Metamodeling the e-waste domain to support decision-making

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLM-01-2020-0070
• Date: 11 August 2020
• Published date: 11 August 2020
• Pages: 262-283
• Subject Matter: Management science & operations,Logistics
• Author: Andrea Herrera,Paola Lara,Mario Sánchez,Jorge Villalobos

Metamodeling the e-waste domain

to support decision-making

Andrea Herrera, Paola Lara, Mario S

anchez and Jorge Villalobos

Universidad de los Andes, Bogot

a, Colombia

Abstract

Purpose–This paper proposes a conceptualization of the e-waste domain, formalized through a metamodel, to

express complex e-waste realities in a simple manner. This also enables the transition from a structural model

to a behavioral model to implement analysis techniques.

Design/methodology/approach –The methodology used is design science research (DSR), a

problem-solving paradigm which seeks to construct a working artifact and prove its relevance. The artifact,

a metamodel for the e-waste domain, was constructed through an iterative manner and later analyzed to

conclude its theoretical relevance and contributions in this domain. As part of the approach, the authors used

supplementary techniques such as systematic literature review (SLR), conceptual modeling (CM) and system

dynamics (SD).

Findings –The application in the e-waste domain of CM techniques such as metamodeling, model-to-model

transformation and simulation is valuable for supporting decision-making,especially when combined with SD.

The approach presented in this paper, the conceptual tools and different simulation techniques could also be

applied in other complex domains to obtain similar results.

Practical implications –The modeling method to apply simulation techniques is targeted toward the

e-waste domain experts to understand, design, implement, measure and improve strategies and public policies.

Originality/value –The use of CM techniques to model and analyze structural and behavioral e-waste scenarios.

Keywords E-waste, Reverse logistics, Conceptual model, Metamodel, System dynamics

Paper type Research paper

1. Introduction

In a supply chain, reverse flows consist of end-of-life cycle products, or products that have

been returned at other stages in the forward supply chain. The logistics of these flows, known

as reverse logistics (RL), is formally defined as “the process of planning, implementing and

controlling flows of raw materials, in-process inventory, and finished goods, from a

manufacturing, distribution, or use point to a point of recovery or point of proper disposal”

(Rogers and Tibben-Lembke, 1999). Potential recovery of valuable resources for secondary

markets that represent new business opportunities, growing environmental regulations and

concerns derived from higher customer expectations regarding superior supply chain

performance and more sustainable business practices have made RL all the more relevant.

One of the key RL scenarios revolves around implementing strategies to manage e-waste

(Islam and Huda, 2018). E-waste refers to discarded equipment such as temperature exchange

equipment, TVs, phones, laptops, refrigerators, sensors and lamps and it is formally defined as

“Items of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) and its parts that have been discarded by its

owner as waste without the intent of re-use”(Bald

eet al., 2017). E-waste management is of

particular interest because it is one of the fastest-growing streams at present, due to the rapid

changes in EEE, its increased accessibility, the downward trend in its prices and a changing

customer attitude toward disposing of them (Bald

eet al.,2017). Also, these products contain both

hazardous and valuable materials that require special handling. Onone hand, materials such as

mercury, arsenic, cadmium, or plastics can release dioxinsand furans that have a negative impact

on the environment and human health when receiving an incorrect treatment (Gonul Kochan,

IJLM

32,1

262

The authors would like to express their appreciation to Karol Valdivieso for her valuable and

constructive help throughout this research. The authors would also like to thank the experts that helped

them to validate and evaluate their work.

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

https://www.emerald.com/insight/0957-4093.htm

Received 31 January 2020

Revised 16 May 2020

7 July 2020

Accepted 12 July 2020

The International Journal of

Logistics Management

Vol. 32 No. 1, 2021

pp. 262-283

© Emerald Publishing Limited

0957-4093

DOI 10.1108/IJLM-01-2020-0070

2016). On the other hand, between 3 and 6% of e-waste is represented by printed circuit boards

containing a significantproportion of valuable metals like gold, silver and palladium (Caiado et al.,

2017). Finally, stricter regulations are beingimplemented as governments enforce manufacturers

to be responsible for the entire lifecycle of their EEE products.

All of the above have made e-waste a critical issue and fostered research on this topic.

Several studies have shown that optimized e-waste management processes could contribute

toward achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs) defined by the United Nations in

2015 (Chaudhary and Vrat, 2019;Bald

eet al., 2017). Moreover, there are many opportunities to

improve and develop new tools and techniques to support decision-making with the

development of solid conceptual models, which explain the main concepts of a domain (i.e.

factors, concepts or key variables), their alleged relationships (Miles and Huberman, 1994)

and their semantics, being the first step in developing these new tools and further develop the

domain. However, it has been noted that research regarding conceptual frameworks falls

short at formally conceptualizing the e-waste domain (Lara et al., 2019) opening an

opportunity to create abstract structures that allows us to express complex e-waste realities

in a simple manner, while ensuring that the models remain accurate and there is no ambiguity

in their interpretations.

The core of the work presented in this paper is the conceptualization of the e-waste domain

through the application of conceptual modeling (CM) practices, such as metamodeling, model

transformation and simulation (Delcambre et al., 2019). While some of these practices have

been applied in domains as distinct as enterprise modeling (Sunkle et al., 2014) and the human

immune system (Knop et al., 2012), they have not been decisively applied to help solve e-waste

related problems. By bringing these practices into the e-waste domain, we expect to help

researchers, practitioners and decision-makers to understand, analyze and perform

experiments on short- or long-term scen arios. For example, we aim to enable the

exploration of what-if scenarios in e-waste networks concerning policy changes and their

effects on variables of interest such as costs, the volume of recycled materials and pollution.

To showcase the application of structural and behavioral-based analysis methods, this paper

uses system dynamics (SD) (Forrester, 1961), a well-known technique for the representation

and analysis of dynamic problems. Nevertheless, our general proposal for applying CM

techniques into the e-waste domain is not tied to SD and other methods could be used instead.

Our proposal has been constructed following a design science research (DSR) approach

(Holmstr€

om et al., 2009). In the first DSR iteration we propose an initial structural metamodel;

then, in the second iteration we extend it to describe dynamic e-waste scenarios and define its

behavioral semantics through a mapping to SD. All of these artifacts have been validated

with a case based on the Colombian policy for e-waste management and The National

Program (TNP) that aims to strengthen education through information and communications

technologies (ICT). This case allowed us to determine the artifacts’usefulness for modeling

the RL of e-waste with a sufficient level of detail to create simulations, explore what-if

scenarios and support decision-making based on the obtained results.

The remaining sections are organized as follows: Section 2 describes the adopted DSR

approach. Sections 3 and 4describe the iterative design of the artifact and its evaluation using

the TNP scenario while presenting an overview of e-waste and CM practices providing a

context for the work. Section 5 discusses a summary of our research contributions and the

final section draws conclusions and directions for further development.

2. Design science research approach

DSR is a problem-solving paradigm that seeks to construct a working artifact and its

relevance is based on the artifact’s applicability in practice (i.e. design science). The strength

of the DSR approach is its explicit focus on improving practice. Nevertheless, it is crucial to

associate the problem-solving oriented research that produces the artifacts to the theoretical

Metamodeling

for complex

e-waste

realities

263