Barriers, Enablers, and Institutional Governance of Circular Economy Implementation in Malaysia’s Upstream Poultry Supply Chain: An Exploratory Qualitative Study

Malaysia’s upstream poultry supply chain, comprising broiler farms, hatcheries, and breeder operations, faces persistent barriers to circular economy (CE) adoption despite growing national policy support. Existing literature has focused predominantly on quantitative assessments of CE performance, leaving a critical gap in contextual, institutional-level understanding of why CE practices remain selectively and unevenly implemented. This paper reports findings from an exploratory qualitative study involving nine semi-structured in-depth interviews with informants drawn primarily from institutional and regulatory stakeholder categories: regulatory agencies (Department of Veterinary Services Malaysia, DVS), industry associations (Federation of Livestock Farmers’ Associations of Malaysia, FLFAM), marketing and distribution agencies (Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority, FAMA), research institutions (Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute, MARDI), one private sector operator, and academic informants. Thematic analysis reveals five interconnected themes that collectively explain CE implementation gaps as seen from this institutional vantage point: (1) fragmented internal coordination as the primary operational barrier, (2) policy-practice misalignment between regulatory intent and operational realities, (3) the awareness-to-action deficit in CE conceptualisation, (4) differentiated capability constraints across enterprise scales (reported mainly through an industry-association intermediary rather than smallholders directly), and (5) the digital-circular complementarity gap raised by a minority of informants (4 of 9). The study makes three contributions: it generates an institutional-level, qualitative account of CE barriers and enablers for Malaysia’s upstream poultry sector from an institutional perspective; it introduces the concept of capability-sensitive CE governance, situated relative to related constructs such as the dynamic capabilities view, absorptive capacity, and the Technology–Organisation–Environment (TOE) framework, as a novel theoretical construct grounded in empirical evidence; and it proposes a preliminary Circular Economy Implementation Readiness Model (CEIRM), offered as a basis for future validation rather than a tested framework, that outlines a staged, practical pathway for CE adoption at the enterprise level. Findings have exploratory implications for policymakers, agri-food managers, and researchers engaged in circular transitions in developing-economy food systems.