Empowering Consumers in the Circular Economy with blockchain-enabled storytelling

Master thesis (2020)

Authors

D. Panyapatiphan Industrial Design Engineering

Contributors

G. Calabretta Responsible Marketing and Consumer Behavior (supervisor 1)
F.M. de Jonge Responsible Marketing and Consumer Behavior (supervisor 1)
Faculty
Industrial Design Engineering
Copyright: © 2020 D. Panyapatiphan
Sustainability Circular economy Strategy Blockchain technology Consumer Experience Brand Experience Consumer Behaviour
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Published Date

27-07-2020

Language

English

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Faculty

Industrial Design Engineering

Abstract

This thesis introduces the vision and implementation to involve and empower end-consumers in the circular economy. This thesis is the graduation project of Strategic product design master’s program, developed for Circularise, a B2B company who connects supply chain. It aims for an in-depth understanding of the users need and challenges in the purchase decision of durable products with recycled plastic components.

The project began with literature researches of consumer behaviours with circular products. It also looked into their behaviour with blockchain technology, and current support that blockchain technology provides to a circular economy, namely, supply chain transparency and others. The new target segmentation was created according to literature, and user research was done with the target group. Contextmapping method was used to collect the user’s insight, and qualitative data were analysed. The results showed that consumers lack trust in sustainable claims that were advertised by brands, consumers lack motivation since the sustainable impacts are not clearly measurable, and more. The research also showed that blockchain technology in supply chain transparency could provide consumers with trustworthy sustainable data to support their purchase decision of the product.
Based on these insights, new target segment (end-consumers), brand identity, platform design, and a roadmap of implementation plan were created with value exchange between consumers, brands, original equipment manufacturers, part manufacturers, material manufacturers, and recyclers in the future.
This thesis aims to empower consumers by translation blockchain’s sustainable claims from manufacturers, into product storytelling. With accumulated value, it also proposes a long-term strategy to connect the consumers to the supply chain. This will further influence the connection of the chain to recyclers and close the loop for the circular economy in the future.