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An exploration of firms’ awareness and behavior of developing circular economy: An empirical research in China

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  • Liu, Yong
  • Bai, Yin

Abstract

Despite the wealth of information concerning environmental awareness and the behavior of firms, there is little empirical research on the awareness and behavior of firms in developing the circular economy. The study employed a questionnaire survey and in-depth interviews with 157 firms from manufacturing clusters in China. Results indicated that the firms had a relatively good understanding about the circular economy and its values and had a strong willingness to operate a circular economy, but this was not indicative of enthusiastic behavior. A striking “gap” existed between a firm's awareness and its actual behavior in developing a circular economy. Reasons for the gap are explored mainly based on the results of interviews. Finally, recommendations for overcoming the gap between the awareness and behavior are suggested.

Suggested Citation

  • Liu, Yong & Bai, Yin, 2014. "An exploration of firms’ awareness and behavior of developing circular economy: An empirical research in China," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 145-152.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:recore:v:87:y:2014:i:c:p:145-152
    DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2014.04.002
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    Cited by:

    1. Ioannis E. Nikolaou & Nikoleta Jones & Alexandros Stefanakis, 2021. "Circular Economy and Sustainability: the Past, the Present and the Future Directions," Circular Economy and Sustainability, Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 1-20, June.
    2. Malik, Ashish & Sharma, Piyush & Sharma, Piyush & Vinu, Ajayan & Karakoti, Ajay & Kaur, Kamalpreet & Gujral, Harpreet Singh & Munjal, Surender & Laker, Benjamin, 2022. "Circular economy adoption by SMEs in emerging markets: Towards a multilevel conceptual framework," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 605-619.
    3. BĂTUȘARU Cristina-Maria & SBÂRCEA Ioana-Raluca, 2023. "Harmonizing Circularity: Romania’S Progressive Efforts Towards Circular Economy Integration In Europe," Management of Sustainable Development, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Faculty of Economic Sciences, vol. 15(1), pages 62-74, June.
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    5. Ana Carolina Bertassini & Aldo Roberto Ometto & Semih Severengiz & Mateus Cecilio Gerolamo, 2021. "Circular economy and sustainability: The role of organizational behaviour in the transition journey," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(7), pages 3160-3193, November.
    6. Viviana D'Angelo & Francesco Cappa & Enzo Peruffo, 2023. "Walking the tightrope: Circular economy breadth and firm economic performance," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(4), pages 1869-1882, July.
    7. Emanuele Gabriel Margherita & Alessio Maria Braccini, 2023. "Industry 4.0 Technologies in Flexible Manufacturing for Sustainable Organizational Value: Reflections from a Multiple Case Study of Italian Manufacturers," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 25(3), pages 995-1016, June.
    8. Aitor Salesa & Raúl León & José Mariano Moneva, 2023. "Airlines practices to incorporate circular economy principles into the waste management system," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(1), pages 443-458, January.
    9. Rodríguez-Espíndola, Oscar & Cuevas-Romo, Ana & Chowdhury, Soumyadeb & Díaz-Acevedo, Natalie & Albores, Pavel & Despoudi, Stella & Malesios, Chrisovalantis & Dey, Prasanta, 2022. "The role of circular economy principles and sustainable-oriented innovation to enhance social, economic and environmental performance: Evidence from Mexican SMEs," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 248(C).
    10. Fredrick Betuel Sawe & Anil Kumar & Jose Arturo Garza‐Reyes & Rohit Agrawal, 2021. "Assessing people‐driven factors for circular economy practices in small and medium‐sized enterprise supply chains: Business strategies and environmental perspectives," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(7), pages 2951-2965, November.
    11. Pan, Haozhi & Sun, Yanhao & Wang, Manheng & Dong, Zian & Wang, Zhen & Zhang, Yina & Zhang, Xiaoling, 2024. "Rising from the ashes: Transitioning towards carbon neutrality through the pathways of circular economy agglomeration," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 219(C).
    12. Ángela Triguero & María C. Cuerva & Francisco J. Sáez‐Martínez, 2022. "Closing the loop through eco‐innovation by European firms: Circular economy for sustainable development," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 2337-2350, July.
    13. Osei, Vivian & Bai, Chunguang & Asante-Darko, Disraeli & Quayson, Matthew, 2023. "Evaluating the barriers and drivers of adopting circular economy for improving sustainability in the mining industry," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(PB).
    14. Kannan Govindan & Arash Khalili Nasr & Farzane Karimi & Hassan Mina, 2022. "Circular economy adoption barriers: An extended fuzzy best–worst method using fuzzy DEMATEL and Supermatrix structure," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 1566-1586, May.
    15. Maryam Hina & Chetna Chauhan & Rajat Sharma & Amandeep Dhir, 2023. "Circular economy business models as pillars of sustainability: Where are we now, and where are we heading?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(8), pages 6182-6209, December.
    16. Yamoah, Fred A. & Sivarajah, Uthayasankar & Mahroof, Kamran & Peña, Iker González, 2022. "Demystifying corporate inertia towards transition to circular economy: A management frame of reference," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 244(C).
    17. Shahbaz Khan & Abid Haleem & Mohd Imran Khan, 2024. "Enablers to Implement Circular Initiatives in the Supply Chain: A Grey DEMATEL Method," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 25(1), pages 68-84, February.
    18. Chowdhury, Soumyadeb & Dey, Prasanta Kumar & Rodríguez-Espíndola, Oscar & Parkes, Geoff & Tuyet, Nguyen Thi Anh & Long, Dang Duc & Ha, Tran Phuong, 2022. "Impact of Organisational Factors on the Circular Economy Practices and Sustainable Performance of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in Vietnam," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 362-378.
    19. Ioannidis, Filippos & Kosmidou, Kyriaki & Papanastasiou, Dimitra, 2023. "Public awareness of renewable energy sources and Circular Economy in Greece," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 1086-1096.
    20. Centobelli, Piera & Cerchione, Roberto & Esposito, Emilio & Passaro, Renato & Shashi,, 2021. "Determinants of the transition towards circular economy in SMEs: A sustainable supply chain management perspective," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 242(C).
    21. Soni, Vivek & Gnekpe, Christian & Roux, Mélanie & Anand, Rashmi & Vann Yaroson, Emilia & Kumar Banwet, Devinder, 2023. "Adaptive distributed leadership and circular economy adoption by emerging SMEs," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).

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