Trends in scientific production in the area of ​​digital technologies and circular economy

Abstract

Digital technologies are becoming increasingly involved with business’ operations, organizations, and society at large. Their integration aims to streamline resource allocation, refine process efficiency, and facilitate decision-making processes, with a reduced need for human intervention. In the context of a circular economy, these technologies have the potential to enhance resource distribution practices, diminish waste generation, and enable reutilization and recycling efforts. From this perspective, interest arises in analyzing the evolution of digital technologies and the circular economy, taking into account the scientific and academic publications made in this area worldwide.  This research presents an analysis of the most prominent trends in academic literature, focusing on technical and scientific information published in peer-reviewed sources worldwide. To accomplish this, in the study diverse techniques were applied, including bibliographic review, bibliometric analysis, and content analysis. These methodologies were used to evaluate literature published in specialized journals and conferences during the study period from 2018 to 2022. The study's most relevant findings reveal that both the scientific and academic communities are progressively invested in exploring the interplay between digital technologies and the circular economy. These findings indicate that digital technologies hold immense potential as enablers and drivers of circular economy practices worldwide. For this research digital technologies considered were those related to artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, blockchain technology, digital twins, additive manufacturing or 3D printing, robotics, big data, cloud computing, machine learning, cyber-physical systems, and augmented reality.