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The Role of Green Technology in Circular Economy and Sustainable Business Management

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Economic and Business Aspects of Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2027 | Viewed by 1716

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Entrepreneurship and Management, National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest, 060042 Bucharest, Romania
Interests: waste management and valorization; circular economy; biomass conversion; waste-to-energy; biogas production; environmental engineering; entrepreneurship
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Guest Editor
Department of Entrepreneurship and Management, National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest, Bucharest , Romania
Interests: organizational performance; entrepreneurship; digital transformation; innovation potential; customer satisfaction; green technology

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Guest Editor
Department of Entrepreneurship and Management, National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
Interests: technology; digital marketing; processing of business data; business

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue aims to explore the critical role of green technology in the context of the circular economy as a driver of environmental sustainability, climate resilience, and responsible resource use. As economic, demographic, digital, and environmental changes reshape markets, the interaction between consumers, technology, and public policies becomes increasingly complex, generating new consumption models, marketing strategies, and service organization forms.

We encourage the submission of contributions that analyze the evolution of business models from multiple perspectives, including marketing and management, economics, digitalization, entrepreneurship, environmental sustainability, and policymaking, with a focus on measurable sustainability outcomes, social inclusion, and long-term environmental performance. Interest is directed towards topics such as the performance of service markets, sustainability-oriented innovation, the influence of the digital environment on purchasing decisions, green digital platforms, the role of online platforms, and environmental engineering for the circular economy.

We invite the academic community to submit original articles, theoretical analyses, and case studies that explore the challenges and opportunities of the digital economy and green technology in the 21st century. Contributions that question current practices and propose innovative approaches to developing more efficient, inclusive, sustainable, and consumer-oriented business ecosystems aligned with global sustainability goals and societal well-being are welcome.

Examples of topics of interest include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Market transformations in economic, digital, and environmental contexts;
  • Environmental engineering for the circular economy;
  • Marketing and management strategies adapted to contemporary environments;
  • Service market performance and efficiency indicators;
  • The role of the digital environment and online platforms in purchasing decisions;
  • The impact of digital transformation on market structures;
  • Organizational innovation and new forms of service organization;
  • Sustainable and responsible consumption practices;
  • Strategies for developing inclusive, efficient, and community-oriented markets;
  • The role of green technology in a circular economy.

Dr. Georgiana Moiceanu
Dr. Andreea Barbu
Dr. Mirona Popescu
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

  • digital environment
  • circular economy
  • environmental engineering
  • green technology
  • ai and conversational agents (chatbots)
  • digital transformation
  • organizational innovation
  • sustainable consumption
  • market transformations

