5.2 Research limitations
The research limitations include the lack of primary data which could have sought to gain a more detailed perspective of the relationship between sustainability and the Circular Economy by addressing issues such as the motivational factors for this. Another research limitation relates to the scope of the dissertation which has undertaken a snapshot of the current level of academic activity and business implementation in this area. Given the long-term view of sustainability and the Circular Economy, any future research may want to undertake a longitudinal approach to assess how the relationship between sustainability and the Circular Economy evolves and develop over time. This would also include addressing the time lags between innovations in sustainable practices and the implementation of these by businesses and any regulatory or political changes (Lewis and Maslin 2018; Trott 2017; Dobson 2016).
5.3 Future research areas
The future research areas include a number of potential areas. Firstly, further research is needed on the relationship between sustainability and the Circular Economy and this will need to address how this can be better understood to help support innovation in business models and supply chains to deliver higher levels of positive impacts and value for a greater number of stakeholders (Lewis and Maslin 2018; Mulvihill and Harris Ali 2017; Geissdoerfer et al 2017; Pauli 2017). Another future research area includes the need to assess emerging concepts relating to the increased level of sustainability and the adaptation of the Circular Economy and these are being supported by government stakeholders and being implemented by businesses (European Union 2019; Geissdoerfer et al 2017; Bocken et al 2016). The potential of this increased level of activity as regards sustainable practices and the Circular Economy will also need to include how these activities are being evaluated and measured using tools such as the triple bottom line and assessing the changes in production and consumption patterns (Geissdoerfer et al 2017; Bocken et al 2016).
The final area for future research is related to the role of the public sector in undertaking higher levels of sustainability and the Circular Economy and this is currently underexplored as the emphasis of sustainability and Circular Economy research has been on private businesses (Mulvihill and Harris Ali 2017; Crane and Matten 2016; Blowfield and Murray 2014).
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