Green logistics driven circular practices adoption in industry 4.0 Era: A moderating effect of institution pressure and supply chain flexibility

The purpose of this study is to understand how green logistics affects Circular Economy (CE) adoption in the era of Industry 4.0 (I4.0). By taking many green initiatives, the logistics sector is showing its serious concern towards environmental issues. Stakeholders look forward to implementing sustainable logistics and circular practices to deal with these critical issues such as waste generation, resource scarcity, use of renewable resources, climate change etc. This study examines the relationships between green logistics practices, I4.0 technologies, and CE adoption The study also examines the moderating effect of institutional pressure and supply chain flexibility on the aforementioned relationships. A total of 162 responses were collected and a Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) method was employed to analyse the data; this method has high predictive power. The results from the study are: a) firms can enhance CE adoption driven by I4.0 technologies with green logistics practices as a mediator b) the moderating effect of supply chain flexibility is found to be significant whereas the moderating effect of institutional pressure is found to be insignificant. This study provides several managerial and theoretical implications.