Objective: This study reviews the existing literature on sustainable business models for food waste management within the circular economy context. The findings aim to map the research landscape, highlight significant contributions, and suggest future research directions to inspire further studies in this domain. Theoretical Framework: Business model innovation is crucial for companies to remain competitive and sustainable, with a focus on integrating environmental considerations. The circular economy, emphasizing renewable and closed-loop product life cycles, offers a sustainable alternative to traditional economic models. In this topic, the main concepts and theories that underpin the research are presented. Method: Using bibliometric analysis and mapping, this study examines the intensity, influence, and key topics of research articles, journals, and authors from 2016 to January 2023 via Scopus. Keywords were selected based on prior studies, and a Prisma diagram was adapted. A descriptive approach is used for frequency analysis, while co-occurrence clustering reveals literature evolution, topic interlinkages, and research focus areas to guide future studies. Results and Discussion: This study highlights the critical role of business models in addressing food waste within the circular economy and sustainable production and consumption contexts. By mapping recent literature and research trends from 2016-2023, the study identifies essential concepts such as sustainable and circular business models, circular food systems, and food waste recovery methods, digitalization's role, alongside themes like zero waste, food sustainability, smart cities, urban recycling, and upcycling. Research Implications: To understand the research trends, orientations, concepts, and interrelations between these concepts, this study presented a literature review on food waste and business models for 2016-2023. The paper discusses some essential concepts surpassing all industries and waste types in the sustainability context: circular economy, sustainable business models, and circular business models. The study calls for further research and well-structured roadmaps to enhance the global impact of food waste business models and facilitate a shift toward circular economy frameworks. Originality/Value: This study contributes to the literature by revealing in the integration of food waste management with retail and supply chain dynamics, underscoring the need for collaborative solutions and sustainable packaging innovations. This analysis contribute to reflecting the accumulated knowledge landscape to the research and practice community and elaborating on the research gaps and possible research venues to guide future practices.
Read full abstract