Towards Web3- and metaverse-enabled decentralisation of electric vehicle battery closed-loop supply chains: insights from advanced text mining techniques

The rapid transition to electric vehicles has intensified challenges in electric vehicle battery (EVB) closed-loop supply chains (CLSC), particularly regarding material traceability, supply chain transparency, and recycling efficiency. While decentralised technologies, particularly Web3 and Metaverse, offer promising solutions, their integration into EVB CLSC remains fragmented and insufficiently examined. We introduce an Operational Decentralisation Framework enabling a systematic analysis of centralised operations and a critical evaluation of decentralised alternatives as transformational forces. By adopting a holistic perspective, the framework equips firms with strategic guidance for transitioning from centralised structures to decentralised ecosystems. We analyse 588 academic articles and 1,168 industry documents through two advanced text mining techniques – Dynamic Latent Dirichlet Allocation and Burst Detection. Web3 and metaverse can potentially reconfigure the design, manufacturing, end-of-life diagnostics, procurement, waste management, load balancing, capacity planning, inventory management and service operations of two key areas: (1) EVB CLSC operations and (2) EVB circular energy/grid operations. We also found that while blockchain and digital twins show established applications, Web3 and Metaverse applications face significant barriers, including scalability, technology complexity, and expertise gaps, despite their great potentials. Therefore, we propose four visionary models integrating Web3, Metaverse, and AI technologies that have the potential to overcome existing barriers and enable transformative decentralisation. Extending the TOE framework, the study contributes to the theory by developing an integrated framework for evaluating decentralised technology adoption in EVB CLSCs. For practitioners, we provide actionable insights and pathways for technology implementation across different CLSC stages and guidance for addressing key adoption barriers.