This study aims to examine how strategic workforce capability, stakeholder pressure, and sustainability-driven innovation collectively influence circular entrepreneurship within SMEs. A mixed-methods approach was employed, integrating quantitative analysis using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) on 570 SME respondents and qualitative thematic coding from semi-structured interviews. Additional qualitative insights were used to triangulate and enrich the interpretation of quantitative findings. The results reveal that strategic workforce capability serves as the foundation of circular transformation by fostering employee participation, creativity, and continuous improvement. Sustainability-driven innovation acts as the core mechanism that translates workforce competence into eco-efficient processes and circular business outcomes. Stakeholder pressure significantly strengthens the innovation process by encouraging alignment with customer expectations and regulatory demands. The integrated findings confirm that innovation mediates the relationship between workforce capability and circular entrepreneurship, highlighting a dynamic interplay between human capital, innovation, and external influence. This research contributes to advancing circular economy literature by demonstrating how workforce empowerment and innovation synergy can transform SMEs into sustainable, resilient enterprises, offering both theoretical insights and practical guidance for promoting circular entrepreneurship across developing economies.
Circular community waste-to-biogas systems are increasingly promoted as decentralized solutions for organic waste valorization and low-carbon energy generation in emerging economies. However, their decarbonization performance is often constrained by interconnected institutional, financial, technical, and socio-behavioral barriers that remain structurally underexplored. This study proposes an integrated Entropy–DEMATEL–Root Cause Analysis (RCA) framework to structurally prioritize and diagnose barriers within circular community waste-to-biogas supply chains. Entropy weighting quantifies informational significance, DEMATEL maps causal interdependencies, and RCA establishes hierarchical transmission pathways to identify upstream root causes and downstream effects. The results reveal that institutional weaknesses, particularly regulatory inconsistency and fragmented governance, act as dominant driving factors that propagate financial and operational instability. Financial constraints and investment uncertainty function as transmission mechanisms linking governance gaps to technical inefficiencies. Socio-environmental issues, including methane leakage risks and community resistance, emerge primarily as downstream consequences rather than independent drivers. By integrating quantitative prioritization with hierarchical causal diagnosis, this study advances structural decarbonization analysis in circular supply chains and provides a replicable decision-support framework for sustainable renewable energy transitions in emerging economies.
This study aims to develop and apply a Sustainable Lean Six Sigma (SLSS) framework to improve sustainable manufacturing performance in the concrete paving block (CPB) industry. The research employs the DMAIC methodology, combining SIPOC and Delphi validation at the Define stage, Manufacturing Sustainability Index (MSI) and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)-based weighting at the Measure stage, and a traffic light system at the Analyze stage to identify critical inefficiencies. Improvement priorities were determined using Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) and TOPSIS, while the Control phase utilized check sheets to sustain corrective actions. The findings reveal six indicators with efficiency scores below 80
The rapid growth of electric vehicles presents a major decarbonization opportunity, yet environmental benefits depend on sustainable end-of-life battery management. This study identifies and analyzes critical success factors (CSFs) for second-life EV battery supply chains using an innovative sequential framework integrating Best-Worst Method (BWM), DEMATEL, and Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA). Unlike single-method approaches, our framework first applies BWM to derive robust CSF importance weights, then employs DEMATEL to map causal interdependencies and distinguish driving from dependent factors, and finally integrates these outputs into a modified FMEA that prioritizes operational failure modes based on strategic importance and systemic influence. Expert judgments from industry and academia were synthesized. Results reveal accurate state-of-health diagnostics, regulatory compliance, and proactive safety management as the most critical causal drivers. High-priority failure modes include incorrect battery assessment and thermal hazards, which risk operational safety and net carbon savings. Decarbonization is not automatic but depends on mitigating interconnected risks through robust governance. By linking strategic CSF weights and causal structures to operational risk priorities, this framework provides a holistic, risk-informed decision-support tool for managers and policymakers to de-risk investment and accelerate circular, low-carbon battery ecosystems.
Hydrogen is pivotal for decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors, yet its supply chains face complex, interdependent risks that can undermine environmental and operational goals. This study aims to evaluate and structurally model these systemic risks to inform resilient and low-carbon hydrogen deployment. An integrated FMEA-ISM-MICMAC framework is employed, first prioritizing risks via Failure Mode and Effects Analysis and then mapping their causal hierarchies using Interpretive Structural Modeling and MICMAC classification. The analysis identifies insufficient production infrastructure, technological immaturity, and regulatory uncertainty as independent driver risks with high systemic influence. These foundational constraints propagate instability through linkage variables like supply-demand imbalance, ultimately causing dependent operational failures. The findings reveal that system vulnerability stems not from isolated events but from upstream institutional misalignment. Consequently, effective governance must shift from reactive mitigation to proactive intervention at these strategic root causes. This research contributes a validated, systems-based framework that prioritizes strategic leverage points for policymakers and practitioners to enhance the resilience and sustainability of emerging hydrogen economies.
