Contributors and considerations on the circular path to sustainability

Resumen

To establish themselves as a long-term presence, a firm must be able to navigate and exploit the multitude of opportunities that are available to them. They must be able to navigate a complex and ever-changing landscape, leveraging the opportunities such as those offered by big data and supply chain management while also staying attuned to the shifting priorities and pressures of migrating to a circular economy model. For those firms that can rise to the challenge, the rewards can be well worth the effort. This study presents the work performed in two related projects. The first project, serial mediation model, sets out to describe the mediating effect that circular economy capabilities and supply chain management capabilities have upon the relationship between big data analytics capabilities and sustainable value. Little is known about the process that leverages big data analytics investments toward firm performance, either directly or indirectly. Our results demonstrate that supply chain management capabilities and circular economy practices are central to mediating this relationship and reveal a significant impact of supply chain management capabilities on sustainable performance. Our contribution also underscores the importance of circular economy practices in sustainability performance. Further, the entire mediation sequence emphasizes the importance of digitally transforming key organizational capabilities such as big data analytics enhances supply chain management capabilities, accelerates the adoption of circular economy practices, and thus increases sustainable performance. The first project also used importance-performance map analysis show that circular economy practices, big data analytics capabilities, and supply chain management capabilities are all important for explaining sustainable performance, with circular economy practices having the greatest potential for impact. Following this with necessary condition analysis, the analysis shows that big data analytics capabilities, supply chain management capabilities, and circular economy practices are not only sufficient (should-have) factors, but also necessary (must-have) factors for exceptional levels of sustainable performance. Production and supply chain managers should be made aware that implementing big data analytics capabilities does not directly improve sustainability. Instead, the serial mediation model shows that big data analytics capabilities should be seen as a critical precursor to implementing circular economy models, optimizing operations, and form the basis for long-term solutions. The second project, conditional mediation model, considers the moderating effect that environmental uncertainty has upon the mediating relationship of circular economy practices has upon the impact of information systems capabilities and economic performance. The results of our study confirm the critical mediating contribution of circular economy practices in the relationship between information systems capabilities and economic performance. There is also evidence that higher levels of environmental uncertainty result in lower effects of circular economy performance on economic performance. For managers, the results demonstrate the need to carefully assess the degree of environmental uncertainty prior to committing to investments that allocate resources for fundamental operational transformations. Managers can also increase the likelihood of foreseeing and responding to changes by seeking more inclusive identification and involvement of stakeholders.