Information brokerage for circular economy in the construction industry: A systematic literature review

Abstract

Due to alarming levels of natural resource consumption and environmental pollution, an urgent reminder to uphold sustainability has prompted the construction industry (CI) to embrace a paradigm shift from a linear to a circular economy (CE) model. Due to the presence of structural holes in the circular supply chain, which means missing relations between parties, useful information is not shared across the supply chain. In this context, a new type of actor, an information broker, has emerged entrusted with bridging the structural holes in the supply chain. While CE has taken root in many industries, with studies exploring their role and characterizing their behaviour, no significant studies have taken place around information brokerages within the CI. This systematic literature review (SLR) aims to synthesize the body of literature to discern information brokers' roles bridging structural holes in the CSC in the CI. A total of 125 articles published between 2002 and 2020 were incorporated and subjected to both descriptive and content analysis. The descriptive analysis revealed that most articles were published in 2019 and originated from China. The study found three types of information brokers and their roles in bridging the structural holes. Three structural holes exist in the CSC: one is between construction and operation stages and two at points where the reverse logistics supply chain (RLSC) links with the forward supply chain. Based on the content analysis findings, a conceptual framework was proposed, contributing to building the foundation of information brokerage for CE in the CI. The study is significant as it explored an overlooked area in the existing literature and put forward the proposition that a collaborative network of information brokers is imperative to steer the CI towards a CE.