The circular economy concept is popular among developed countries contributing to sustainable production, efficient resource utilization, a new economic model, and higher skill job creation. In production and consumption, it is inevitable in our modern life that we are used to the traditional linear economy cradle-to-cradle model. With the gap in developing countries within the Southeast Asia region, this research aims to understand the motivators and barriers to circular economy business model adoption among the manufacturing firms in Malaysia. Subsequently, the impact of sustainable production will be studied based on the circular economy business model adoption. Using the Theory of Planned Behavior and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling, this study assesses the responses of 102 respondents from various industries with environmental management systems within Malaysia. Survey-based primary data was gathered to understand motivators and barriers that negatively influence the circular economy business adoption, affecting sustainable production. The findings show that motivators have a positive impact while barriers have a negative impact on circular economy business model adoption. Apart from the barriers and motivators, the research also assesses the level of circular economy adoption among manufacturing firms with certified environmental management systems. This implies a general overview for manufacturing firms in Malaysia regarding circular economy adoption and contributes to the studies done in developing nations. In conclusion, motivators positively impact the adoption of the circular economy business model, while barriers have a negative effect. In addition, adopting the circular economy model has a positive relationship with sustainable production.
In recent years, the concept of a circular economy (CE) has gained importance and attracted significant attention among scholars and practitioners. Research that examines the firm's supply chain capabilities and orientation for performance is well established nonetheless still lacking in supporting the transition from a linear economy to a circular economy. The firms can foster a closed-loop supply chain orientation (CLSCO) through strategic green capabilities as an alternative obtainable to SC firms to achieve CE performance. Thus, this study is interested to examine the antecedents and outcomes of CLSCO by applying the Resource-Based View and Natural Resource-Based View theories. In total, 150 Malaysian manufacturers responded to the survey and were analysed using the SEM Lisrel method. Among the hypotheses tested, only one had no direct effect on CLSCO, and that was the recovery capacities. The remaining hypothesis indicates that CLSCO is positively affected by integration and production capabilities. In contrast, the results of CLSCO indicate that the extent of a company's CLSCO does affect its success in the circular economy. The study concludes, based on the RBV and NRBV principles, that the success of firms in optimising their resources would enable them to use the CLSCO and attain CE performance. Thus, there are numerous ways in which this study can provide practitioners with valuable research insights.