IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/opmare/v15y2022i3d10.1007_s12063-021-00247-3.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Digital technology and circular economy practices: future of supply chains

Author

Listed:
  • Syed Abdul Rehman Khan

    (Xuzhou University of Technology
    Beijing Key Laboratory of Urban Spatial Information Engineering)

  • Arsalan Zahid Piprani

    (Federal Urdu University of Arts)

  • Zhang Yu

    (Chang’an University
    ILMA University)

Abstract

Conversations on digital technologies and their use in a circular economy (CE) have proliferated in recent years. The ability to fully use circular resources has become possible with the development of advanced and digital manufacturing technologies. However, there is currently only a limited amount of research that looks at the impact of digital technology on the establishment of a circular economy in a supply-chain context. This study seeks to examine the effect of technological innovation on CE practises, intending to assess their relationship to environmental and economic performance. The authors developed a conceptual framework based on the comprehensive literature review and employed a quantitative method to evaluate the theoretical framework. This research uses survey data of 290 respondents from the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) located in China and Pakistan to explore a model that explains the link between technological innovation, CE practices and performance. The SMART PLS 3.3.3 version was utilized for data analysis. The test findings reveal that technological innovation is positively associated with CE practices and that leads to economic and environmental performance. The findings may assist policymakers and business professionals in taking the appropriate steps to successfully implement and operate circular economy practices. With this connection, this research emphasized that SMEs should integrate their CE practices with digital technology solutions to attain long-term financial and environmental goals.

