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Business Digital Transformation Processes toward Circular Economy and Sustainability

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Economic and Business Aspects of Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2023) | Viewed by 21528

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Estrela Ferreira Cruz

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Higher School Technology and Management, Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo (IPVC), Viana do castelo, Portugal
Interests: business process modeling; software engineering; data engineering; sustainability; traceability; circular economy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. António Miguel Rosado da Cruz

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Guest Editor

Higher School of Technology and Management, Polytechnic Institute of Viana do Castelo, 4900-347 Viana do Castelo, Portugal
Interests: software engineering; model-driven architecture; traceability systems; sustainability; circular economy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Industries and businesses in general are facing new challenges, and new opportunities, relating to sustainability. Environmental impact (waste, water consumption, etc.) and social responsibility are now the concerns of most consumers and governments. There is increasing pressure toward greater transparency in value chains, including supply chains. Interorganizational business processes need to be adapted in order to enable traceability along value chains, integrating intraorganizational business processes. Traceability systems may provide information to all stakeholders (business partners and final consumers), contributing to greater safety in food processes, to greater social responsibility in cross-country supply chains, and to greater transparency in every process. To engage sustainability, value chains must become circular. The circular economy is a promising solution to reduce waste and promote reuse, creating self-sustainable processes at many levels: the business sector, companies, cities, nations, etc.

Platforms to support the circular economy and to support traceability in supply and value chains are needed for efficient data registering and sharing among all participants involved, and to implement and assure transparency along the value chain and to ensure confidence in consumers’ and other business partners’ decisions when having to choose a product, business partner or brand.

This Special Issue aims to contribute to push forward the sustainability, through intra- and interorganizational business process transformation, namely optimization, circularization or, simply, digitalization, allowing traceability and promoting transparency though the value chains.

In particular, this Special Issue should cover, but is not limited to, the following topics:

Business process redesign toward greater social and environmental sustainability;
Business process redesign toward circular economy and traceability;
Digitalization and integration of business processes;
Traceability in value and supply chains promoting transparency and social and environmental sustainability;
Circular economy promoting sustainability at any business sector (textile and clothing industry, car industry, building, energy, agriculture, food supply chains, marketing, etc.);
Using emerging technologies (e.g., IoT, Blockchain) for traceability and the circular economy;
Using gamification techniques for engaging the final consumer into the circular economy.

Research and review articles are therefore invited to be submitted to this Special Issue to contribute to sustainability and highlight the sustainable aspect of traceability and circular economy technologies.

Prof. Dr. Estrela Ferreira Cruz
Prof. Dr. António Miguel Rosado da Cruz
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

sustainability
circular economy
value and supply chains
traceability
transparency
business models
business processes
environmental sustainability
social sustainability
enterprise architecture for sustainability
sustainable organizations
sustainable businesses
sustainable business models
sustainable intra- and interorganizational business process
gamification for sustainability
IoT for sustainability
blockchain for sustainability

Published Papers (8 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 3939 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Strategic Sustainability and Operational Initiatives in Small- and Medium-Sized Manufacturers: An Empirical Analysis

by Zulkaif Ahmed Saqib, Luo Qin, Rashid Menhas and Gong Lei

Sustainability 2023, 15(7), 6330; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su15076330 - 06 Apr 2023

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2353

Abstract

We explored the moderating impacts of product modularity and supply chain visibility for sustainability and operational initiatives, which entails a dramatic rethinking and reorganization of the production processes of manufacturing enterprises. Moderating effects of product modularity and supply chain visibility on links among supply chain pressure, technological pressure, sustainable practices, operational performance, and sustainability performance were included. A conceptual model was developed following the resource-based view and dynamic capability theories. Well-designed questionnaires collected data, and the total sample size for data analysis was 490 responses from small- and medium-sized manufacturing firms in Pakistan. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the proposed hypothesis. The first finding revealed that operational performance and sustainable performance both improve when companies implement sustainable practices. The second finding drawn from the data was that supply chain pressure and technological pressure have a positive effect on sustainable practices. The major finding of this work was grounded in the product modularity perspective, we argue that the relations among supply chain pressure, technological pressure, sustainable practices, operational performance, and sustainability performance are affected and moderated. The moderating effect of supply chain visibility existed and it has a positive moderating effect for the relationships from sustainable practices toward operational and sustainability performance. Surprisingly, moderating impact of visibility on relations from supply chain pressure and technological pressure towards sustainable practices was not significant. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Business Digital Transformation Processes toward Circular Economy and Sustainability)

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15 pages, 963 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Digital Transformation and Corporate Environmental Green Innovation Nexus: An Approach towards Green Innovation Improvement

by Fenfen Ma, Shah Fahad, Shuxi Yan and Yapeng Zhang

Sustainability 2023, 15(7), 6258; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su15076258 - 06 Apr 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2040

