Supply chain resource orchestration for critical raw material recovery: evidence from the Italian waste management industry

Purpose This study aims to investigate how organisations involved in critical raw materials (CRMs) recovery from urban waste respond to external uncertainties, and how such uncertainties generate multi-level dependencies across reverse supply chains (RSCs). Design/methodology/approach Drawing on resource dependence and resource orchestration theories within a critical realist epistemology, this study adopts a qualitative research design using primary and secondary data from waste management companies (WMCs) operating within Italian urban ecosystems. Findings Empirical evidence portrays urban mining as a valuable yet complex pathway for CRM recovery. Actors in RSCs − including upstream collectors, downstream buyers and intermediaries from multiple public-private urban waste streams − face intertwined technological, market, regulatory, cultural and financial uncertainties that generate layered dependencies. In response, such organisations orchestrate resources and capabilities through structuring, bundling and leveraging mechanisms. These mechanisms enable firms to manage dependency asymmetries, stabilise operations and share knowledge with multiple stakeholders, thereby supporting more resilient and sustainable CRM recovery. Originality/value This study advances supply chain management theory by explaining the generative mechanisms linking external uncertainty, dependency structures and resource orchestration for circularity in the waste management industry. It provides novel insights into how CRM recovery is enabled in fragmented, multi-actor environments affected by persistent uncertainty.