Synthesising and Conceptualising Circular Supply Chains: A State-of-the-Art Literature Review

Abstract

The advent of the circular economy principle has triggered supply chain transformation in recent years. This article aims to conduct a state-of-the-art review of circular supply chains. To this aim, 91 peer-reviewed published journal articles from academic databases were collected and evaluated using an inductive approach. The study findings are classified into multiple dimensions of circular supply chains. These include designing products for circular supply chains, supply chain integration, digital transformation for circular supply chains, end-of-life management and circular supply chain capabilities. The study’s contribution is to analyse multiple issues and develop unique propositions of the circular supply chain. In the future, this study may be extended to specific dimensions such as digital transformation, supply chain collaboration and critical success factors of the circular supply chain.