TY - JOUR
T1 - Barriers to employing digital technologies for a circular economy: A multi-level perspective
AU - Trevisan, Adriana Hofmann
AU - Lobo, Ana
AU - Guzzo, Daniel
AU - Gomes, Leonardo Augusto de Vasconcelos
AU - Mascarenhas, Janaina
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Industry 4.0 and digital technologies might significantly impact resource optimization in a smart circular economy.
However, adopting digital technologies is not easy due to barriers that
may arise during this process. While prior literature offers initial
insights into barriers at the firm level, these studies pay less
attention to these barriers' multi-level nature. Focusing only on one
particular level while ignoring others may not unleash the full
potential of DTs in a circular economy. To overcome barriers, it's
necessary to have a systemic understanding of the phenomenon, which is
missing in previous literature. By combining a systematic literature review
and multiple case studies of nine firms, this study aims to unpack the
multi-level nature of barriers to a smart circular economy. The primary
contribution of this study is a new theoretical framework composed of
eight dimensions of barriers. Each dimension provides unique insights
related to the multi-level nature of the smart circular economy
transition. In total, 45 barriers were identified and categorized into
the following dimensions: 1. Knowledge management (five barriers), 2. Financial (three barriers), 3. Process management & Governance
(eight barriers), 4. Technological (ten barriers), 5. Product &
Material (three barriers), 6. Reverse logistic infrastructure (four
barriers), 7. Social behaviour
(seven barriers), and 8. Policy & Regulatory (five barriers). This
study examines how each dimension and multi-level barrier affects the
transitions toward a smart circular economy. An effective transition
copes with complex, multidimensional, multi-level barriers, which might
require mobilization beyond a single firm. Government actions need to be
more effective and correlated with sustainable initiatives. Policies
also should focus on mitigating barriers. Overall, the study contributes
to smart circular economy literature by increasing theoretical and
empirical understanding of digital transformation barriers towards circularity.
AB - Industry 4.0 and digital technologies might significantly impact resource optimization in a smart circular economy.
However, adopting digital technologies is not easy due to barriers that
may arise during this process. While prior literature offers initial
insights into barriers at the firm level, these studies pay less
attention to these barriers' multi-level nature. Focusing only on one
particular level while ignoring others may not unleash the full
potential of DTs in a circular economy. To overcome barriers, it's
necessary to have a systemic understanding of the phenomenon, which is
missing in previous literature. By combining a systematic literature review
and multiple case studies of nine firms, this study aims to unpack the
multi-level nature of barriers to a smart circular economy. The primary
contribution of this study is a new theoretical framework composed of
eight dimensions of barriers. Each dimension provides unique insights
related to the multi-level nature of the smart circular economy
transition. In total, 45 barriers were identified and categorized into
the following dimensions: 1. Knowledge management (five barriers), 2. Financial (three barriers), 3. Process management & Governance
(eight barriers), 4. Technological (ten barriers), 5. Product &
Material (three barriers), 6. Reverse logistic infrastructure (four
barriers), 7. Social behaviour
(seven barriers), and 8. Policy & Regulatory (five barriers). This
study examines how each dimension and multi-level barrier affects the
transitions toward a smart circular economy. An effective transition
copes with complex, multidimensional, multi-level barriers, which might
require mobilization beyond a single firm. Government actions need to be
more effective and correlated with sustainable initiatives. Policies
also should focus on mitigating barriers. Overall, the study contributes
to smart circular economy literature by increasing theoretical and
empirical understanding of digital transformation barriers towards circularity.
KW - Brazil
KW - Circular economy
KW - Digitalization
KW - Implementation barriers
KW - Industry 4.0
U2 - 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117437
DO - 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117437
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 36801533
SN - 0301-4797
VL - 332
JO - Journal of Environmental Management
JF - Journal of Environmental Management
M1 - 117437
ER -