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Many firms are placing greater emphasis on managing returned product. Reverse logistics programs are being used to recover assets that would otherwise be lost. Research results are presented covering reverse logistics programs in the electronics industry, specifically among firms selling through catalogs. The paper looks at how reverse logistics performance and satisfaction with reverse logistics service are influenced by industry, firm size/sales volume, and internal or external assignment of responsibility for disposition. The results are mixed. Performance is significantly impacted by sales volume, while industry effects significantly impact satisfaction. Neither performance nor satisfaction was significantly influenced by location of responsibility for disposition.

This study aims to examine and understand the impact of reverse logistics adoption on firms' digitalization and collaboration activities. Specifically, leveraging the knowledge-based view, this study examines how adopting sustainable logistic practices (reverse logistics) prepares firms to embrace digitalization and encourages them to collaborate with other organizations.

The study used longitudinal survey data from two waves (2017 and 2019) from the Mannheim Centre for European Economic Research. The authors used the negative binomial regression analyses to test the impact of reverse logistics adoption on the digitalization and inter-organizational collaboration dependent count variables.

The study's findings highlight the usefulness of reverse logistics in enabling digitalization and inter-organizational collaboration. The results show that the firms investing in sustainable supply chains will be better positioned to nurture digitalization and inter-organizational collaboration.

For resource-bound managers, this study provides an important insight into prioritizing activities by highlighting how reverse logistics can facilitate digitalization and collaboration. The study demonstrates that the knowledge generated by reverse logistics adoption can be an essential pillar and enabler toward achieving firms' digitalization and collaboration goals.

The study is among the first to examine the effect of reverse logistics adoption on firm activities that are not strictly associated with the circular economy (digitalization and collaboration). Utilizing the knowledge-based view, this study reports on the additional benefits of reverse logistics implementation previously not discussed in the literature.

This study provides new insights into antecedents and outcomes of reverse logistics practices by examining green customer salience as the driver of reverse logistics practices and examining environmental performance and green firm reputation as the outcomes of reverse logistics practices.

A research model examining the proposed relationships was developed and tested using data from beverage manufacturers in Ghana. The model was analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling.

This study confirmed that green customer salience drives reverse logistics practices. It was also revealed that reverse logistics directly enhances environmental performance, but not green firm reputation. Additionally, the effect of reverse logistics on green firm reputation was fully mediated through environmental performance.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no previous studies have empirically examined the relationship between green customer salience, reverse logistics, environmental performance and green firm reputation.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a structured model for evaluating and selecting the best third party reverse logistics provider (3PRLP) under fuzzy environment for the battery industry.

In this paper, the multi‐criteria decision‐making tools such as analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) are adopted to solve the problem of selection of 3PRLP.

In a real‐time situation, collecting the returned products from the customer end to the manufacturer end becomes more tedious, time consuming work and also it makes the information flow in the supply chain management more complex. A separate logistics system has to be developed in order to inspect and maintain the collected returned products in the down stream management. This current scenario encourages the top‐level management to seek for an alternative for collecting the returned products instead of making their supply chain structure to be complex. This gives rise to the term called 3PRLP. The 3PRLP will collect the returned products, inspect them and categorize them according to the various reverse logistics operations. A key finding of this work is a model to determine the best 3PRLP for the battery industry.

This work provides a useful decision model for practicing managers and researchers within this area, and also shows the various relationships, and processes the information required for the management involved in the selection of a reverse logistics provider under fuzzy environment.

In this research, seven attributes and 34 sub‐attributes are considered and an interpretation of reverse logistics attributes in terms of their pair‐wise comparisons has been carried out. Attributes possessing lower priorities in the AHP and FAHP need to be taken care on a selection of best 3PRLP.

Reverse logistics has been seen as a necessary cost of business, but more companies are seeing it as a core strategic activity. Every firm needs to find more efficicient ways of reclaiming, redistributing, and disposing returns. For a fast growing industry, however, it is difficult to focus on structuring internal processes for reverse logistics because its emphasis is always on time to market and growing sales. In order to capture the most updated trend in the field of reverse logistics, this paper describes best practices of reverse logistics in hi-tech industry and identifies barriers in implementing those practices. The focus areas of the benchmarking survey are outsourcing of the logistics function, organization of the logistics function, return management, and sustainability-green issue. Based on the survey results, we provide an insight for capturing these trends and leveraging them as a strategic core competency for this industry.

The purpose in this paper is to develop a systematic literature review aiming to reveal innovation opportunities associated with the thematic collaboration and trust in the reverse logistics field.

The authors adopted a parallel analysis approach segregating the systematic literature review papers in two groups at NVivo®, collaboration and trust in the supply chain and collaboration and trust in reverse logistics, aiming to explore in the first group of papers insights for innovation on collaboration and trust in reverse logistics. The content analysis strategy was supported by the knowledge exchange theory described in Gravier et al. (2008).

