Analysis of performance outcomes of circular economy based on its success factors in Industry 4.0: a fuzzy AHP–CoCoSo approach

Purpose The adoption of better sustainable operations has become vital for industries in recent years. Effective sustainability is intended to be achieved through the circular economy (CE), a paradigm that encourages a closed-loop based usage of resources. Certain factors are critically important for the successful implementation of CE. Hence, this study aims to identify and analyse the critical success factors and potential performance outcomes that might be accomplished by the successful adoption of these success factors in CE. After a systematic literature review and expert opinion, a total of 29 critical success factors (CSFs) and 10 potential performance outcomes were identified. Design/methodology/approach Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (F-AHP) technique was used for calculating the weights of CSFs. Furthermore, the fuzzy Combined Compromised Solution (F-CoCoSo) method was used to evaluate the ranks of potential performance outcomes. Findings The study demonstrated that “regulatory and legal framework” is the most important success factor, followed by “the top management leadership”, while “Increasing the product's lifespan and adding value” is the top-ranked potential performance outcome. Originality/value This study offers a solution for achieving the CE model in the Industry 4.0 (I4.0) era. Organizations, governments and policy makers may use these rankings to decide the focus areas in emerging sectors. Academically, this research advances understanding of performance management by applying an integrated multi-criteria decision-making approach to evaluate CE implementation with I4.0. Graphical abstract A flowchart of literature survey, C E C S F s, decision approval, F-A H P, F-Co Co So, sensitivity analysis, and end. The flowchart starts at the top left with a horizontal dotted box labeled “Literature Survey and expert opinion.” The box has three horizontal icons. The icon on the left of a front-to-back stack of papers, with the label “Literature survey.” The middle icon is that of a human, and the right icon is also of a human with a speech bubble labeled “Academicians and industry experts.” A downward arrow with a 90-degree bend leads to a vertical dotted box on the left with two vertically arranged boxes. The top ox has the text “Identifying the C E C S F s” and the bottom box has the text “Identifying the potential performance outcomes due C S F s of C E.” A rightward arrow leads to a diamond labeled “Approve decision hierarchy.” It has two arrows. The arrow at the top labeled “No” loops back to “Literature Survey.” The arrow labeled “Yes” leads right to a dashed box labeled “F-A H P” containing two horizontally arranged rounded rectangles labeled “Development of Hierarchical structure of C S F s” and “Calculation of weights of C S F s of C E using fuzzy A H P.” To the right of this box, a diamond labeled “Approve decision hierarchy” has arrows labeled “No” looping back to “Literature Survey” and “Yes” leading to a dashed box labeled “F-Co Co So.” The box “F-Co Co So” contains two horizontal rounded rectangles labeled “Prioritize the alternatives (Rank the P P O s)” and “Weights calculation of alternatives (P P O) using fuzzy Co Co So.” A left arrow from this box points to a dashed box labeled “Sensitivity Analysis” containing two rounded rectangles labeled “Change the weights of C S F s” on the right, with a left arrow pointing to “Perform sensitivity analysis to identify the best P P O” on the left. A downward arrow from the left box leads to a small oval labeled “End” below it.