Suggested Citation

  • Syed Abdul Rehman Khan & Arsalan Zahid Piprani & Zhang Yu, 2022. "Digital technology and circular economy practices: future of supply chains," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 676-688, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:opmare:v:15:y:2022:i:3:d:10.1007_s12063-021-00247-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s12063-021-00247-3
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s12063-021-00247-3
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s12063-021-00247-3?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Christoph G. Schmidt & Kai Foerstl & Birte Schaltenbrand, 2017. "The Supply Chain Position Paradox: Green Practices and Firm Performance," Journal of Supply Chain Management, Institute for Supply Management, vol. 53(1), pages 3-25, January.
    2. Kannan Govindan & Mia Hasanagic, 2018. "A systematic review on drivers, barriers, and practices towards circular economy: a supply chain perspective," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(1-2), pages 278-311, January.
    3. Rajput, Shubhangini & Singh, Surya Prakash, 2019. "Connecting circular economy and industry 4.0," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 98-113.
    4. Zhejun Min & Sukanlaya Sawang & Robbert A. Kivits, 2021. "Proposing Circular Economy Ecosystem for Chinese SMEs: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-13, March.
    5. Wang, Yun & Sun, Xiaohua & Guo, Xu, 2019. "Environmental regulation and green productivity growth: Empirical evidence on the Porter Hypothesis from OECD industrial sectors," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 611-619.
    6. Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah & Muhammad Anwar & Ch. Mazhar Hussain, 2021. "Top managers' attributes, innovation, and the participation in China–Pakistan Economic Corridor: A study of energy sector small and medium‐sized enterprises," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 42(2), pages 385-406, March.
    7. Chee Yew Wong & Christina W.Y. Wong & Sakun Boon-itt, 2020. "Effects of green supply chain integration and green innovation on environmental and cost performance," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(15), pages 4589-4609, July.
    8. Mahtab Kouhizadeh & Joseph Sarkis, 2018. "Blockchain Practices, Potentials, and Perspectives in Greening Supply Chains," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-16, October.
    9. Andrea Cantú & Eduardo Aguiñaga & Carlos Scheel, 2021. "Learning from Failure and Success: The Challenges for Circular Economy Implementation in SMEs in an Emerging Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-35, February.
    10. Muhammad Imran & Waseem ul Hameed & Adnan ul Haque, 2018. "Influence of Industry 4.0 on the Production and Service Sectors in Pakistan: Evidence from Textile and Logistics Industries," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 7(12), pages 1-21, November.
    11. Henning Wilts & Holger Berg, 2017. "The Digital Circular Economy- Can the Digital Transformation Pave the Way for Resource-Efficient Materials Cycles?," International Journal of Environmental Sciences & Natural Resources, Juniper Publishers Inc., vol. 7(5), pages 135-138, December.
    12. Konstantinos Demestichas & Emmanouil Daskalakis, 2020. "Information and Communication Technology Solutions for the Circular Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-19, September.
    13. Carter, Craig R. & Kale, Rahul & Grimm, Curtis M., 2000. "Environmental purchasing and firm performance: an empirical investigation," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 219-228, September.
    14. Zhu, Qinghua & Sarkis, Joseph & Lai, Kee-hung, 2008. "Confirmation of a measurement model for green supply chain management practices implementation," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(2), pages 261-273, February.
    15. Henning Kagermann, 2015. "Change Through Digitization—Value Creation in the Age of Industry 4.0," Springer Books, in: Horst Albach & Heribert Meffert & Andreas Pinkwart & Ralf Reichwald (ed.), Management of Permanent Change, edition 127, chapter 2, pages 23-45, Springer.
    16. Ailie K.Y. Tang & Kee‐hung Lai & T. C. E. Cheng, 2012. "Environmental Governance of Enterprises and their Economic Upshot through Corporate Reputation and Customer Satisfaction," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(6), pages 401-411, September.
    17. Alan Murray & Keith Skene & Kathryn Haynes, 2017. "The Circular Economy: An Interdisciplinary Exploration of the Concept and Application in a Global Context," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 140(3), pages 369-380, February.
    18. Chege, Samwel Macharia & Wang, Daoping, 2020. "The influence of technology innovation on SME performance through environmental sustainability practices in Kenya," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    19. Yang Yang & Lujie Chen & Fu Jia & Zhiduan Xu, 2019. "Complementarity of circular economy practices: an empirical analysis of Chinese manufacturers," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(20), pages 6369-6384, October.
    20. Joon-Seok Kim & Nina Shin, 2019. "The Impact of Blockchain Technology Application on Supply Chain Partnership and Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-17, November.
    21. Luísa Pinto, 2020. "Green supply chain practices and company performance in Portuguese manufacturing sector," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(5), pages 1832-1849, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Khan, Syed Abdul Rehman & Zia-Ul-Haq, Hafiz Muhammad & Ponce, Pablo & Janjua, Laeeq, 2023. "Re-investigating the impact of non-renewable and renewable energy on environmental quality: A roadmap towards sustainable development," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    2. Zhong, Ziqi & Zhao, Elena Yifei, 2024. "Collaborative driving mode of sustainable marketing and supply chain management supported by metaverse technology," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 121160, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Tao, Zhibin & Chao, Jiaxiao, 2024. "Unlocking new opportunities in the industry 4.0 era, exploring the critical impact of digital technology on sustainable performance and the mediating role of GSCM practices," Innovation and Green Development, Elsevier, vol. 3(3).
    4. Gao, Peng & Zhang, Kunpeng & Zheng, Peng, 2024. "The impact of industrial digitization on the global value chains position: Evidence from China’ s industry sectors," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 147-162.
    5. Anbesh Jamwal & Sushma Kumari & Rajeev Agrawal & Monica Sharma & Ismail Gölgeci, 2024. "Unlocking Circular Economy Through Digital Transformation: the Role of Enabling Factors in SMEs," International Journal of Global Business and Competitiveness, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 24-36, June.
