Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore circular economy (CE) initiatives and apply the stimulus-organism-response theory to find the socio-political drivers and enablers of CE in the pharmaceutical industry. CE as a concept was relatively not studied much with respect to socio-political interests from operations management perspectives. This was especially so in the pharmaceutical industry.

Design/methodology/approach

This research study was anchored in the theoretical conversation of stimulus-organism-response theory to find the socio-political interests and enablers of the regenerative CE principles. These were the functions of remanufacturing, reuse and recycle. For this research study, data was collected in two steps. First, eight industry practitioners were interviewed to understand the CE practices in the pharmaceutical industry. Then 166 chiefs of production and operations functions from 124 pharmaceutical companies were surveyed. The quantitative data was empirically analyzed using SmartPLS3 software.

Findings

This research study revealed that pressure from suppliers and other public stakeholders were driving regenerative CE practices in the pharmaceutical industry. The results further stated that CE enablers such as green information technology systems and internal environmental management were critical for making pharmaceutical manufacturing operations circular.

Research limitations/implications

This research study measured the constructs on a formative scale. Studies measuring socio-political interests, CE enablers and sustainability practices constructs on a formative scale were much required for the development of the CE theory. This research study output could be applied across geographies and industries to measure the indicators of CE.

Practical implications

This research study indicated that in the context of the pharmaceutical industry, there was an overemphasis on the remanufacture and reuse principles. However, the focus on recycling principles was mostly subdued. For managers and regulators in the pharmaceutical sector, this research study provided clear insights that for more effective CE implementation. This was based on an effective application of recycling practices in the critical functions in pharmaceutical industry.

Originality/value

Earlier research studies on green and environmental manufacturing were focused on linear production models. To provide clear and robust foundations for CE theory, this research study considered operations management from the perspective of the value chain. This comprised the entire circular production model. Earlier research studies had treated socio-political interests, CE enablers and sustainability practices as reflective constructs. This study was one of the foremost to measure these constructs on a formative scale.

中文翻译：

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生物刺激反应理论视角下的医药循环经济

目的

本研究的目的是探索循环经济 (CE) 倡议，并应用刺激-有机体-反应理论来寻找制药行业循环经济的社会政治驱动因素和促成因素。从运营管理的角度来看，CE 作为一个概念在社会政治利益方面的研究相对较少。在制药行业尤其如此。

设计/方法/方法

这项研究以刺激-有机体-反应理论的理论对话为基础，以寻找再生 CE 原则的社会政治利益和推动力。这些是再制造、再利用和回收的功能。对于这项研究，数据分两步收集。首先，采访了八位行业从业者，了解制药行业的 CE 实践。随后对来自124家制药企业的166名生产经营职能负责人进行了调查。定量数据使用 SmartPLS3 软件进行经验分析。

发现

这项研究表明，来自供应商和其他公共利益相关者的压力正在推动制药行业的再生 CE 实践。结果进一步表明，绿色信息技术系统和内部环境管理等 CE 促成因素对于使药品制造运营循环化至关重要。

研究限制/影响

这项研究在形成性尺度上测量了这些结构。CE 理论的发展非常需要在形成性尺度上衡量社会政治利益、CE 促成因素和可持续性实践结构的研究。该研究成果可应用于跨地区和跨行业来衡量 CE 的指标。

实际影响

这项研究表明，在制药行业的背景下，过分强调再制造和再利用原则。然而，对回收原则的关注大多受到抑制。对于制药行业的管理者和监管者而言，这项研究提供了清晰的见解，有助于更有效地实施 CE。这是基于在制药行业的关键功能中有效应用回收实践。

原创性/价值

早期关于绿色和环境制造的研究主要集中在线性生产模型上。为了给 CE 理论提供清晰而有力的基础，本研究从价值链的角度考虑了运营管理。这包括整个循环生产模型。早期的研究将社会政治利益、CE 推动因素和可持续性实践视为反思性结构。这项研究是在形成性尺度上衡量这些结构的最重要的研究之一。