Engaging stakeholders in the circular economy: A systematic literature review

Abstract

Stakeholder networks in the circular economy (CE) address sustainable production and consumption within a regenerative system. Thus, studying stakeholder interactions within these networks provides essential insight into action urgently required to help businesses foster more harmony between human activity and nature. However, management literature on CE lacks an appropriate analytical lens on stakeholder engagement. To overcome this gap, we conducted a systematic literature review that integrated qualitative content analysis of management research on CE to untangle the complexity of stakeholder interactions in CE. We identify specific aims, activities, and impacts of stakeholder engagement in CE according to their moral, strategic, and pragmatic components. Pragmatic stakeholder engagement dominates our sample, but the research illustrates that embracing moral and strategic stakeholder engagement is equally vital to leveraging stakeholder relationship synergies in CE. Our categorisation of stakeholder engagement in CE provides an overview for researchers and managers and points to the value of the underlying stakeholder network logic for collaboratively addressing environmental challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss. Correspondingly, we enhance understanding of the intersection of stakeholder engagement with CE management literature and provide an agenda for future research.