Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2025, 71(12):633-646 | DOI: 10.17221/277/2024-AGRICECON

Revealing key links between components in the circular economyOriginal Paper

Carmen Eugenia Nastase1, Gabriela Prelipcean1, Carmen Emilia Chasovschi1, Mariana Lupan1, Ruxandra Bejinaru2
1 Department of Economics, Informatics and Business Administration, Faculty of Economics, Administration and Business, 'Stefan cel Mare' University of Suceava, Suceava, Republic of Romania
2 Department of Management and Business Administration, Faculty of Economics, Administration and Business, 'Stefan cel Mare' University of Suceava, Suceava, Republic of Romania

The circular economy (CE) has proven to be an effective solution for sustainable development in the last two decades, especially in the context of multiple crises. As a long-term strategy, business managers are seeking a sustainable business model that harmoniously and efficiently integrates prosperity, social security, and resource conservation. This research highlights the essential role of components such as green logistics (GL) and green human capital (GHC) in sustainable production (SP), which is necessary for the successful implementation of CE. The study, based on data collected from 117 companies in the Romanian food industry, uses partial structural equation modelling to explore the causal relationships between these variables. The results show that both green logistics and green human capital are important factors for circular economy, and sustainable production significantly mediates the relationships between green human capital, and circular economy, but not significantly for green logistics. Thus, it is concluded that sustainable production has a determining positive effect on circular economy. Although the research is limited by the geographical and sectoral context, it contributes theoretically and practically by analysing the relationships between these concepts and the relevant managerial implications.

Keywords: competitiveness; food industry; green logistics; green human capital; sustainable production

Received: August 3, 2024; Revised: December 5, 2024; Accepted: December 31, 2024; Prepublished online: December 15, 2025; Published: December 22, 2025  Show citation

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Nastase CE, Prelipcean G, Chasovschi CE, Lupan M, Bejinaru R. Revealing key links between components in the circular economy. Agric. Econ. - Czech. 2025;71(12):633-646. doi: 10.17221/277/2024-AGRICECON.
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