Measuring Circular Economy at Micro Level: A Scale Development Study

Yıl 2025, Cilt: 18 Sayı: 4, 1052 - 1072, 27.10.2025

Barlas Armatlı , Halim Kazan

Öz

A circular economy (CE) is an economic model that shifts away from the conventional end-of-life approach by incorporating strategies like reducing, reusing, and recycling. This model aims to enhance environmental quality, economic prosperity, and social equity across generations. While CE has gained growing attention as a pathway to sustainable development, its implementation at the firm level remains difficult to assess due to the lack of a validated measurement tool. This study fills this gap by developing a scale to evaluate CE implementation in industrial firms. Through a comprehensive literature review, an initial pool of 113 items was generated and refined through expert evaluations, resulting in a 65-item questionnaire. Data were collected from 295 professionals working in relevant departments of industrial firms in Türkiye. The results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed a reliable and valid four-dimensional structure consisting of digital technologies, reverse logistics, consumer-oriented activities, and resource conservation, with a total of 17 items. The scale captures a range of CE-related practices that are often embedded in operations but not explicitly labeled as circular. It offers a conceptual focus for assessing CE efforts at the firm level and supports ongoing theoretical development in the domain.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Circular Economy , Sustainability , Industrial Firms , Scale Development

Döngüsel Ekonominin Firma Seviyesinde Ölçümlenmesi: Ölçek Geliştirme Çalışması

Öz

Döngüsel ekonomi (DE), geleneksel ekonomik sistemde “al-kullan-at” kullanım ömrünün sonlandırılması yaklaşımından uzaklaşarak, azaltma, yeniden kullanım ve geri dönüşüm gibi stratejileri benimseyen bir ekonomik modeldir. Bu model, nesilden nesile çevresel kaliteyi, ekonomik refahı ve sosyal eşitliği artırmayı hedeflemektedir. Her ne kadar DE sürdürülebilir kalkınma için giderek daha fazla benimsenen bir yol olarak öne çıksa da işletme düzeyindeki uygulamalarını değerlendirmek, geçerliliği kanıtlanmış ve üzerinde görüş birliğine varılmış bir ölçüm aracının eksikliği nedeniyle hâlâ güçlük arz etmektedir. Bu çalışma, sanayi işletmelerinde DE uygulamalarını değerlendirmek üzere bir ölçek geliştirerek söz konusu boşluğu doldurmayı amaçlamaktadır. Kapsamlı bir literatür taramasıyla oluşturulan 113 maddelik ön madde havuzu, uzman görüşleriyle gözden geçirilmiş ve 65 maddelik bir anket haline getirilmiştir. Türkiye’deki sanayi işletmelerinin ilgili bölümlerinde görev yapan 295 profesyonelden anket yoluyla veri elde edilmiştir. Keşfedici ve doğrulayıcı faktör analizleri sonucunda; dijital teknolojiler, tersine lojistik, tüketici odaklı faaliyetler ve kaynak koruma olmak üzere dört boyut ve toplam 17 maddeden oluşan güvenilir ve geçerli bir yapı ortaya konmuştur. Ölçek, firmalarda hâlihazırda uygulanan ancak açıkça DE kapsamında tanımlanmayan çeşitli uygulamaları kapsamaktadır. Bu yönüyle, işletme düzeyindeki DE çabalarının değerlendirilmesine kavramsal odak sağlayarak alandaki kuramsal gelişimi desteklemektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Döngüsel Ekonomi , Sürdürülebilirlik , Sanayi İşletmeleri , Ölçek Geliştirme

Kaynakça

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