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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the managerial practices that companies can implement in order to design a circular economy business model and how companies can create and capture value from a circular economy business model.

The paper adopts a single case study methodology with semi-structured interviews and company, supplier, and manufacturing site visits, conducted in a small-to-medium-size Italian company operating in the office supply industry.

The theoretical setting maps a set of managerial practices for a circular economy business model and sets the research gaps and questions in a research framework designed along three main dimensions: value network, customer value proposition and interface, and managerial commitment. Then, through an empirical analysis, the findings reveal that the proposed dimensions are interdependent and reinforce each other. Moreover, the managerial commitment as moderating factor between the value network and the customer value proposition and interface dimensions is identified as essential for reaching the intended goals of circular economy business models.

This study maximizes the depth of the phenomenon under investigation by leveraging a single case study methodology, which ideally helps in a theory-testing approach as in the present case. Future research opportunities could be found in qualitative and quantitative studies to increase the generalizability of the findings of this paper.

The paper presents a set of relevant managerial practices for circular economy business models that can be used by managers who have the will to embrace in practice circular economy principles to support the design, change, or upgrade of the business model of companies within which they operate.

An interdisciplinary approach that integrates the research streams of circular economy, social psychology, organizational behavior, and business model design has been pursued to test the theoretical setting and the research framework for circular economy business models in a real-world context.

The purpose of this paper is to provide further insight into operations management of the product-service (P-S) transition, known as servitization, and the resulting product service system (PSS) offerings. In exploring the P-S transition, this paper adopts a service-dominant (S-D) logic view of value creation, using it as a lens through which to explore value propositions of the P-S transition and their operations design.

This paper presents an in-depth case study of an original equipment manufacturer of durable capital equipment who, over the last five years, has expanded its offerings to include use- and result-orientated PSS. The research design uses a multi-method approach; employing 28 in-depth qualitative interviews with customers and employees and analysis of texts, documents and secondary data including five years of enterprise resource planning (ERP), call centre and contract data.

The paper identifies ten generic P-S attributes that are abstracted into four nested value propositions: asset value proposition; recovery value proposition; availability value proposition; and outcome value proposition. In examining the operations design for delivery of these value propositions, it is found that the role and importance of contextual variety increases as the organisation moves through the value propositions. Interdependencies amongst the value propositions and differences in operational design for each value proposition are also found.

The paper investigates PSS through a S-D logic mindset. First, the paper considers value propositions of PSS not according to “product” or “service” but in terms of how resources (both material and human) are optimally designed to co-create customer value. Second, a value co-creation system of nested value propositions is illustrated. In so doing, the findings have a number of implications for literature on both PSS and S-D logic. In addition, the research adds to the PSS literature through the identification and consideration of the concept of contextual use variety.

The paper demonstrates the complexity of the transition from product to service. Specifically, service cannot be seen as a bolt-on extra to their product offering; complexity caused by interactions and changes to the core offering require a systems perspective and consideration of both firm and customer skills and resources.

This paper extends existing literature on the P-S transition and its implications for operations management. Notably, it takes an S-D logic perspective of value creation and in so doing highlights the importance and role of contextual use variety in the P-S transition. It also provides further empirical evidence that the P-S transition cannot be treated as discrete stages but is evolutionary and requires a complex systems perspective.

This paper aims to examine the relationships between macro-, meso- and micro-level contextual factors that enable or inhibit the contribution of product service systems (PSS) to circularity. It is informed by the natural resource-based view (NRBV) and the multi-level perspective as theoretical lenses.

A theory elaboration approach is used through three in-depth case studies of UK and German manufacturers. Case studies provide use- and result-oriented PSS for personal computers, power tools and wind turbines. Multiple sources of evidence, including 20 semi-structured interviews, company documents and quantitative data, are triangulated to improve the validity of the results.

Empirical evidence for relationships between macro-, meso- and micro-level contextual factors show significant barriers to the extending and cycling of resource loops, primarily through maintenance, repairs and refurbishment. A firm’s environmental awareness has a determining role in the contribution of PSS to circularity. The evidence from two use-oriented PSS reveals different circularity maturity levels.

