Mapping The Intellectual Landscape Of Circular Economy and Circular Business Models: A Bibliometric Analysis Approach

The paper explores the dynamic field of circular economy and circular business models, analyzing the most influential and highly-cited papers and authors to provide an up-to-date overview of the research landscape by consolidating insights from leading publications and scholars. Using data from the Web of Science database, the paper scrutinizes 528 scientific articles published between 2004 and 2023, demonstrating a notable annual growth rate of 22.73%, which highlights the importance and relevance of the field of circular economy and circular business models. This paper conducts a comprehensive and objective literature review using bibliometric analysis to uncover prevailing topics and trends in the fields of the circular economy and the circular business model. The analysis identifies the ten most influential papers, allowing for a synthesis of the current state of the field. The results of the research are divided into two parts. The first part examines the dominant themes and research methodologies in the selected papers. The second part offers a critical analysis of the consolidated knowledge, organized around three dominant themes: conceptualizing the circular economy, transforming linear business models into circular ones, and designing products to promote the circular economy. Nevertheless, the paper identifies several challenges within the field, including the need for practical applications and evaluations of circular business models across different industrial and geographical contexts and the incorporation of social aspects into the circular economy. Future research directions should focus on understanding the factors affecting the efficiency and implementation of