In search of a circular supply chain archetype – a content-analysis-based literature review

TLDR

The paper examines how existing sustainability research on supply chains informs circularity in configurations that support restorative and regenerative processes, aligning with the Circular Economy ideal. The study develops a content‑based literature analysis to advance theory and conceptualise a circular supply chain, and proposes five propositions outlining its scope, focus, and impact. The authors derive an archetypal form by synthesising four antecedent sustainable supply chain narratives: reverse logistics, green supply chains, sustainable supply chain management, and closed‑loop supply chains. The analysis yields a definition of a circular supply chain and establishes a more coherent foundation for future research and practice.

Abstract

This paper addresses questions of how extant research discourses concerning the sustainability of supply chains contribute to understanding about circularity in supply chain configurations that support restorative and regenerative processes, as espoused by the Circular Economy ideal. In response to these questions, we develop a content-based literature analysis to progress theoretical body of knowledge and conceptualise the notion of a circular supply chain. We derive an archetypal form from four antecedent sustainable supply chain narratives – 'reverse logistics', 'green supply chains', 'sustainable supply chain management' and 'closed-loop supply chains'. This paper offers five propositions about what the circular supply chain archetype represents in terms of its scope, focus and impact. Novel insights lead to a definition of circular supply chain and a more coherent foundation for future inquiry and practice.