BIBLIOMETRIC STUDY OF SCIENTIFIC PRODUCTION ON REVERSE LOGISTICS OF ELECTRO-ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT

Reverse logistics is an area of business logistics that plans, operates and controls the flow of goods and information, using reverse channels to increase competitive advantage, based on environmental management strategies, reuse strategies, positive image reinforcement and economic importance. Since the literature on the reverse logistics of electronic equipment is still very restricted, the objective of this article is to investigate the advance of scientific knowledge about the reverse logistics of electronic equipment through bibliometric indicators of scientific production. Among the results of the research, we highlight that there is an increase in the number of publications from 2008, with an average of 166 articles per year from that date; the most productive countries are China, the United States and Germany, responsible for more than 64% of the recovered production; and the Chinese Academy of Science, Tsinghua University and Shantou University are the scientific institutions that publish the most on this subject. Waste Management, Environmental Science & Technology and Resources Conservation and Recycling, which account for 20% of the total number of publications, are the most frequent journals. In this way, it is possible to perceive an increasing tendency of interest on the subject, since companies, governments and consumers are increasingly pressured in the adoption of actions that seek to reduce the impact on the environment, provoking studies and debates on the reverse logistics and other sustainable practices.