Abstract
PurposeThis paper analyzes the effect of circular economy practices on firm performance for a circular supply chain and explores the moderating role that big-data-driven supply chain plays within these relationships.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses data collected through an online survey distributed to managers of 378 Italian firms that have adopted circular economy principles. The data are processed using multiple regression analysis.FindingsThe results indicate that the three categories of circular economy practices investigated – namely circular economy supply chain management design, circular economy supply chain relationship management and circular economy HR management – play a crucial role in enhancing firm performance from a circular economy perspective. A big-data-driven supply chain acts as a moderator of the relationship between circular economy HR management and firm performance for a circular economy supply chain.Originality/valueThis study makes a number of original contributions to research on circular economy practices in a big-data-driven supply chain and provides useful insights for practitioners. First, it answers the call to capture digital transformation trends and to extend research on sustainability in supply chain management. Second, it enhances the literature by investigating the relationships between three different kinds of circular economy supply chain practices and firm performance. Finally, it clarifies the moderating role of big data in making decisions and implementing circular supply chain solutions to achieve better environmental, social and economic benefits.
Highlights
In recent years, business management has been increasingly influenced by the key concept of sustainability
Model 1 exhibits a moderate goodness of fit (R2 5 0.437). It shows that circular economy supply chain management design, circular economy supply chain relationship management and circular economy human resource (HR) management are positively and significantly associated with firm performance for circular economy supply chain, confirming H1, H2 and H3
Previous studies have reported limited knowledge on the embodiment of circular economy principles within the supply chain (Aminoff and Kettunen, 2016; De Angelis et al, 2018; Geissdoerfer et al, 2018; Lewandowski, 2016), and there has been little discussion of whether and how big data can be leveraged to support firm circular economy supply chain performance in environmental, social and economic terms (Chen et al, 2008; Chen and Delmas, 2012; de Camargo Fiorini and Jabbour, 2017; Jabbour et al, 2019a). To advance this body of knowledge, the present study proposes and empirically tests a conceptual model that attempts to link circular economy supply chain practices and big data, as a moderator, with firm performance for circular supply chain as an indicator of firm performance that reflects firm’s environmental, social and financial performance
Summary
Business management has been increasingly influenced by the key concept of sustainability. In order to achieve sustainable development, more attention is being paid to circular economy, which allows resource usage and waste production to be reduced (Gupta et al, 2019). The concept of circular economy represents a substantial change in the way firms. © Manlio Del Giudice, Roberto Chierici, Alice Mazzucchelli and Fabio Fiano. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/ legalcode
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