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Industry 4.0 and the circular economy: a proposed research agenda and original roadmap for sustainable operations

  • Big Data Analytics in Operations & Supply Chain Management
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Abstract

This work makes a case for the integration of the increasingly popular and largely separate topics of Industry 4.0 and the circular economy (CE). The paper extends the state-of-the-art literature by proposing a pioneering roadmap to enhance the application of CE principles in organisations by means of Industry 4.0 approaches. Advanced and digital manufacturing technologies are able to unlock the circularity of resources within supply chains; however, the connection between CE and Industry 4.0 has not so far been explored. This article therefore contributes to the literature by unveiling how different Industry 4.0 technologies could underpin CE strategies, and to organisations by addressing those technologies as a basis for sustainable operations management decision-making. The main results of this work are: (a) a discussion on the mutually beneficial relationship between Industry 4.0 and the CE; (b) an in-depth understanding of the potential contributions of smart production technologies to the ReSOLVE model of CE business models; (c) a research agenda for future studies on the integration between Industry 4.0 and CE principles based on the most relevant management theories.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Montpellier Research in Management, Montpellier Business School, 2300 Avenue des Moulins, 34000, Montpellier, France

    Ana Beatriz Lopes de Sousa Jabbour, Charbel Jose Chiappetta Jabbour & David Roubaud

  2. Department of Production Engineering, Federal University of São Carlos, Via Washington Luiz, Km 235, CEP 13565-905, São Carlos, SP, Brazil

    Moacir Godinho Filho

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  1. Ana Beatriz Lopes de Sousa Jabbour
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  2. Charbel Jose Chiappetta Jabbour
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Correspondence to Ana Beatriz Lopes de Sousa Jabbour.

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Lopes de Sousa Jabbour, A.B., Jabbour, C.J.C., Godinho Filho, M. et al. Industry 4.0 and the circular economy: a proposed research agenda and original roadmap for sustainable operations. Ann Oper Res 270, 273–286 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10479-018-2772-8

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