A Hybrid Systematic Literature Review on RL in Furniture Industry

Reverse logistics (RL) has emerged as a critical business strategy in the furniture industry. However, scholarly knowledge remains fragmented that prohibits the research advances and answers the questions raised by industry practitioners. To address this research gap, this hybrid systematic literature review consolidates insights into reverse logistics within the furniture industry. Utilizing the PRISMA 2020 protocol, the study analyzes 23 relevant scholarly papers sourced from the Scopus and the Web of Science databases. The study employs ADO-TCM framework to synthesize diverse findings, highlighting the antecedents, barriers, and outcomes. Additionally, this framework determines underlying academic theories, research contexts, and research methods to reveal interdisciplinary gaps using the gap typology. Key findings highlight antecedents such as consumer awareness, regulatory pressures, and cost barriers; decisions influenced by consumer demographics, product characteristics, and company location; and outcomes including enhanced sustainability through waste reduction and resource recovery. This work offers a novel conceptual framework for reverse logistics research in the furniture industry. For practical standpoint, it helps practitioners to raise consumer awareness and tailor their preferences in product offerings. Additionally, this study proposes ten future research questions and six future research objectives for advancing furniture logistics applications into more resilient, resource-efficient reverse logistics system.