Public administration strategies that stimulate reverse logistics within the construction industry: A conceptual typology

Purpose: Reverse logistics (RL) is a waste revaluation process aimed at reintroducing once-used materials back into the production cycle. Public administration (PA) plays a strong role in influencing the implementation of RL in the construction industry through policy and laws. While much research identifies PA as an important driver in RL, no research yet describes how this occurs. Design/methodology/approach: A systematic literature review was conducted on the theme PA in RL with 93 relevant publications retrieved. Findings: Six strategies used by PA to promote RL were extracted: (1) legislation, (2) government subsidies, (3) landfill disposal fee, (4) government inspection, (5) use in public construction works and (6) penalties and fines. Moreover, a typology built on these six strategies was developed, mapping 15 interactional relationships between strategies, according to three levels of influence: (1) encouragement (2) requirement and (3) regulation. Practical implications: It was found that legislation and government subsidies prove to be the more effective strategies, with the remaining strategies greatly neglected. Importantly, however, this study reveals that a combination of strategies are most effective when appropriately combined. Originality/value: This study confirms the importance of PA in RL, in construction, while documenting the extent of current research. The resulting proposed typology, along with 15 identified future research priorities, is expected to be of value to academics and policy makers looking to advance understanding in this domain.