The circular economy (CE) has emerged as a focal point in discussions surrounding sustainable development, industrial production, and resource efficiency. While it has garnered attention as a ground‐breaking paradigm with the potential to harmonize economic, societal, and environmental dynamics, divergent perspectives and critical inquiries have surfaced. This paper delves into the interdisciplinary literature on CE, exploring the interpretative flexibility inherent in its conceptualization. Acknowledging the diverse range of strategies associated with the CE, the study contends with the potential risks of its misappropriation, emphasizing the importance of understanding its systemic socio‐ecological implications. With an umbrella review approach, rarely applied in social sciences, the study navigates through 167 review articles, unveiling thematic trends and identifying gaps within the existing literature. By scrutinizing the techno‐managerial dominance within CE discussions, the paper calls attention to the overshadowing of numerous critical issues. It highlights the importance of systematic attention to CE's social aspects, essential to provide insights into how policies, strategies, and actions affect the society, as well as the emerging discussion on the alternative social transformative paradigm. The paper concludes with a three‐stage study design: a meticulous review of 167 articles, a thematic analysis revealing trends, and a reflective exploration of potential research avenues. This review serves as a comprehensive guide for scholars and practitioners for a holistic understanding of CE and encouraging contributions to address identified gaps and fostering the evolution of CE literature.

中文翻译：

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循环经济：综述文章回顾


循环经济（CE）已成为可持续发展、工业生产和资源效率讨论的焦点。虽然它作为一种具有协调经济、社会和环境动态潜力的突破性范式而受到关注，但不同的观点和批判性的调查也已经浮出水面。本文深入研究了有关 CE 的跨学科文献，探讨了其概念化所固有的解释灵活性。该研究承认与CE相关的多种策略，并探讨了其盗用的潜在风险，强调了理解其系统性社会生态影响的重要性。该研究采用社会科学中很少采用的伞式综述方法，浏览了 167 篇综述文章，揭示了主题趋势并找出了现有文献中的差距。通过仔细审视 CE 讨论中的技术管理主导地位，本文呼吁人们关注众多关键问题。它强调了系统关注CE的社会方面的重要性，这对于深入了解政策、战略和行动如何影响社会以及关于替代社会变革范式的新兴讨论至关重要。本文最后提出了一个三阶段的研究设计：对 167 篇文章进行仔细回顾、揭示趋势的主题分析以及对潜在研究途径的反思性探索。这篇综述为学者和从业者提供了全面的指南，帮助他们全面了解CE，并鼓励为解决已发现的差距和促进CE文献的发展做出贡献。