Understanding how circular economy practices and digital technologies are adopted and interrelated: A broad empirical study in the manufacturing sector

IF 10.9 1区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ENGINEERING, ENVIRONMENTAL Resources Conservation and Recycling Pub Date : 2025-02-10 DOI:10.1016/j.resconrec.2025.108172

Enrico Cagno , Sandra Naomi Morioka , Alessandra Neri , Erivaldo Lopes de Souza

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Abstract

The circular economy is an effective paradigm for addressing sustainability challenges, yet studies quantitatively jointly analysing the adoption of circular economy practices and digital technologies are scarce. The present study provides an empirical investigation in 329 medium and large European manufacturing companies based on covariance-based structural equation modelling. The study identifies the adoption level of circular economy practices and digital technologies, and whether they are adopted standalone or in bundles, highlighting specificities related to company size, country and sector. The results identify six bundles of circular economy practices and three bundles of digital technologies. It also explores the relationship between circular economy practices and digital technologies. The study proposes three types of digital technologies enablers for the circular economy: base digital technologies (supporting business-as-usual circular economy); integrative digital technologies (relevant to less adopted circular economy practices); catalyser digital technologies (enablers for practices associated with both business-as-usual and circular business model innovation).

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了解循环经济实践和数字技术如何被采用和相互关联：制造业的广泛实证研究

循环经济是应对可持续性挑战的有效范例，但定量联合分析采用循环经济实践和数字技术的研究很少。本研究基于协方差结构方程模型对329家欧洲大中型制造企业进行了实证调查。该研究确定了循环经济实践和数字技术的采用水平，以及它们是单独采用还是捆绑采用，并强调了与公司规模、国家和行业相关的特殊性。结果确定了六种循环经济实践和三种数字技术。它还探讨了循环经济实践与数字技术之间的关系。该研究提出了三种类型的数字技术促进循环经济：基础数字技术（支持一切照常的循环经济）；综合数字技术（与较少采用的循环经济实践相关）；促进数字技术的发展（促进与常规业务和循环商业模式创新相关的实践）。

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来源期刊

Resources Conservation and Recycling 环境科学-工程：环境

CiteScore

22.90

自引率

6.10%

发文量

625

审稿时长

23 days

期刊介绍： The journal Resources, Conservation & Recycling welcomes contributions from research, which consider sustainable management and conservation of resources. The journal prioritizes understanding the transformation processes crucial for transitioning toward more sustainable production and consumption systems. It highlights technological, economic, institutional, and policy aspects related to specific resource management practices such as conservation, recycling, and resource substitution, as well as broader strategies like improving resource productivity and restructuring production and consumption patterns. Contributions may address regional, national, or international scales and can range from individual resources or technologies to entire sectors or systems. Authors are encouraged to explore scientific and methodological issues alongside practical, environmental, and economic implications. However, manuscripts focusing solely on laboratory experiments without discussing their broader implications will not be considered for publication in the journal.