This research makes three key contributions. Firstly, it elaborates on NRBV by showing that a firm’s environmental awareness determines product stewardship. The type of product stewardship practices depends on the enabling and inhibiting effects of macro- and meso-level factors. Secondly, it shows that use-oriented PSS have different circularity profiles and proposes three circularity maturity levels. Finally, it provides an empirically validated framework of macro-, meso- and micro-level enablers and barriers and how they interact to enable or inhibit circularity in PSS.

With rising public concern over animal welfare, food safety and GM crops, Europe’s farmers, breeders and food processors are caught in the eye of a storm. While some are “returning to the soil” with traditional organic methods, others are breeding crops and animals using biotechnology, for markets as diverse as power generation and pharmaceuticals. For Europe’s policymakers social and ecological sustainability are paramount, but public information is also a prerequisite for meaningful debate.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a technical product‐service systems (t‐PSS) for the BoX^® (Big OptiX) ultra precision free‐form grinding machine which has been designed and developed at Cranfield University. BoX is a new machine concept where advanced mass production and ultra precision technologies are combined.

This work utilises the machine as a demonstration case study to investigate t‐PSS for the machine tool providers. It develops three t‐PSS business models for the BoX machine: product‐, use‐ and result‐oriented.

The paper discusses the stakeholders' responsibilities, cash flows, application sectors, and consequently benefits and shortcomings of the three business approaches.

The enhancement of competition from low cost economies, vibrant market requirements and increasing customer demands cannot be addressed merely by the latest achievements in technology. As a response to this, the modern manufacturing industry is shifting its orientation towards t‐PSS. t‐PSS is an integrated product and service offering that delivers value in use.

The novelty of this paper lies in identifying and analysing the key implications of t‐PSS on machine tool industry using the BoX machine as an example case study.

Organizations increasingly develop and offer sharing services enabled by means of product-service systems (PSS). However, organizations offering sharing-based PSS face a unique set of design challenges and operational risks. The purpose of this paper is to provide researchers and practitioners with customer-based insights into service delivery system design and risk management for sharing-based PSS operational success.

This qualitative study combines in-depth interviews with supplementary, multidisciplinary literature and secondary firm data. In total, the authors conducted 56 semi-structured interviews with diverse customers across different business-to-customer (B2C) PSS settings.

First, the authors develop an integrative conceptual framework that reveals what structural and infrastructural design choices customer expect organizations to make for mitigating risks and enhancing customer-perceived value in the sharing economy. These design choices may influence customers' trust and control perceptions in all actors involved in the service delivery system. Second, the results suggest that sharing value proposition, customer-perceived level of consequentiality and level of customer-supplied resources are contingency factors that need to be considered when making design decisions for risk management in the sharing economy.

This study extends Sampson's Unified Service Theory by proposing that, with sharing-based PSS, production flows from customers to customers. This situation creates unique challenges for operations management. This paper extends current understanding of the role, characteristics and contingencies of service delivery system design for risk management in the sharing economy. In doing so, authors challenge common wisdom and suggest understanding both the organizational and customers' individual contexts is critical for (contingency) theory and practice.

The paper aims to describe a novel framework for service design to achieve the overall goal of sustainability and to characterize it while exploring the benefit of doing so for both sustainability and service. This novel framework also proposes new opportunities for sustainability-oriented innovation.

The paper presents a novel approach to design and implement services that will lead to a reduction in the production of goods and will offer alternatives that will reduce whatever production process is involved in its creation, i.e. clean service – CleanServ.

The authors’ findings suggest that a CleanServ is a service that is competitive with, if not superior to, its conventional tangible or intangible counterparts and one that reduces the use of natural resources and cuts or eliminates emissions and wastes. CleanServs can be categorized into five different groups based on their fundamental contribution to sustainability: prevention, reduction, replacement, efficiency and offset. While the service sector continuous to grow in size and importance, CleanServs will play a key role in improving the sustainability of our society and in preserving the environment.

The CleanServ concept offers a new framework and novel opportunities for sustainability-oriented innovation in the service sector. Implementing CleanServs will enable services to be imbued with sustainability and will promote the exchange of the production of goods with the delivery of services that will supply the same solution more sustainably.

