Barriers to effective circular supply chain management in a developing country context

Abstract

Circular supply chain (CSC) emphasises surge in application of reuse, recycling, remanufacturing and thereby promotes transformation from linear to circular model of flow of products. Supply chains of manufacturing industries have become global over the years. Products manufactured in developing nations are being sent to developed nations for mass consumption. Developed nations have regulatory policies, technological knowhow and modern infrastructure to adopt CSC model. Their counterpart is trailing in these aspects. In literature, limited work has been performed on identifying challenges of implementing CSC in developing nations. Therefore, employing literature review and feedback received from experts, 16 important barriers were identified to CSC adoption in India. These barriers were analysed using integrated Interpretive Structural Modelling ? MICMAC approach. The findings will contribute in transforming supply chains thereby bringing economic prosperity, addressing global warming and generating employment opportunities. Finally, crucial policy measures and recommendations are proposed to assist managers and government bodies.

Keywords:

• Barriers
• circular economy (CE)
• circular supply chain management (CSCM)
• interpretive structural modelling (ISM)
• MICMAC analysis

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank the project ‘A cross country examination of supply chain barriers on market access for small and medium firms in India and UK’ (Ref no: PM130233) funded by British Academy, UK for supporting this research.