, and circular strategies.
- Policy, governance, and regulatory frameworks for financing sustainability transitions.
The aim of this Special Issue is to bridge business finance, economics, and digital innovation in order to better understand how financial systems can accelerate the transition to a digital circular economy while ensuring competitiveness, resilience, and long-term value creation.
Dr. Tetiana Gorokhova
Prof. Dr. Zaneta Simanaviciene
Guest Editors
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. Journal of Risk and Financial Management is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 1400 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
- business finance, circular economy
- digital transformation
- risk and investment
- Industry 5.0
- sustainable business models
- FinTech
- economic resilience
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