    6. Guan, Lijie & Li, Wenjuan & Guo, Cheng & Huang, Jian, 2023. "Environmental strategy for sustainable development: Role of digital transformation in China's natural resource exploitation," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(PA).
    7. Alessandra Neri & Marta Negri & Enrico Cagno & Simone Franzò & Vikas Kumar & Tommaso Lampertico & Carlo Andrea Bassani, 2023. "The role of digital technologies in supporting the implementation of circular economy practices by industrial small and medium enterprises," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(7), pages 4693-4718, November.
    8. Riggs, Randy & Felipe, Carmen M. & Roldán, José L. & Real, Juan C., 2024. "Information systems capabilities value creation through circular economy practices in uncertain environments: A conditional mediation model," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    9. Vimal K.E. K & Sivakumar K & Jayakrishna Kandasamy & Vaibhav Venkat & Raghuraman Srinivasan Mani, 2023. "Barriers to the adoption of digital technologies in a functional circular economy network," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 1541-1561, September.
    10. Krishna Kumar Dadsena & Pushpesh Pant & Sanjoy Kumar Paul & Saurabh Pratap, 2024. "Overcoming strategies for supply chain digitization barriers: Implications for sustainable development goals," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(5), pages 3887-3910, July.
    11. Usman, Muhammad & Simionescu, Mihaela & Radulescu, Magdalena & Balsalobre-Lorente, Daniel, 2024. "Breaking barriers, cultivating sustainability: Discovering the trifecta influence of digitalization, natural resources, and globalization on eco-innovations across 27 European nations," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tao, Zhibin & Chao, Jiaxiao, 2024. "Unlocking new opportunities in the industry 4.0 era, exploring the critical impact of digital technology on sustainable performance and the mediating role of GSCM practices," Innovation and Green Development, Elsevier, vol. 3(3).
    2. José María Martín Martín & Sara Calvo Martínez & José Manuel Guaita Martínez & Domingo Enrique Ribeiro Soriano, 2022. "RETRACTED ARTICLE: Qualitative analysis on the driving force behind upcycling practices associated with mobile applications: Circular economy perspective," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 647-661, December.
    3. Chauhan, Chetna & Parida, Vinit & Dhir, Amandeep, 2022. "Linking circular economy and digitalisation technologies: A systematic literature review of past achievements and future promises," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    4. Daniel A. Salas & Paulina Criollo & Angel D. Ramirez, 2021. "The Role of Higher Education Institutions in the Implementation of Circular Economy in Latin America," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-27, August.
    5. Lopes de Sousa Jabbour, Ana Beatriz & Chiappetta Jabbour, Charbel Jose & Choi, Tsan-Ming & Latan, Hengky, 2022. "‘Better together’: Evidence on the joint adoption of circular economy and industry 4.0 technologies," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 252(C).
    6. Chiara Magrini & Jana Nicolas & Holger Berg & Alberto Bellini & Enrico Paolini & Nazarena Vincenti & Luca Campadello & Alessandra Bonoli, 2021. "Using Internet of Things and Distributed Ledger Technology for Digital Circular Economy Enablement: The Case of Electronic Equipment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-19, April.
    7. German Arana‐Landin & Waleska Sigüenza & Beñat Landeta‐Manzano & Iker Laskurain‐Iturbe, 2024. "Circular economy: On the road to ISO 59000 family of standards," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(3), pages 1977-2009, May.
    8. Monrudee Theeraworawit & Suparak Suriyankietkaew & Philip Hallinger, 2022. "Sustainable Supply Chain Management in a Circular Economy: A Bibliometric Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-21, July.
    9. Patricia van Loon & Luk N. Van Wassenhove & Ales Mihelic, 2022. "Designing a circular business strategy: 7 years of evolution at a large washing machine manufacturer," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(3), pages 1030-1041, March.
    10. Jeff Mangers & Meysam Minoufekr & Peter Plapper & Sri Kolla, 2021. "An Innovative Strategy Allowing a Holistic System Change towards Circular Economy within Supply-Chains," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-17, July.
    11. Lai, Kee-hung & Wong, Christina W.Y., 2012. "Green logistics management and performance: Some empirical evidence from Chinese manufacturing exporters," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 267-282.
    12. Taiwen Feng & Hongyan Sheng, 2023. "Identifying the equifinal configurations of prompting green supply chain integration and subsequent performance outcome," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(8), pages 5234-5251, December.
    13. Yasanur Kayikci & Yigit Kazancoglu & Nazlican Gozacan‐Chase & Cisem Lafci, 2022. "Analyzing the drivers of smart sustainable circular supply chain for sustainable development goals through stakeholder theory," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(7), pages 3335-3353, November.
    14. Hien Vo Van & Tu Thanh Hoai & Nha Nguyen Minh & Nguyen Phong Nguyen, 2023. "Green Transformational Leadership and Green Mindfulness as Contributors to Green Innovation and Environmental Performance: Evidence From Manufacturing Firms in Vietnam," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(3), pages 21582440231, August.
    15. 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).
    16. Arim Park & Huan Li, 2021. "The Effect of Blockchain Technology on Supply Chain Sustainability Performances," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-18, February.
    17. Mathivathanan, Deepak & Mathiyazhagan, K. & Khorana, Sangeeta & Rana, Nripendra P. & Arora, Bimal, 2022. "Drivers of circular economy for small and medium enterprises: Case study on the Indian state of Tamil Nadu," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 997-1015.
    18. 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).
    19. Vincenzo Varriale & Antonello Cammarano & Francesca Michelino & Mauro Caputo, 2020. "The Unknown Potential of Blockchain for Sustainable Supply Chains," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-16, November.
    20. Tygran Dzhuguryan & Agnieszka Deja, 2021. "Sustainable Waste Management for a City Multifloor Manufacturing Cluster: A Framework for Designing a Smart Supply Chain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-25, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:opmare:v:15:y:2022:i:3:d:10.1007_s12063-021-00247-3. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.