Abstract

The impact of digital transformation on green innovation is widely discussed. However, existing studies mainly focus on the impact of the digital transformation of enterprises and fintech company development on environmental green innovation, while ignoring the effect of the digital transformation of commercial banks (DTCB) on corporate green innovation. Therefore, to fill the research gap, this paper explores the impact of DTCB on environmental green innovation in companies based on the data of listed companies from 2010 to 2019. This study finds that DTCB has significantly promoted enterprises’ environmental green innovation. Mechanism analysis shows that DTCB can promote green environmental innovation by increasing R&D expenditures and reducing agency costs. The heterogeneity analysis indicates that DTCB can only promote the green environmental innovation of private enterprises and enterprises with a high degree of digital transformation, but it cannot promote the green environmental innovation of state-owned enterprises and enterprises with a low degree of digital transformation. From the perspective of DTCB, this paper enriches the research on the relationship between digital finance and enterprise environmental green innovation. The government should promote the digital transformation of enterprises to utilize the green innovation effect of DTCB. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Business Digital Transformation Processes toward Circular Economy and Sustainability)

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20 pages, 1844 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Exploring the Optimistic Approaches and Directives of Cameroon’s Textile Sector for Reliable Development

by Nguepi Tsafack Elvis, Hua Cheng and Buregeya Ingabire Providence

Sustainability 2023, 15(7), 5896; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su15075896 - 28 Mar 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1759

Abstract

Cameroon is one of the largest producers of cotton in Central Africa. Currently, Cameroon’s textile sector is facing problems regarding manufacturing that restrict the expectations of various shareholders in the sector. This study examined accurate and strategically reliable instructions for the Cameroonian textile sector by utilizing explorative and depictive techniques and properly applying the SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) and AHP (analytic hierarchy process) approaches to perform a pivotal analysis after several surveys of the textile sector in Cameroon. The SWOT–AHP strategy was used in the case of secondary data sources. The resulting analysis underlines the strategic challenges and enhances the textile sector’s competing capability. The weakness and opportunity (WO) strategy broadly had the greatest significance, which indicated, correspondingly, that this strategy should be prioritized for use in the Cameroonian textile sector. Governmental authorities should serve a controlling function rather than a decision-making one, thus facilitating improvements in the management of businesses. Furthermore, it suggested that efforts must be made by the government to promote workforce education and skill development, as well as update obsolete technology, which are currently the deficiencies of the textile sector. Additionally, to add value to the national economy’s capacity, Cameroon should slowly transform its cotton exports to finished textile goods within the country. To achieve this, the government, through a framework of collaboration with foreign companies, should industrialize, deregulate, and denationalize the textile industry and reduce taxes and withdrawal quotas to serve the interests of investors. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Business Digital Transformation Processes toward Circular Economy and Sustainability)

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31 pages, 2932 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Eco-Gamification Platform to Promote Consumers’ Engagement in the Textile and Clothing Circular Value Chain

by Luís Alves, Pedro Miguel Faria, Estrela Ferreira Cruz, Sérgio Ivan Lopes and António Miguel Rosado da Cruz

Sustainability 2023, 15(6), 5398; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su15065398 - 17 Mar 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2440

Abstract

The textile and clothing (T&C) value chain is one of the most polluting in the world and one that produces the most waste. It is, therefore, important to encourage the circular economy (CE) model in this sector to reduce pollution, mitigate the effects of waste production, and, consequently, increase environmental sustainability. Leveraging end-consumer engagement in a CE mindset in the T&C sector is crucial, as they are the last player in a typical linear value chain. Therefore, a platform that supports and promotes sustainable tasks to manage one’s fashion products, through the use of gamification techniques, can be of utmost importance. In this article, we identify impactful carbon footprint consumer actions and solutions for the T&C consumer phase. After that, we survey gamification frameworks for analyzing techniques, at the system design level, which enable the engagement of the final consumer in the CE process. Then, we select and use one of such frameworks, Gameful Design Heuristics (GDH), for defining the gamification structure needed to implement on a business-to-consumer-to-consumer (B2C2C) context of a circular economy process, linking it to the aforementioned actions and solutions. As result, we present a B2C2C circular business process model for the T&C value chain and propose the design model of a gamified platform for the final consumers, which allows them to register the consumer-to-business (C2B) and consumer-to-consumer (C2C) activities, from the circular value chain’s business process, and benefit from a game-like experience. All the model features have been mapped to the GDH framework heuristics, validating that it is possible to support a set of defined heuristics of applied gamification for promoting CE in the T&C value chain. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Business Digital Transformation Processes toward Circular Economy and Sustainability)

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24 pages, 1360 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fashion Digital Transformation: Innovating Business Models toward Circular Economy and Sustainability

by Chiara Colombi and Erminia D’Itria

Sustainability 2023, 15(6), 4942; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su15064942 - 10 Mar 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 5800

