Transitioning to a circular economy (CE) model has been proposed to solve many grand environmental challenges. While research on CE has been extensively reviewed, less is known about the implicit underlying assumptions of this work. Understanding these assumptions is critical as they typically go unchallenged yet play a significant role in shaping research fields. In this paper we conduct a problematizing review to critically analyse and make explicit the in-house, root metaphor and ideological assumptions that inform the framing of CE. Firstly, we demonstrate various in-house assumptions about CE, such as an emphasis on the business case for CE and the relationship between CE and corporate sustainability. Secondly, root metaphor assumptions include circularity and industrial relationships resembling biological metabolisms. Finally, the dominant ideological assumptions-neoliberalism and ecological modernization-guide scholarly thinking about growth, consumption and profit maximization. Based on our analysis and drawing on the ongoing CE debates within broader environmental studies, we suggest new agendas for future research. We contribute to the growing literature on CE in business, management and organization studies by identifying assumptions that may be misleading or limiting for future CE research, as well as to the conversations on grand challenges by discussing the implications of how challenges and solutions are framed.

中文翻译：

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拆开循环经济：一个有问题的回顾

已经提出向循环经济 (CE) 模式过渡以解决许多重大环境挑战。虽然对 CE 的研究已得到广泛审查，但对这项工作的隐含基本假设知之甚少。理解这些假设至关重要，因为它们通常不受挑战，但在塑造研究领域方面发挥着重要作用。在本文中，我们进行了一项问题化审查，以批判性地分析和明确为 CE 框架提供信息的内部、根隐喻和意识形态假设。首先，我们展示了关于 CE 的各种内部假设，例如强调 CE 的商业案例以及 CE 与企业可持续发展之间的关系。其次，根隐喻假设包括循环性和类似于生物新陈代谢的工业关系。最后，占主导地位的意识形态假设——新自由主义和生态现代化——引导着学术界对增长、消费和利润最大化的思考。根据我们的分析并借鉴更广泛的环境研究中正在进行的 CE 辩论，我们提出了未来研究的新议程。我们通过确定可能误导或限制未来 CE 研究的假设，为商业、管理和组织研究中不断增长的 CE 文献做出贡献，并通过讨论如何构建挑战和解决方案的影响，为关于重大挑战的对话做出贡献。