Digitalised product-service systems

Digitalised product-service systems: Effects on consumers’ attitudes and experiences

Tunn, V.S.C. (TU Delft Circular Product Design)
van den Hende, E.A. (TU Delft Marketing and Consumer Research)
Bocken, N.M.P. (TU Delft Marketing and Consumer Research; Lappeenranta University of Technology; Maastricht Sustainability Institut, Maastricht)
Schoormans, J.P.L. (TU Delft Marketing and Consumer Research)

2020

Access-based product-service systems (AB-PSS) allow consumers to use products for a fee and might support the transition towards a circular economy. This type of business model could decrease negative impacts of consumption by reducing the number of products needed; either by extending products’ lifetimes or by intensifying the use of products. Many AB-PSS in consumer markets are highly digitalised; they utilise digital platforms, have sensors embedded in the products, and rely on users’ smartphones. To better understand how digitalisation impacts consumers’ attitudes and use experiences in mobility AB-PSS, we applied a mixed-methods approach consisting of a survey (n=47) and interviews (n=10). Our findings suggest that many short-term AB-PSS, such as bicycle sharing, owe their recent success to digitalisation. Further, consumers’ digital confidence influences their attitude towards short-term AB-PSS. During the use of AB-PSS, users value the convenience and flexibility enabled by the digital aspects. Digitalisation also made short-term mobility AB-PSS susceptible to disruptions because the AB-PSS rely on the functioning of many digital aspects. Users seem to dislike phoning customer service and increasingly depend on their smartphones. We also provide a brief outlook of what 5G mobile networks might imply for mobility AB-PSS. With this paper, we contribute a consumer perspective on the digitalisation of services. Our findings help service designers, user experience designers, and app developers to design digitalised AB-PSS for consumer markets.

Circular business model
Circular economy
Consumer behavior
Digitalization
Product-service system (PSS)
Shared mobility

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:ed24aa32-27c3-40c5-b79d-4ec78be278c9

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.105045

0921-3449

Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 162

Institutional Repository

journal article

© 2020 V.S.C. Tunn, E.A. van den Hende, N.M.P. Bocken, J.P.L. Schoormans