Mapping the first decade of circular economy research: a bibliometric network analysis

ABSTRACT

Most of the previously published bibliometric studies on circular economy (CE) have only focused on one specific region or on a specific CE-related application. This study addresses this gap by conducting a comprehensive bibliometric and network analysis of CE scientific knowledge production on Web of Science (WoS). The research examines the dynamic growth of the CE research during three main stages between 2009 and 2018. Based on a total of 214 peer-reviewed academic articles written by 651 authors, the study provides a bibliometric analysis of the citations, co-citations, collaborations, and keywords co-occurrence networks. The study also reveals most influential authors and articles in the field. Findings show that CE research has been increasing exponentially with an uneven average growth rate of 47.1% per year. Findings also indicate that sustainability, innovation, and waste management represent the current CE “hotspots”. Practical implications and directions for future research are also discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Circular economy
• sustainability
• bibliometric analysis
• network analysis
• literature review

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mohamad Alnajem

Dr Mohamad Alnajem is currently an Assistant Professor of Business Administration in Operations Management at Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST), where he has been since September 2016. All of his qualifications were obtained from the University of Portsmouth (UoP), UK. He received a Beng in Communication System Engineering in 2004, MSc in Technology Management in 2009, and received his Ph.D. in Engineering Management/Industrial Engineering in 2014. His research interests are situated in the field of Lean Management System, Supply Chain Management (SCM), Six Sigma, Sustainable management, Circular Economy, Entrepreneurship, Service Quality, and ISO 9000. Much of his work has been on developing lean readiness level assessment frameworks. His current research projects focus on measuring lean readiness level within Kuwaiti hospitals.

Professor Mohamed Mostafa has published over 80 research papers in several leading academic peer-reviewed journals, including Psychology & Marketing, Journal of Managerial Psychology, Journal of Promotion Management, Journal of Marketing Communications, International Journal of Consumer Studies, International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management, International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Health Marketing Quarterly, Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, Journal of International Consumer Marketing, Qualitative Market Research, Global Business Review, Cross Cultural Management, Industrial Management & Data Systems, International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, International Journal of Business Performance Management, Expert Systems with Applications, Computational Statistics and Data Analysis, International Journal of Intelligent Computing & Cybernetics, Neural Computing and Applications, Civil Wars, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, Sustainable Development, International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology, and the Journal of Economic Studies. He has also presented numerous papers at professional conferences.

Dr Ahmed ElMelegy joined GUST in 2016 as an Assistant Professor of Operations Management at the College of Business Administration. He holds a B.Sc. in Construction Engineering from Ain Shams University, an MBA with a specialization in Operations Management from the American University in Cairo, and a PhD. in Management Sciences with a specialization in Operations management from Illinois Institute of Technology. His teaching interests include Operations Research, Operations Management, Supply Chain Management, and Business Statistics. Ahmed’s research focuses on Service management & E-Services, Technology Management, Scheduling Algorithms, and Queuing Models.