Analyzing Barriers of Circular Food Supply Chains and Proposing Industry 4.0 Solutions

Nesrin Ada, Yigit Kazancoglu, Muruvvet Deniz Sezer, Cigdem Ede-Senturk, Idil Ozer and Mangey Ram
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Nesrin Ada: Department of Business Administration, Ege University, Izmir 35100, Turkey
Yigit Kazancoglu: Department of Logistics Management, Yasar University, Izmir 35100, Turkey
Muruvvet Deniz Sezer: Department of Business Administration, Yasar University, Izmir 35100, Turkey
Cigdem Ede-Senturk: Department of Business Administration, Yasar University, Izmir 35100, Turkey
Idil Ozer: Department of Business Administration, Yasar University, Izmir 35100, Turkey
Mangey Ram: Department of Mathematics, Computer Science and Engineering, Graphic Era Deemed to be University, Dehradun 248002, India

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 12, 1-29

Abstract: The concept of the circular economy (CE) has gained importance worldwide recently since it offers a wider perspective in terms of promoting sustainable production and consumption with limited resources. However, few studies have investigated the barriers to CE in circular food supply chains. Accordingly, this paper presents a systematic literature review of 136 papers from 2010 to 2020 from WOS and Scopus databases regarding these barriers to understand CE implementation in food supply chains. The barriers are classified under seven categories: “cultural”, “business and business finance”, “regulatory and governmental”, “technological”, “managerial”, “supply-chain management”, “knowledge and skills”. The findings show the need to identify barriers preventing the transition to CE. The findings also indicate that these challenges to CE can be overcome through Industry 4.0, which includes a variety of technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud technologies, machine learning, and blockchain. Specifically, machine learning can offer support by making workflows more efficient through the forecasting and analytical capabilities of food supply chains. Blockchain and big data analytics can provide the necessary support to establish legal systems and improve environmental regulations since transparency is a crucial issue for taxation and incentives systems. Thus, CE can be promoted via adequate laws, policies, and innovative technologies.

Keywords: circular economy; food supply chain; industry 4.0; sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (22)

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