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

27 pages, 3208 KB  
Article
Digital Visibility, Ecosystem Embeddedness, and Sustainable Entrepreneurial Traction in Decentralized Finance
by Evangelos Siokas, Vasiliki Kremastioti, Nikos Kanellos, Nikolaos T. Giannakopoulos and Damianos P. Sakas
Sustainability 2026, 18(10), 5021; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18105021 - 16 May 2026
Viewed by 183
Abstract
Decentralized finance (DeFi) has been studied mainly as a financial and technological system, while the role of digital entrepreneurial capability in shaping sustainable user traction remains underexplored. This study repositions DeFi as a digitally mediated entrepreneurial ecosystem and examines whether retention-oriented user behavior [...] Read more.
Decentralized finance (DeFi) has been studied mainly as a financial and technological system, while the role of digital entrepreneurial capability in shaping sustainable user traction remains underexplored. This study repositions DeFi as a digitally mediated entrepreneurial ecosystem and examines whether retention-oriented user behavior is associated with three capability dimensions—entrepreneurial visibility, network embeddedness, and organic acquisition efficiency—together with ecosystem-finance conditions such as total value locked and decentralized-exchange activity. Using an exploratory, correlational design with monthly aggregated data from five incumbent DeFi platforms during the post-FTX recovery period (October 2022–September 2023), the analysis combines canonical correlation analysis, partial least squares regression, and ridge regression. Results indicate a significant multivariate association between ecosystem-finance conditions and the entrepreneurial-capability block, and show that returning-visitor behavior is more coherently linked to the predictor set than broad visitor inflow. Entrepreneurial Visibility Capital and Network Embeddedness emerge as the most stable positive correlates of user retention, while Organic Acquisition Efficiency shows a directionally mixed pattern. Because the sample is small, the findings are interpreted as preliminary evidence rather than confirmatory claims. Overall, the study offers an integrative framework that connects DeFi, digital entrepreneurship, and sustainability-oriented business-model research, and identifies the joint configuration of digital capability and financial conditions as a promising direction for future, larger-scale investigation. Full article
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21 pages, 378 KB  
Article
Innovation and Firm Growth: Evidence from an Emerging Economy
by Anh Tuan Bui, Van Thu Nguyen and Thu Phuong Pham
Sustainability 2026, 18(9), 4339; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18094339 - 28 Apr 2026
Viewed by 472
Abstract
Innovation is widely recognised as a key driver of firm performance, yet empirical evidence from emerging economies remains limited. This study examines how different forms of innovation affect sales and employment growth among Vietnamese firms using firm-level data from the 2023 World Bank [...] Read more.
Innovation is widely recognised as a key driver of firm performance, yet empirical evidence from emerging economies remains limited. This study examines how different forms of innovation affect sales and employment growth among Vietnamese firms using firm-level data from the 2023 World Bank Enterprise Survey. The analysis considers product and process innovation, R&D expenditure, and R&D participation, while controlling for firm characteristics and institutional constraints. Using an instrumental variable (IV) approach with two-stage least squares (2SLS), we find that innovation is significantly associated with improvements in firm performance, with product and process innovations associated with substantial gains in sales growth. In contrast, the impact on employment growth is positive but more moderate, indicating that revenue expansion does not fully translate into job creation. R&D expenditure shows only incremental effects, suggesting limited short-term returns. Export participation is associated with stronger sales growth, whereas legal and regulatory obstacles are associated with lower employment expansion. Overall, the findings highlight that innovation is an important but context-dependent driver of firm growth in Vietnam, with more pronounced effects on revenue than on employment. Full article
19 pages, 964 KB  
Article
Consumer Perceptions of ESG Communication in the Oil and Gas Retail Sector: Evidence from Romania Using the P-ESG Scale
by Magdalena Stoian (Ciobanu), Alin Stancu, Umit Alniacik, Ștefan-Alexandru Catană, Oana Cristina Mogoș, Alina Filip and Adina Ionescu
Sustainability 2026, 18(8), 3878; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18083878 - 14 Apr 2026
Viewed by 651
Abstract
In the current context of ESG practices, sustainability reporting becomes very important in strengthening consumer perception about a company’s ESG performance. This study has employed the P-ESG scale to investigate how consumers relate to companies in the oil and gas industry in relation [...] Read more.
In the current context of ESG practices, sustainability reporting becomes very important in strengthening consumer perception about a company’s ESG performance. This study has employed the P-ESG scale to investigate how consumers relate to companies in the oil and gas industry in relation to their corporate social responsibility and sustainability activities. Specifically, this study investigates how consumers perceive the impact of ESG-related communication—particularly disclosures about community involvement—on organizational attributes such as corporate culture, internal communication, and employee engagement. Online quantitative marketing research was carried out on a sample of 400 respondents. The results show that ESG factors have a strong association with consumer perceptions on organizational transparency, effective communication and organizational culture. A negative direct relationship of ESG with the consumer perceptions regarding employee engagement is noticed, and a strong correlation between consumer perceived organizational culture and the consumer perception about employee engagement. This study contributes to defining the role of ESG reporting on the consumers perception about the company, and how ESG can be used to increase consumer trust. Full article
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