Circular Economy and Digital Technology-Enabled Innovation: Advances, Applications and Prospects

There is a major promise in the fusion of the circular economy (CE) principles with digital technologies—such as internet-of-things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and blockchain—in transforming innovation, sustainability, and industrial practices. This editorial article discusses this intersection and introduces a special issue dedicated to exploring how digital technologies enable the business transition towards the CE in a variety of ways. We initially provide an overview of the context, scope, and perspectives of this special issue. The discussions in the papers illustrate a breadth of theoretical perspectives and practical approaches considered by the academic community in addressing real-world phenomena related to CE and digital technology-enabled innovation. Furthermore, we propose a single integrative conceptual framework of the CE and digital technologies, encompassing both the multi-level insights from the special issue and future research opportunities. This unified framework is structured along macro (ecosystem/supply chain), meso (organisational), and micro (individual/product) levels, highlighting key findings as well as open research avenues.