Purpose: The aerospace industry's reliance on a linear "take-make-dispose" model is unsustainable, creating significant environmental waste and dependence on resource-constrained strategic materials. This paper aims to address this challenge by proposing a comprehensive, technology-driven framework for implementing a circular economy in the aerospace sector, with a specific focus on the high-value recycling of advanced composites and the recovery of rare and strategic metals from end-of-life aircraft.

Design/methodology/approach: This paper undertakes a conceptual analysis, synthesizing interdisciplinary literature from materials science, aerospace engineering, environmental management, and information technology. It integrates principles of the circular economy and green supply chain management [24] with an Industry 4.0 technology stack. The resulting conceptual framework outlines a digital platform architecture required to manage the complex processes of aircraft disassembly, material characterization, and reverse logistics.

Findings: The research finds that the primary barriers to aerospace circularity are associated with the technical difficulties in recycling composite materials and the complexity of recovering high-value, specialized alloys [7, 23]. The proposed framework suggests that these barriers can be addressed by leveraging a synergistic combination of digital technologies. This includes IoT for creating component digital twins [12], big data analytics for optimizing material flows [29], and artificial intelligence for predictive decision support in disassembly and recycling operations [9, 31]. A scalable microservices architecture [3, 14] is identified as a potentially optimal foundation for this digital ecosystem.

Practical implications: The framework provides a strategic roadmap for aerospace manufacturers, maintenance organizations, and recycling operators. It outlines how to transition from a linear to a circular model, thereby potentially reducing environmental impact, creating new value from waste streams, and enhancing long-term resource security and supply chain resilience [17].

Originality/value: This paper presents a novel, integrated framework that explicitly links the physical processes of aerospace material recycling with an enabling digital infrastructure. It addresses a critical gap in the literature by providing a holistic, systems-level view of how to operationalize the circular economy in a high-technology, high-value industry.

The global management consulting industry has undergone profound transformation driven by changes in client expectations, competitive dynamics, digitalization, and evolving conceptions of value creation. Traditional views that framed consulting as an expert-driven, problem-solving activity are increasingly challenged by perspectives emphasizing value co-creation, relational exchange, and business model innovation. This article develops a comprehensive, theory-driven examination of value co-creation within management consulting, integrating insights from service marketing, business model theory, pricing strategy, and the historical evolution of consulting practices. Drawing strictly on the provided literature, the study synthesizes foundational and contemporary perspectives to build an integrative conceptual framework that explains how consulting firms and clients jointly create, perceive, and appropriate value over time. A qualitative, interpretive methodology is employed, relying on systematic literature analysis and theoretical triangulation to explore how consulting business models have shifted from product-centric and expertise-centric logics toward relational, customer-driven, and digitally enabled models. The findings highlight that value in consulting is not embedded in deliverables but emerges through ongoing interactions, reciprocal learning, and mutual adaptation between consultants and clients. Pricing, positioning, and business model design are shown to play critical roles in shaping co-creation processes and client perceptions of legitimacy and trust. The discussion critically examines tensions inherent in co-creation, including power asymmetries, commoditization risks, and the challenges faced by small and medium-sized enterprises in engaging consulting services. The article concludes by outlining theoretical contributions, practical implications for consulting firms and clients, and directions for future research on value co-creation and business model innovation in professional services.