Abstract

The fashion industry is at a stage of profound transformation of its operating paradigm. Because of their stakeholders’ pressure, companies have begun to pursue strategic solutions that include sustainability as a guiding principle. Such strategies push for effective organizational solutions and production models that take into consideration the conservation of the planet’s resources, respect for people, and the sustainability of their profits. In this context, the fashion industry is now recognizing the circular economy (CE) as the primary BM to address sustainability-related industry issues. The authors have adopted a specific technological-driven perspective that attempts to analyze today’s context and map digitally driven practices in European fashion companies. These practices are emerging to support fashion organizations so that they can focus their sustainability agendas and better implement circular BMs. This perspective is consistent with the current fashion context, where digital transformation is recognized as an asset that could transform the industry into a more sustainable business. This proposed objective is realized through an iterative process of modeling data. The BMIs identified here are grouped according to Bocken’s eight archetypes: maximize material and energy efficiency; create value from ‘waste’; substitute with renewables and natural processes; deliver functionality rather than ownership; adopt a stewardship role; encourage sufficiency; re-purpose the business for society/the environment and develop scale-up solutions. They guide the authors in modeling mechanisms and solutions that help build business innovations that work to ensure circularity. Analyzing the current best practices, this article introduces a taxonomy that highlights current approaches that lead to incremental changes toward CE through digital solutions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Business Digital Transformation Processes toward Circular Economy and Sustainability)

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26 pages, 1181 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Organizational Maturity and Sustainability Orientation Influence on DMS Life Cycle—Case Analysis

by Sandra Jordan and Simona Sternad Zabukovšek

Sustainability 2023, 15(5), 4308; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su15054308 - 28 Feb 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1622

Abstract

The topic of the article addresses the management of the document management system (DMS), which represents one of the important steps for organizations to speed up the implementation of business processes, achieve better control over documents, and ensure safer operations. When implementing and using DMS, the importance of the organization’s maturity shall not be forgotten, as it gives the organization a framework to evaluate and improve the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the organization’s DMS, which can contribute to better decision-making and increased productivity. On the other hand, sustainable-oriented organizations are likely to show interest in choosing, implementing, and using DMS. In the article, the impact of an organization’s maturity and the role of sustainability on the DMS lifecycle are researched. Results are presented based on a case analysis of Company X. Supporting the case analysis, structured interviews with the project leader on the clients’ and the project leader on the providers’ side have been performed, which shall give a deeper insight into DMS implementation and the importance of sustainability and organizational maturity, resulting in more successful DMS implementation and use. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Business Digital Transformation Processes toward Circular Economy and Sustainability)

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23 pages, 573 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Does the Digital Economy Promote Domestic Non-Tradable Sectors?: Evidence from China

by Chunying Cui and Ziwei Yan

Sustainability 2023, 15(3), 2617; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su15032617 - 01 Feb 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1579

Abstract

The impact of the digital economy (DE) has become the important faction of the market volume of domestic non-tradable sectors (DNSs). As rising digitalization supersedes traditional market power as a driving force, there is increasing concern about the volume of trade and economy; however, the literature of how the DE procession changed the DNS’s are limited, although the Chinese government is eager to enlarge the scale of the domestic market to be consistent with the trend of digitalization. This paper addressed this issue by employing a series of data from prefecture-level cities between 2010 and 2019 in China. Using panel data methods under fixed effect, synthetic difference-in-differences (SDID), and temporal-spatial econometrics, the paper’s hypothesis sheds light on the positive impact of the DE on DNSs. The regression results showed a 14.84% of improvement for the effects of DE development on DNS growth. The policy impact effect increased the average treatment effect by 3.9% average treatment effect, accompanied by temporal and spatial correlations. Further analysis illustrated that a possible intermediary mechanism through which the DE promotes the development of DNSs is the enhancement of the local product market development. It was concluded that policy-makers of developing countries should be devoted to breaking down domestic trade barriers among different regions to enhance the benefits of digitalization. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Business Digital Transformation Processes toward Circular Economy and Sustainability)

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18 pages, 3312 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Model for Sustainable Financial Planning and Investment Financing Using Monte Carlo Method

by Alica Tobisova, Andrea Senova and Robert Rozenberg

Sustainability 2022, 14(14), 8785; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14148785 - 18 Jul 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2760

Abstract

The article deals with current issues of finance and investment planning with a selective focus on financial decision-making processes using sophisticated software tools. The article has a special significance in this period when it is necessary to re-evaluate and consider ways of appropriate and effective investment and financial policy in view of the restrictions in enterprises in Slovakia, which brings with it the global pandemic COVID-19 or another crisis in enterprises. The aim of the article is to propose a methodology as a tool for streamlining the investment activities of companies. The proposed methodology combines the usability of traditional and modern economic methods, making it an important tool for the sustainability and competitiveness of enterprises. Three variants of investment decisions in the enterprise were simulated using simulation in terms of two approaches. The first approach focuses on mathematical–economic calculations of deterministic modeling through traditional software tools. The second stochastic modeling uses the simulation of financial risks using a modern software tool using the Monte Carlo method. The output is the creation of a graphical management model in the form of an algorithm. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Business Digital Transformation Processes toward Circular Economy and Sustainability)

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