Research on the circular economy (CE) in supply chain management has accelerated in recent years, driven by the increasing need to transition to circular supply chains. Supply chains have increasingly become complex as we move towards a circular supply chain, especially in an era of post-globalization and a multi-actor dependent economy. Existing reviews on the topic commonly organize evidence by practices (such as recycling, manufacturing) or sectors. This may obscure the logic of the loop being enabled (e.g., closing, slowing, narrowing), the core SCM processes being configured or those that still remain unconfigured, and which the actors in the supply chain (especially beyond the focal firms) drive or may constrain circular transition and outcomes. Thus, we propose to conduct a systematic literature review from a supply chain management perspective, treating the CE transition and circular supply chain management as an organizational and inter/intra-organizational transformation problem where firms must redesign the supply chain processes across multiple actors in the supply chain in order to reduce resource dependencies and to enable scalable circular loops. This short paper presents the preliminary findings from an ongoing systematic literature review that maps circular supply chain management (CSCM) studies across three core lenses (loops, processes, and actors). Using Scopus and Web of Science search databases, restricted to leading SCM/OM/logistics journals and a structured coding procedure, we identified a final sample of 166 papers (both empirical and conceptual papers) published till 2026. The preliminary results show a dominance of closing-loop strategies in closed-loop supply chain research, a methodological concentration in qualitative case studies and underexplored intersections clusters and will propose a process-oriented research agenda that will guide future empirical and managerial work.
Unpacking Circular Supply Chains: A Systematic Review and Research Agenda of SCM Processes and Actors in Circularity
OLIVIA IBEH;ILENIA CONFENTE;IVAN RUSSO;BENEDETTA BALDI
2026-01-01
Abstract
Research on the circular economy (CE) in supply chain management has accelerated in recent years, driven by the increasing need to transition to circular supply chains. Supply chains have increasingly become complex as we move towards a circular supply chain, especially in an era of post-globalization and a multi-actor dependent economy. Existing reviews on the topic commonly organize evidence by practices (such as recycling, manufacturing) or sectors. This may obscure the logic of the loop being enabled (e.g., closing, slowing, narrowing), the core SCM processes being configured or those that still remain unconfigured, and which the actors in the supply chain (especially beyond the focal firms) drive or may constrain circular transition and outcomes. Thus, we propose to conduct a systematic literature review from a supply chain management perspective, treating the CE transition and circular supply chain management as an organizational and inter/intra-organizational transformation problem where firms must redesign the supply chain processes across multiple actors in the supply chain in order to reduce resource dependencies and to enable scalable circular loops. This short paper presents the preliminary findings from an ongoing systematic literature review that maps circular supply chain management (CSCM) studies across three core lenses (loops, processes, and actors). Using Scopus and Web of Science search databases, restricted to leading SCM/OM/logistics journals and a structured coding procedure, we identified a final sample of 166 papers (both empirical and conceptual papers) published till 2026. The preliminary results show a dominance of closing-loop strategies in closed-loop supply chain research, a methodological concentration in qualitative case studies and underexplored intersections clusters and will propose a process-oriented research agenda that will guide future empirical and managerial work.
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