Supply chain management in the era of circular economy: the moderating effect of big data

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLM-03-2020-0119
• Published date: 03 September 2020
• Date: 03 September 2020
• Pages: 337-356
• Subject Matter: Management science & operations,Logistics
• Author: Manlio Del Giudice,Roberto Chierici,Alice Mazzucchelli,Fabio Fiano

Supply chain management in the

era of circular economy:

the moderating effect of big data

Manlio Del Giudice

Link Campus University, Rome, Italy and

Paris School of Business, Paris, France

Roberto Chierici and Alice Mazzucchelli

Department of Business and Law, University of Milan–Bicocca, Milan, Italy, and

Fabio Fiano

Link Campus University, Rome, Italy

Abstract

Purpose –This 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/approach –This 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.

Findings –The 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/value –This 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 enhancesthe literature by investigating the relationships between three different kinds

of circular economy supply chain practices and firmperformance. 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.

Keywords Supply chain management design, Circular economy, Supply chain relationship management,

Big data

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

In recent years, 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

Supply chain

management in

circular

economy

337

© Manlio Del Giudice, Roberto Chierici, Alice Mazzucchelli and Fabio Fiano. Published by Emerald

Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0)

licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both

commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and

authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/

legalcode

This paper forms part of a special section “Decision Making in Logistics Management in the Era of

Disruptive Technologies”, guest edited by Vijay Pereira, Gopalakrishnan Narayanamurthy, Alessio

Ishizaka and Noura Yassine.

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 7 March 2020

Revised 15 August 2020

Accepted 15 August 2020

The International Journal of

Logistics Management

Vol. 32 No. 2, 2021

pp. 337-356

Emerald Publishing Limited

0957-4093

DOI 10.1108/IJLM-03-2020-0119

are run, since it requires the integration of economic activities and environmental well-being

(Jabbour et al., 2019a) and calls for the definition of new business models that lead to higher

performance in environmental, social and economic terms (Stahel, 2016;Teixeira et al., 2016).

In this perspective, circular economy is strongly related to supply chain management

practices, as both are based on effective business process management. Traditionally, to

achieve sustainability, firms have focused on a vertical integrated system for their supply

chain. In contrast, in a circular economy perspective, firms are building sustainable cross-

industry networks that allow the setting up of interconnected supply chains that use

resources according to the 3Rs strategy: recycle, reduce and reuse (Tseng et al., 2018).

Although previous studies have argued for the need to combine circular economy and

supply chain management (De Angelis et al., 2018;Sauv

eet al., 2016;Schulte, 2013), empirical

studies are still scarce. Limited attention has been given in the academic literature to the

embodiment of circular economy principles within the supply chain (Aminoff and Kettunen,

2016;De Angelis et al., 2018;Lewandowski, 2016). Therefore, the circular supply chain

remains an underexplored area of research (Geissdoerfer et al., 2018).

Moreover, adopting circular economy principles along the supply chain requires the

acquisition, elaboration and use of adequate information and knowledge to implement the desired

changesinbusinessoperationseffectively(Gupta et al., 2019;Sumbal et al., 2019). Disruptive

technologies, such as the Internet of things, big data analytics and artificial intelligence, are

affecting the way supply chain managers make strategic and operational decisions (Forbes

Insights, 2018). In particular, big data made available by the spread of cloud computing, mobile

digital business platforms, business analytics and social networks have not only significantly

changed the modus operandi of many firms but have also been used to achieve better

performance by optimizing circular economy supply chain solutions (M€

uller et al., 2018;Tseng

et al., 2018). Recently, there has been debate as to whetherand how the emergence of big data and

disruptive technologies will affect supply chain practices,m anagementand outcomes in order to

strengthen knowledge and relevance (Gammelgaard, 2019;Swanson et al., 2018). Although

disruptive technologies are affecting all value chains (Bologa et al.,2017;Erolet al., 2016;Scuotto

et al.,2020;Stock and Seliger, 2016), the relationship between circular economy and data-driven

supply chains is of recent conceptualization, and it focuses mainly on the effects of a single

dimension of the so-called triple bottom line (environmental, economic and social sustainability).In

addition, although the role of big data in effective decision-making processes has been

acknowledged (Gupta et al.,2019;Khan and Vorley, 2017;Waller and Fawcett, 2013;Wang et al.,

2016;Zhong et al.,2016), few empirical studies have focused on how big data can be leveraged to

support the circular economy supply chain performance of firms in environmental, social and

economic terms. Therefore, further advances remain necessary if we are to understand the link

between circular economy supply chain management, big data and firm performance (Chen et al.,

2008;Chen and Delmas, 2012;de Camargo Fiorini and Jabbour, 2017;Jabbour et al., 2019a).

To address this gap in the literature and to answer the call for a better understandingof

how supply chain management combines with circular economy principles, the present

study proposes a conceptual model that integrates circular economy practices and big data

for circular supply chainperformance. Specifically, the paper explores the effects of circular

economy practices on firm performance in a circular supply chain, and it investigates the

moderating role that a big-data-driven supply chain plays within these relationships. The

focus is on three different categories of circular economy supply chain practices: circular

economy supply chain management design, circular economy supply chain relationship

management and circular economy human resource (HR) management. Their direct effects

on firm performance and the effect of big-data-driven supply chains as a moderator are

investigated by means of multiple regression analysis on data collected from a sample of

378 managers operating in Italian firms that have already adopted circular economy

principles.

IJLM

32,2

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