Digital Government and the Circular Economy: Towards an Analytical Framework

Abstract

Circular economy is high on the political agenda, with governments at all levels setting ambitious goals to move away from traditional linear production models, where goods are used and disposed as waste, towards a future with less use of virgin raw materials, and where valuable materials at a product end-of-life are returned as raw materials or in an environmentally-friendly way to the biosphere. While circular economy is gaining a lot of attention on a policy level, the role that digital government can play to facilitate the circular economy transition is largely unexplored. We carry out a review of existing literature in the fields of digital government and Information Systems (IS) to identify the roles played by digital government in the circular economy. Based on an analysis of 54 empirical research articles, we identify foci and gaps in relation to the different types of roles played by government (nodality, authority, treasure, and organization), to stages of the Product Life Cycle (preuse, in-use, and post-use), and to types of digital technology focused on. Based on these findings, we present an analytical framework to guide future research on digital government in relation to the circular economy, and exemplify the use of the framework drawing on examples from circular economy initiatives in the automotive industry.