Spanning the industrial symbiosis within the circular economy: Critical issues and future research agenda

Abstract

Industrial symbiosis (IS) is a business strategy that implements the principles of the circular economy (CE) at the level of cooperating firms. IS is identified as a set of relationships that, given the involvement of a plurality of different actors, risks appearing disharmonious and intricate in its management and functionality. So far scholars have identified the main enablers of and barriers to IS, interpreting their results by reference to practical recommendations, but neglecting the wider configuration of connections between actors and failing to define future research agenda. A systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted on 137 articles. Applying the Gioia methodology, eight categories of critical issues emerged: (1) action policy, (2) collaboration, (3) management, (4) market, (5) economy, (6) logistic, (7) technology, and (8) society and environment. The study contributes to the ongoing discussion on IS by providing a multi-level framework showing how critical issues extend the IS beyond the meso level and span the entire spectrum of CE implementation, encompassing the micro, meso, and macro levels. This means that units of research—consumer, enterprise, supply chain, ecosystem, and government—that belong to different implementation levels are interconnected and share common responsibilities. By combining the results of the SLR with the main recommendations of international institutions and organizations, research areas have been identified that may require further investigation in the future.