Exploring the intersection of Industry 4.0 technologies, circular economy, and sustainable performance: A systematic literature review and future research directions

Recent literature highlights the pivotal role of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies in enhancing sustainable performance (SP) and facilitating the implementation of a circular economy (CE). Despite this acknowledged significance, a comprehensive understanding of their role in bridging the pivotal inte...

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Main Authors: Than'a Alsaoudi, Adolf Acquaye, Vikas Swarnakar, Malik Khalfan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-07-01
Series:Heliyon
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844025019152
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author Than'a Alsaoudi
Adolf Acquaye
Vikas Swarnakar
Malik Khalfan
author_facet Than'a Alsaoudi
Adolf Acquaye
Vikas Swarnakar
Malik Khalfan
author_sort Than'a Alsaoudi
collection DOAJ
description Recent literature highlights the pivotal role of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies in enhancing sustainable performance (SP) and facilitating the implementation of a circular economy (CE). Despite this acknowledged significance, a comprehensive understanding of their role in bridging the pivotal intersection between CE and SP remains underexplored. This study addresses this gap through a systematic literature review (SLR), which examines the intersection of CE, SP, and I4.0 technologies. Our findings reveal that I4.0 technologies significantly impact the connection between CE and SP by improving performance metrics such as resource optimization, waste reduction, and product safety. Additionally, this paper identifies unexplored research gaps regarding the role of I4.0 in integrating CE practices with SP. It also offers direction for future research by investigating how these concepts align with the broader trend of digitalization. Finally, a conceptual framework is presented to provide an overview of the current status of knowledge on integrating I4.0 technologies, CE, and SP, along with potential future research directions in the field.
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issn 2405-8440
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publisher Elsevier
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spelling doaj-art-4de107f902894de4bb523ec0c62a40472025-08-20T02:37:02ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402025-07-011112e4352910.1016/j.heliyon.2025.e43529Exploring the intersection of Industry 4.0 technologies, circular economy, and sustainable performance: A systematic literature review and future research directionsThan'a Alsaoudi0Adolf Acquaye1Vikas Swarnakar2Malik Khalfan3Department of Management Science and Engineering, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, United Arab EmiratesDepartment of Management Science and Engineering, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; The Research and Innovation Center on CO2 and Hydrogen (RICH), Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; Corresponding author. Department of Management Science and Engineering, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.Department of Management Science and Engineering, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, United Arab EmiratesDepartment of Management Science and Engineering, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, United Arab EmiratesRecent literature highlights the pivotal role of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies in enhancing sustainable performance (SP) and facilitating the implementation of a circular economy (CE). Despite this acknowledged significance, a comprehensive understanding of their role in bridging the pivotal intersection between CE and SP remains underexplored. This study addresses this gap through a systematic literature review (SLR), which examines the intersection of CE, SP, and I4.0 technologies. Our findings reveal that I4.0 technologies significantly impact the connection between CE and SP by improving performance metrics such as resource optimization, waste reduction, and product safety. Additionally, this paper identifies unexplored research gaps regarding the role of I4.0 in integrating CE practices with SP. It also offers direction for future research by investigating how these concepts align with the broader trend of digitalization. Finally, a conceptual framework is presented to provide an overview of the current status of knowledge on integrating I4.0 technologies, CE, and SP, along with potential future research directions in the field.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844025019152Industry 4.0 technologiesDigitalizationCircular economySustainable performance
spellingShingle Than'a Alsaoudi
Adolf Acquaye
Vikas Swarnakar
Malik Khalfan
Exploring the intersection of Industry 4.0 technologies, circular economy, and sustainable performance: A systematic literature review and future research directions
Heliyon
Industry 4.0 technologies
Digitalization
Circular economy
Sustainable performance
title Exploring the intersection of Industry 4.0 technologies, circular economy, and sustainable performance: A systematic literature review and future research directions
title_full Exploring the intersection of Industry 4.0 technologies, circular economy, and sustainable performance: A systematic literature review and future research directions
title_fullStr Exploring the intersection of Industry 4.0 technologies, circular economy, and sustainable performance: A systematic literature review and future research directions
title_full_unstemmed Exploring the intersection of Industry 4.0 technologies, circular economy, and sustainable performance: A systematic literature review and future research directions
title_short Exploring the intersection of Industry 4.0 technologies, circular economy, and sustainable performance: A systematic literature review and future research directions
title_sort exploring the intersection of industry 4 0 technologies circular economy and sustainable performance a systematic literature review and future research directions
topic Industry 4.0 technologies
Digitalization
Circular economy
Sustainable performance
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844025019152
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AT adolfacquaye exploringtheintersectionofindustry40technologiescirculareconomyandsustainableperformanceasystematicliteraturereviewandfutureresearchdirections
AT vikasswarnakar exploringtheintersectionofindustry40technologiescirculareconomyandsustainableperformanceasystematicliteraturereviewandfutureresearchdirections
AT malikkhalfan exploringtheintersectionofindustry40technologiescirculareconomyandsustainableperformanceasystematicliteraturereviewandfutureresearchdirections