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Sustainable Supply Chain Management and the Circular Economy in the Digital Revolution

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 November 2026 | Viewed by 1590

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Shufeng (Simon) Xiao

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Guest Editor
Division of Business Administration, Sookmyung Women’s University, Seoul 04310, Republic of Korea
Interests: emerging multinational enterprises; institutional theory in strategic management; entrepreneurship and innovation, and foreign subsidiary management in emerging markets, with a particular focus on China and India
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Miao Su

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
The Graduate School of Technology Management, Kyunghee University, Gyeonggi-do, Yongin 17104, Republic of Korea
Interests: data management; transportation research; transportation business & management; travel behavior
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Qiwei Pang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of International Economics and Trade, Ningbo University of Finance and Economics, Ningbo 315175, China
Interests: sustainable supply chain; logistics management
Dr. Peter Shi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Macquarie Business School, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
Interests: operations; logistics and supply chain; digital transformation; supply chain finance; sustainable development; cross-border e-commerce
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Amid the accelerating digital revolution, technologies such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, blockchain, digital twins, and big data analytics are reshaping industrial systems and providing unprecedented resources, coordination mechanisms, and governance pathways for sustainable supply chain management and the circular economy. This Special Issue highlights the critical roles industrial digitalization, information resources, and digital infrastructures play in advancing sustainability goals and emphasizes the impacts of data standardization on supply chain transparency, blockchain-enabled traceability and privacy-preserving data sharing, lifecycle-based optimization of closed-loop logistics and reverse recovery networks, and digitally empowered ecosystem governance models. We particularly encourage research that integrates theoretical innovation with empirical rigor, drawing on interdisciplinary perspectives and heterogeneous data sources. Methodologically, we welcome studies employing causal inference, structural equation modeling, system optimization, simulation, input–output analysis, and life cycle assessment to capture the net effects of digital transformation on environmental, economic, and social performance. This Special Issue also seeks to unpack the moderating roles of institutional environments, industry characteristics, and technological maturity, with the aim of fostering theoretical integration across sustainable operations, digital transformation, and institutional governance. Ultimately, it aspires to provide robust measurement frameworks and actionable decision tools to guide net-zero transition and circular economy practices.

Prof. Dr. Shufeng (Simon) Xiao
Dr. Miao Su
Dr. Qiwei Pang
Dr. Peter Shi
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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

  • information management
  • sustainable supply chain
  • circular economy
  • industrial digitalization
  • digital transformation
  • digital entrepreneurship
  • blockchain
  • AI-enabled innovation
  • privacy-preserving data sharing
  • life cycle assessment
  • supply chain resilience
  • ecosystem governance

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 1385 KB  
Article
Digital Empowerment, Expansion of the Elderly Care Provision, and Equitable Resource Allocation: Evidence from China’s Smart Health and Elderly Care Pilot Program
by Jiaying Lu and Liming Fang
Sustainability 2026, 18(10), 5037; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18105037 - 16 May 2026
Viewed by 376
Abstract
Digital technologies are increasingly integrated into elderly care systems and have important implications for sustainable social development. This study investigates whether China’s Smart Health and Elderly Care (SHEC) Pilot Program enhances elderly care service provision and improves the spatial equity of resource distribution. [...] Read more.
Digital technologies are increasingly integrated into elderly care systems and have important implications for sustainable social development. This study investigates whether China’s Smart Health and Elderly Care (SHEC) Pilot Program enhances elderly care service provision and improves the spatial equity of resource distribution. Using prefecture-level data on elderly care institutions from 2010 to 2021, this paper employs a staggered difference-in-differences (DID) approach to identify the impact of SHEC on elderly care service provision. SHEC is treated as a digitally oriented policy initiative rather than a direct measure of digital technology adoption intensity. The results show the following: First, the pilot program significantly expands the service capacity of the elderly care system, as reflected in increases in both the number of elderly care institutions and bed capacity. Second, the policy has stronger effects on service capacity expansion in less-developed and high-aging regions, whereas the estimated effects are limited in more-developed and low-aging regions. Third, the analysis also provides exploratory evidence on potential supply-side and demand-side mechanisms. Finally, the equity analysis based on the Theil index suggests that participation in SHEC improves allocative equity, thereby supporting sustainable social development. This paper contributes to the literature by highlighting how digital empowerment-oriented policy interventions in the elderly care sector promote the sustainable expansion and equitable allocation of public service resources. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Supply Chain Management and the Circular Economy in the Digital Revolution)
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32 pages, 1815 KB  
Article
Decision and Coordination in a Competitive Green Supply Chain with Diverse R&D Leadership
by Yaoyao Cai and Xin Li
Sustainability 2026, 18(6), 3155; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18063155 - 23 Mar 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 436
Abstract
Against the growing global focus on green development, government subsidies are widely recognized as a crucial policy tool to promote firms’ green transformation. In competitive markets, green investment decisions are jointly shaped by supply chain power structures, and different research and development (R&D) [...] Read more.
Against the growing global focus on green development, government subsidies are widely recognized as a crucial policy tool to promote firms’ green transformation. In competitive markets, green investment decisions are jointly shaped by supply chain power structures, and different research and development (R&D) leadership can yield distinct policy outcomes. This study develops a Bertrand competition model of a green supply chain with one manufacturer and two competing retailers, comparing two structures: manufacturer-led R&D (SM) and retailer-led R&D (SR). We examine how these policies affect pricing decisions, product greenness, and revenues. Under the retailer-led R&D, a green cost-sharing ratio is introduced to capture the interaction between internal coordination and government support. The results show that subsidy effects depend on consumer green awareness. When green awareness is low, subsidies mainly raise prices through cost pass-through. When green awareness is high, subsidies can lower prices by stimulating demand. In addition, the interaction between subsidy intensity and cost sharing leads to non-monotonic changes in retailers’ revenues. By comparing different market structures and parameter settings, we identify the conditions under which SM or SR dominates in terms of prices, product greenness, and revenues, providing guidance for more flexible green subsidy design. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Supply Chain Management and the Circular Economy in the Digital Revolution)
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