Integration of Industry 4.0 and Circular Economy as a determinant of sustainable transformation of enterprise value creation chains

The contemporary global economy remains overwhelmingly influenced by the inventions of the Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR 4.0), also referred to as Industry 4.0 (I 4.0). This article examines the potential impact of IR 4.0 inventions on changes in enterprise value-creation processes and their interface with the principles of the Circular Economy (CE) as a sine qua non for the functioning of Sustainable Value Creation Chains (SVCCs).

This article is theoretical and conceptual. It is based on desk research. Predictive and prescriptive analyses played a fundamental role in the research due to the predominantly futurological nature of the considerations.

The research identifies the benefits, threats, and barriers affecting how the IR 4.0 and CE interface is implemented, as well as its significance for establishing SVCCs. The research expands knowledge on this subject and may inspire entrepreneurs to undertake innovative, pro-ecological activities in their enterprises. These reflections may also serve as a basis for further theoretical and practical research.

The originality of the research is demonstrated through its comprehensiveness, i.e. the predicted revolutionary changes arising from applied IR 4.0 inventions combined with CE principles in VCCs and the anticipated effects of this interface.