Reverse logistics is hardly dissociated from broader sustainable supply chain management approaches, which make all considerations on collaboration and trust designed for such approaches valuable and valid for reverse logistics. Collaboration and trust concepts in supply chain and in reverse logistics contexts are quite similar, while collaboration/trust is mandatory for managing networks in sustainable approaches and in reverse logistics, as well. Downstream and upstream, the chain disruptive innovation business models may be developed between focal companies and returns system third-party logistics providers, fourth-party logistics providers or end-customers, in a business-to-customer collaboration approach. Several collaboration technologies are listed in three perspectives: knowledge sharing, knowledge generation and knowledge implementation.

This study uses a specific protocol for the systematic literature review, and due to inclusion and exclusion criteria, other protocols can provide different results. The strategy of analysis under the knowledge exchange perspective may give a type of result different from other perspectives.

This research systematizes the existing knowledge on the collaborations and trust, which is a priority basis for reverse logistics, providing insights to researchers and practitioners in the area and identifying an agenda for future studies.

The purpose of this paper is to extend existing and motivate future sustainable supply chain management (SCM) and logistics research by examining a structure-conduct-performance framework linking resource commitment to sustainable SCM, reverse logistics, and operational performance. A sustainable reverse logistics capability is investigated as mediating the performance benefits associated with resource commitments to sustainable SCM.

Survey methods and structural equation modeling were used to collect and analyze data from 180 supply chain professionals.

The results of a mediated model suggest that resource commitments may be used to develop a sustainable reverse logistics capability, reducing the environmental impact of reverse logistics activities. A strong sustainable reverse logistics capability results from resources committed specifically to sustainable reverse logistics and a commitment to the sustainability of the supply chain.

This study applied a purposefully general sampling procedure. Specific industries may have additional constraints (e.g. risk, transparency, governance factors) that directly impact reverse logistics. These constraints are limitations of the study as well as opportunities for future research. Resource commitment is critical to the success of an overall firm strategy to build a sustainable supply chain, especially when considering reverse logistics.

As managers examine the benefits of sustainable SCM, they must consider the resources required. For firms engaging in sustainable SCM, developing a sustainable reverse logistics capability is a key success factor for improved performance.

Given the growing acceptance and importance of sustainable SCM, this research provides insights to managers and academics regarding the key mediating role of a sustainable reverse logistics capability when integrated into existing and future supply chain research frameworks and processes.

The selection of third‐party logistics providers is an intriguing practical and research question. With the development and advancement of reverse logistics concepts and practice, the selection of partners for the specific function of reverse logistics support becomes more important. This paper is one of the first to address this issue. The factors that play an important role in selecting a third‐party reverse logistics provider; such as a focus on end‐of‐life product organizational roles (e.g. recycling, reuse, etc.), differ from some traditional factors for supplier selection. How these new factors can be included for the selection of a partner is modeled within a decision‐making framework.

Technology is an important force in the entrepreneurial ecosystem as it has the potential to impact entrepreneurial opportunities and processes. This paper explores the emerging technology of artificial intelligence (AI) and its implications for reverse logistics within the circular economy (CE). It considers key reverse logistics functions and outlines how AI is known to, or has the potential to, impact these functions.

The paper is conceptual and utilizes the literature from entrepreneurship, the CE and reverse logistics to explore the implications of AI for reverse logistics functions.

AI provides significant benefits across all functions and tasks in the reverse logistics process; however, the various reverse logistics functions and tasks rely on different forms of AI (mechanical, analytical, intuitive).

The paper highlights the importance of technology, and in particular AI, as a key force in the digital entrepreneurial ecosystem and discusses the specific implications of AI for entrepreneurial practice. For researchers, the paper outlines avenues for future research within the entrepreneurship and/or CE domains of the study.

This paper is the first to present a structured discussion of AI's implications for reverse logistics functions and tasks. It addresses a call for more research on AI and its opportunities for the CE and emphasizes the importance of emerging technologies, particularly AI, as an external force within the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The paper also outlines avenues for future research on AI in reverse logistics.

To provide practitioners of knowledge management with a sense of the importance of reverse logistics as an important part of today's company policies, especially throughout the product life cycle, with the accompanying technology that supports it and the effects on customer relation management (CRM) and satisfaction.

A review of the applied literature of reverse logistics and its effects on CRM resulted in a basic model and empirical verification of such effects.

As shown from the empirical section of the present study (n=102), the ease of locating returns procedures and the rating given by respondents to the overall returns process were found to be statistically very significant regarding whether the ease of returning items had an influence on purchasing decisions for most respondents. As demonstrated in the results of stepwise regression analysis of the two independent variables, the largest share of explained variance was explained by the variable, Returns' Procedures.

The purpose of reverse logistics is to accommodate customers wanting to return items and how to account for such accommodations. The breakdown, process, and analysis of reverse logistics will portray the significance of having reverse logistics implemented within a marketing or strategic plan.

This paper describes reverse logistics and CRM within a knowledge‐based system and its implementation process in an academic manner. Hence, there should be a process in place and managers should work to master reserve logistical processes to promote the principles of CRM properly. To remain competitive, firms must develop reverse logistics systems that rival traditional systems in terms of efficiency, cost‐effectiveness, competitiveness, and customer satisfaction.

Many companies and small businesses do not think about the importance and impact of reverse logistics and therefore do not include reverse logistics in their strategic or marketing plan. There are several important aspects of reverse logistics that need to be utilized in every company that exploit and track return policies.