Circular economy and critical barriers: Mapping the pathways and success metrics for sustainable circular success in industrialised South Asian developing nations

The economy of a developing country is often industry centric, and is recognised globally. The circular economy (CE) model involves a manufacturing approach where products are systematically remanufactured and recycled within facilities to minimize waste. The emerging domain of CE in industrialised South Asian economies offers considerable benefits for developing countries due to its sustainable production, although its adoption is obstructed by various barriers. This research aims to develop a model for adopting CE within the industrial sector of South Asian developing nations by analysing the interrelation between overcoming circular economy adoption barriers (CEABs) and sustainable circular success (SCS). To attain this, questionnaire was completed by 310 industrial experts in Pakistan. Furthermore, a partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) approach was employed to specify the barriers and inspect the interrelation between overcoming CEABs and SCS. The findings revealed a high correlation, with addressing the CEABs contributing 66.1 % to the SCS of the industrial sector. The results of this study indicate the outer loadings and average variance extracted values for all constructs surpassed the minimum threshold of 0.5, validating their acceptance. Moreover, the constructs in the study were measured reliably, exceeding a value of 0.8, which signify strong internal consistency. Additionally, the average path coefficient value (β) of 0.172 indicates a medium and positive correlation between CEABs and SCS. The study's findings can be used as a reference for policymakers to explore the primary barriers to CE adoption in developing nations and achieve SCS in industrial projects. • The study identifies critical factors for circular economy success in developing nations. • Derives insights from literature review and feedback from 310 industrial stakeholders. • Utilizes PLS-SEM to evaluate circular economy barriers and their impacts. • A unified approach to address the complex challenges in circular adoption. • Presents a validated framework for practitioners to tackle circular economy issues.