Alessandro Creazza

While Blockchain Technology (BCT) is widely touted as an enabler for the Circular Economy (CE), engineering managers lack structured tools to evaluate which technical features align with specific circular strategies. This article presents a practical decision-support framework using the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). Integrating the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework with the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), we prioritize BCT characteristics such as immutability, transparency, and smart contracts across six key circular practices. Results from a panel of domain experts indicate that while transparency is universally critical, specific features like cryptography are nonnegotiable for Digital Product Passports (DPP) but less relevant for material recovery. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis reveals that deploying blockchain as a Decision Support System offers higher organizational utility than purely financial use cases. This study provides a quantifiable roadmap for technology leaders to de-risk blockchain adoption in sustainable supply chains.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have the potential to enhance logistics processes by reducing environmental impacts, improving economic efficiency, and increasing service levels. However, successfully integrating UAVs requires understanding not only their technological capabilities but also the sociotechnical interactions that shape their adoption. Existing research provides a limited overview of UAVs' influencing factors (IFs), primarily emphasizing technological characteristics or consumer acceptance while overlooking their broader interdependencies. Drawing on Sociotechnical Systems (STS) theory, this study investigates UAV adoption as a complex system integrating social and technical components, with a specific focus on middle- and last-mile logistics. A systematic literature review, complemented by an integrative review of grey literature, identified 13 IFs, which were subsequently structured using Total Interpretive Structural Modeling (TISM) and MICMAC analysis and further interpreted through expert interviews. The findings reveal that technological maturity and environmental impact constitute the primary system drivers, influencing regulatory, infrastructural, organizational, and stakeholder-related factors through hierarchical sociotechnical relationships. Furthermore, the results show that social factors primarily affect adoption through indirect mechanisms by shaping organizational readiness, stakeholder collaboration, and the institutional conditions under which technological capabilities translate into successful implementation. By operationalizing STS theory into an explanatory framework, this study advances understanding of why UAV adoption follows different trajectories across logistics contexts. The findings also provide logistics practitioners and policymakers with a structured basis for prioritizing technological investments, infrastructure development, stakeholder engagement, and regulatory coordination to support successful UAV integration.

In fashion e‐commerce, about one in three orders is returned; however, firms keep offering free, fast returns driving these volumes even as they acknowledge the economic and environmental costs. Why do inefficient return practices persist? We argue that the answer is not a failure to optimize but a collective trap in which no single actor can afford to break away alone. Adopting a supply chain perspective and drawing on Extended Institutional Theory (EIT), through a qualitative multiple‐case study of Italian fashion e‐commerce firms, we examine how the interaction of legitimacy‐seeking and profit‐seeking logics across producers, retailers, and logistics and transport providers reproduces these practices. Upstream legitimacy‐driven decisions, aimed at maintaining high service levels, propagate downstream through contractual‐operational constraints, limiting the autonomy of logistics and transport providers. These interdependencies generate reinforcing decision‐making loops stabilizing dominant return practices, notwithstanding their inefficiencies. The study identifies outcome‐based imitation mechanisms, such as omnichannel return management, return consolidation, and differentiated return policies, as levers to disrupt these loops and enhance eco‐efficiency while maintaining legitimacy. The paper extends EIT to supply chain contexts and offers prescriptive insights. Practically, it highlights the need for sector‐based actions to rebalance legitimacy and profit motives for sustainable returns management.

Food waste is a sustainability concern in the food industry, which can be mitigated through a circular economy. Circularity can be limited by contextual constraints, such as the characteristics of the waste to be recovered. However, their study in the context of food waste is scarce. Through contingency theory, this work explores which food waste flow characteristics (homogeneous quality, certain timing, sufficient quantity, economic value, and nutritional value) play a role in achieving high circular economy performance. The food waste flows generated by 15 Italian food manufacturing firms are analyzed with qualitative comparative analysis (QCA). The analysis reveals that only a few characteristics may be sufficient for high circular economy performance. The characteristics are contingency factors: Depending on the recognized contingencies, firms may decide to prevent or recover food waste flows out of convenience, necessity, or because of ethics. To improve their circular economy performance, firms can also modify the contingencies themselves.

Purpose: While blockchain technology (BCT) is recognized for its potential, its adoption among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) remains limited. Existing literature focuses on large multinational enterprises, leaving a gap in understanding the challenges and opportunities SMEs face. This study aims to explore the adoption of BCT in an Italian manufacturing SME, assessing both the operational and sustainability implications. Design/methodology/approach: This study employs an action research approach grounded in the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology framework. Through iterative phases of research, it examines the key factors influencing blockchain adoption. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with department heads with follow-ups to validate findings. Findings: The research identifies fifteen critical challenges SMEs encounter in adopting BCT, including technological readiness, interoperability with existing systems, regulatory uncertainty and misconceptions stemming from blockchain's association with cryptocurrency. While blockchain offers potential benefits such as enhanced transparency, traceability and automation, its successful adoption requires substantial internal restructuring and stakeholder engagement. The study also highlights BCT's potential to support sustainability initiatives, such as digitalized tracking and paperless invoicing. Originality/value: This study contributes to the literature by shifting the focus from large corporations to SMEs, providing empirical insights into blockchain's real-world applications in a resource-constrained environment. This study is among the few to examine blockchain adoption in SMEs through an action research approach, enabling real-time observation and iterative validation of findings across multiple organizational departments. It underscores the importance of aligning blockchain adoption with business strategy rather than merely following technological trends. Furthermore, the study serves as a practical guide for managers, offering key considerations for evaluating the feasibility of blockchain integration and identifying trade-offs between expected benefits and implementation complexities.