An exploration of firms’ awareness and behavior of developing circular economy: An empirical research in China

• We employ a questionnaire survey and interviews with 157 firms in China.
• Firms have good circular economy awareness but lack of actual behavior.
• A striking “gap” exists between firms’ awareness and actual behavior.
• Structural, contextual and cultural factors contribute to awareness–behavior gap.

Despite the wealth of information concerning environmental awareness and the behavior of firms, there is little empirical research on the awareness and behavior of firms in developing the circular economy. The study employed a questionnaire survey and in-depth interviews with 157 firms from manufacturing clusters in China. Results indicated that the firms had a relatively good understanding about the circular economy and its values and had a strong willingness to operate a circular economy, but this was not indicative of enthusiastic behavior. A striking “gap” existed between a firm's awareness and its actual behavior in developing a circular economy. Reasons for the gap are explored mainly based on the results of interviews. Finally, recommendations for overcoming the gap between the awareness and behavior are suggested.