Citation

Alam, Syed Shah and Ahsan, Nilufar and Almosa, Saad and Kokash, Husam Ahmad and Ahmed, Saif (2026) Circular Economy Performance Among Readymade Garments Manufacturing Companies in Bangladesh: Institutional Pressure, Technological Readiness, Workforce Capability and Blockchain Technology Adoption. Circular Economy and Sustainability, 6 (2). ISSN 2730-597X

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Abstract

This study investigates how institutional pressures, organizational capabilities, and environmental turbulence interact to shape circular economy performance (CEP) through the adoption of blockchain technology within the readymade garments (RMG) sector of Bangladesh. Grounded in Institutional Theory and the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework, the study conceptualizes coercive, normative, and mimetic pressures as external stimuli that influence firms’ internal capabilities—namely, technological readiness and workforce capability. Using a cross-sectional survey of 322 RMG firms and employing Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), the findings reveal that coercive pressure significantly enhances technological readiness, while normative and mimetic pressures positively influence workforce capability. These capabilities, in turn, act as enablers of blockchain adoption, which emerges as a key driver of circular economy outcomes such as resource traceability, waste reduction, and lifecycle transparency. Furthermore, workforce capability is found to mediate the effect of normative and mimetic pressures on blockchain adoption, while environmental uncertainty significantly moderates the influence of both coercive and normative pressures on internal capabilities. The study contributes theoretically by bridging institutional and digital transformation perspectives in sustainability research, and practically by offering actionable insights for RMG stakeholders seeking to scale circular innovation. The results underscore the importance of aligning institutional mandates with capacity-building and technology integration to achieve genuine sustainability transitions in emerging economies.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Blockchain adoption
Subjects:	Q Science > QA Mathematics > QA71-90 Instruments and machines > QA75.5-76.95 Electronic computers. Computer science
Divisions:	Faculty of Management (FOM)
Depositing User:	Ms Rosnani Abd Wahab
Date Deposited:	04 May 2026 02:26
Last Modified:	04 May 2026 02:26
URII:	http://shdl.mmu.edu.my/id/eprint/15830

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