CleanServs are expected to change how we consume both products and services and will, therefore, promote a more rational use of natural resources and will reduce the discharge of pollution to the environment. Implementation of the CleanServ concept will, thus, advance the current state of the art in sustainable development and improve quality of life on a global scale.

This paper presents a novel approach and a framework that conceptualizes clean services, which we term CleanServs, while exploring the benefit of doing so, both for sustainability and for service science.

There is an extensive research literature on servitisation and the related field of product-service systems that has emerged independently from different fields including engineering, management, design and environmental studies. The purpose of this paper is to conduct a structured literature review to explore, identify and synthesise the multi-disciplinary research challenges in the journey towards servitisation.

The research approach is a systematic literature review using key word searches and citation tracking for research reported between 1990 and 2013 in research databases that cover the fields which have generated the body of knowledge.

One of the key findings from the extant literature on servitisation is that it suffers from three fundamental weaknesses. First, numerous studies are conceptual in nature with limited practicality. Second, there are relatively few empirical studies, and often the findings relate to a single case study based on the insights of a limited number of senior managers. Third, often the dynamics are insufficiently studied in these organisations because data for most cases are collected post-event.

Based on the literature review and its shortfalls, this paper proposes a holistic framework of eight themes that require further attention from academic researchers in order that a more complete conceptual understanding of servitisation is developed to support practice.

Each theme in the framework has an associated list of questions that can be addressed through research and presented to managers as a challenge agenda to improve their servitisation efforts. That servitisation is associated with differentiation and competitive advantage makes this a valuable approach for managing corporate performance.

Research from multi-disciplinary sources is synergised in order to develop an overarching servitisation agenda that transcends domain-based boundaries. This paves the way for an approach to servitisation that is coherent and harmonious.

Product-service systems (PSSs)’s popularity has expanded significantly throughout recent years. The purpose of this paper is to integrate products and services to achieve functional results that augment the offering’s value. Nevertheless, the intangibility of services hinders the diffusion of PSSs: services are characterized by imprecisions and ambiguities that render the assessment and prioritization of customer requirements problematic. An inadequate evaluation of the latter leads to an inconsistent PSS design that results in the customer dissatisfaction.

To address these concerns, the paper proposes an approach integrating the quality function deployment for product-service systems (QFDforPSS) method with Thurstone’s Law of Comparative Judgments. This approach was tested at a manufacturer in the medical sector seeking to improve his market stance through a PSS model.

Although the case study is based on a limited sample, the results achieved highlight the importance of the flow of information between the PSS provider and the customers (i.e. the PSS receivers) in the healthcare sector. The proposed approach can facilitate the company in collecting information even in the case of incomplete answers to surveys and questionnaires providing a practical method to handle the uncertainty due to incomplete data.

The study represents one of the first applications of the PSS approach in the healthcare sector, introducing a novel integration of easy-to-use management tools to augment the understanding of customer needs and expectations.

This study aims to explore a paradigm for using servitization in circular supply chains, with research fields including smart, sustainable supply chains, circular economy, innovation, digital technology, product service systems and sustainability as focal areas.

A comprehensive statistical analysis of the literature on servitization, circular economy and smart supply chains reveals the history of the industry, including scholarly work, major concerns and future research prospects. The database for the analysis is provided by Scopus. Consequently, 288 research articles were reviewed, and the research trends of servitization, circular supply chains and smart supply chains from 2014 to 2022 (Q1) were covered.

The analysis reconnoitres bibliometric statistics highlighting notable authors, contemporary keywords for sifting through the literature, scientific dimensions related to smart supply chain, servitization and the circular economy, historical growth based on exploration trends and country-by-country investigation of the research field. The study also proposes a conceptual framework that illustrates how a greater emphasis on removing barriers to servitization could increase the efficiency of various circular supply chains. Given this, there is room for further research into the role servitization plays in ensuring long-term sustainability.

This paper helps to understand current scholarly publications on servitization, smart supply chains and their significance in the circular economy. It also provides a template to utilize the field’s prior accomplishments as a guide to future research opportunities.