Integrating Circular Economy and Industry 4.0 within Circular Supply Chains: A Literature Review and Network Analysis Insights

The incorporation of Circular Economy (CE) principles into the Industry 4.0 (I4.0) paradigm has gained significant attention recently from both industry practitioners and academic researchers. However, there are a limited number of studies that have considered the evolution of CE within I4.0 in the context of circular supply chains (CSCs). The research described in this paper analyses 157 publications using a multi-layered networks approach. This approach develops weighted and normalised graphs to accurately identify emerging trends and to highlight research gaps. Here, I4.0 technologies and CE strategies are treated as two distinct networks. Complex network measures are applied to evaluate the centrality and the significance of concepts, while the link prediction technique is used to identify trends and research gaps. The results indicate a strong focus on blockchain (BC), big data (BD) and the Internet of Things (IoT), while artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) and digital twins (DT) have seen notable growth in recent years. In addition, the Recycle CE strategy appears to be well-explored, while the Reduce strategy is gaining focus. Overall, the findings reveal significant trends, highlight research gaps, and provide insights into future research directions.