A growing interest in the circular economy concept has pushed the discourse in various management-related disciplines beyond established boundaries, with calls to better address how such a model may be developed in a world of global value chains. Still, the conventional linear economy model continues to dominate business, society, and research. While the concept of better connecting physical output and input flows at multiple production or consumption levels is becoming more accepted, it remains unclear how to make this happen while ensuring that sustainability targets are met or exceeded. Multiple scientific communities contribute different perspectives to this discourse, with promising opportunities for research. Circular economy and sustainability from business and economics perspectives are multifaceted. The existing body of knowledge needs to be advanced to assist private individuals, business managers, investors, or policymakers in making informed decisions. In this article for the inaugural issue, we provide a snapshot of the discourses among those who have studied the circular economy and its related topics. We outline conceptual inroads and potential research questions to encourage further circular economy and sustainability research and discourse from business or economics perspectives as well as from the broader transdisciplinary angle. We propose three research pathways: (1) connecting output with input needs in a global circular economy; (2) beyond today’s business logic for a global circular economy; and (3) inclusion of the Global South in North-dominated circular economies. For each, we propose concepts, theories, or methodological approaches and offer various perspectives from the micro, macro, and meso levels.

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From Sustainable Global Value Chains to Circular Economy: Different Silos, Different Perspectives but Many Opportunities to Build Bridges

The association between supply chain structure and transparency: A large-scale empirical study

Purpose: 
The aim of this study is to evaluate Big Data Analytics (BDA) drivers in the context of food supply chains (FSC) for transition to a Circular Economy (CE) and Sustainable Operations Management (SOM).
 
Design/methodology/approach: 
Ten different BDA drivers in FSC are examined for transition to CE; these are Supply Chains (SC) Visibility, Operations Efficiency, Information Management & Technology, Collaborations between SC partners, Data-driven innovation, Demand management & Production Planning, Talent Management, Organizational Commitment, Management Team Capability and Governmental Incentive. An interpretive structural modelling (ISM) methodology is used to indicate the relationships between identified drivers to stimulate transition to CE and SOM. Drivers and pair-wise interactions between these drivers are developed by semi-structured interviews with a number of experts from industry and academia.

Findings:
The results show that Information Management & Technology, Governmental Incentive and Management Team Capability drivers are classified as independent factors; Organizational Commitment and Operations Efficiency are categorized as dependent factors. SC Visibility, Data-driven innovation, Demand management & Production Planning, Talent Management and Collaborations between SC partners can be classified as linkage factors. It can be concluded that Governmental Incentive is the most fundamental driver to achieve BDA applications in FSC transition from linearity to CE and SOM. In addition, Operations Efficiency, Collaborations between SC partners and Organizational Commitment are key BDA drivers in FSC for transition to CE and SOM.
 
Originality/value: 
The main contribution of the study is to analyse BDA drivers in the context of FSC for transition to CE and SOM. This study is unique in examining these BDA drivers based on FSC. We hope to find sustainable solutions to minimize losses or other negative impacts on these SC.

Research Implications: 
The interactions between these drivers will provide benefits to both industry and academia in prioritising and understanding these drivers more thoroughly when implementing BDA based on a range of factors. This study will provide valuable insights. The results from this study will help in drawing up regulations to prevent food fraud, implementing laws concerning government incentives, reducing food loss and waste, increasing tracing and traceability, providing training activities to improve knowledge about BDA and focusing more on data analytics.

Drivers of implementing big data analytics in food supply chains for transition to a circular economy and sustainable operations management

Configurational approaches to theory development in supply chain management: Leveraging underexplored opportunities

The Journal of Supply Chain Management’s 2020 Emerging Discourse Incubator hopes to stimulate the development of supply chain specific theory. Well‐executed case‐based research will always be an appropriate means for developing supply chain theory. However, this EDI seeks to highlight emerging approaches to theory building that provide alternatives to case‐based research or can be used as a source of triangulation with it. To start that discourse, this issue offers three emergent approaches. In “Theorizing Supply Chains with Qualitative Big Data and Topic Modeling,” Tima Bansal, Jury Gualandris, and Nahyun Kim explore the application of topic modeling to develop supply chain theory from qualitative textual big data evidence. Anne Touboulic, Lucy McCarthy, and Lee Matthews illustrate the use of critical engaged research to develop supply chain theory in “Re‐Imagining Supply Chain Challenges Through Critical Engaged Research.” In “A New Methodology for Supply Chain Management: Discourse Analysis and its Potential for Theoretical Advancement,” Cynthia Hardy, Vikram Bhakoo, and Steve Maguire describe the potential for discourse analysis for developing supply chain management theory. These are but a few examples of potential approaches to developing supply chain theory. We welcome submissions on additional approaches and sources of data that are used in other disciplines, but have yet to be applied in the context of developing supply chain theory, and submissions on approaches that are emergent in the social sciences, in general. JSCM welcomes submissions for this EDI through the end of 2020.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jscm.12227

Nahyun Kim

Papers

Theorizing supply chains with qualitative Big Data and Topic Modeling