Intellectual Structure and Emerging Research Trends of Circular Economy in E-Commerce: A Bibliometric Analysis of Scopus Publications. (2020–2026)

Abstract— The integration of Circular Economy (CE) principles into e-commerce has gained increasing attention as organizations seek to balance economic growth with environmental sustainability. The rapid expansion of online retailing has created significant challenges related to resource consumption, packaging waste, reverse logistics, and carbon emissions, thereby encouraging the adoption of circular business practices and sustainable supply chain strategies. Despite the growing volume of research in this area, a comprehensive understanding of its intellectual structure and emerging research trends remains limited. Therefore, this study aims to systematically map the intellectual structure and identify emerging research trends in CE-related e-commerce studies through a bibliometric analysis. A total of 267 journal articles indexed in the Scopus database and published between 2020 and 2026 were analyzed using VOSviewer. Citation analysis, co-authorship analysis, keyword co-occurrence analysis, and overlay visualization were employed to examine influential publications, collaboration networks, thematic clusters, and research evolution. The findings reveal a substantial increase in scholarly interest during the study period and highlight several dominant research themes, including sustainability, reverse logistics, recycling, closed-loop supply chains, and digital technologies. Furthermore, emerging topics such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, digital transformation, and smart circular business models indicate promising directions for future research. This study contributes to the growing body of knowledge by providing a comprehensive overview of the intellectual landscape of CE research in e-commerce and offering valuable insights for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers seeking to promote sustainable digital commerce.