How are public values affected when public actors that own infrastructure assets implement PSS

Abstract

Public clients in the Netherlands have committed to dramatically reduce CO2 emissions. To achieve that, Circular Economy is proposed and more specifically a tool that can lead to Circularity, called Product Service Systems (PSS). PSS is a business tool that is innovative for infrastructure, and public clients are investigating the transition towards service-oriented projects. Literature suggests that when public actors undergo transitions, their public values are also affected. It is yet not thoroughly studied how the public values are coupled with PSS. Aim of this research is to investigate how public values are affected when public actors that own infrastructure assets implement PSS. Firstly, a literature review concerning public values is conducting. Then, the PSS characteristics, barriers and benefits are theoretically studied. A framework that couples public values with PSS is designed. To analyze and enrich this framework, a real-life implementation is studied. The Province of North Holland (PNH) served as case study, and more specifically the guardrails pilot that PNH realized within the Circular Road Program. Interviews were conducted to collect the data. To analyse the interviews, thematic analysis was utilized. Two rounds of analysis were conducted, a deductive and a reflective round. The findings of the thematic analysis were validated and generalized by an expert panel consisting of three experts. As a result, the empirical findings of the results were found. An overview is designed and the theoretical and empirical results are presented and compared. The values that are mostly affected when PSS is implemented are Lawfulness, Accountability, Collaboration and Innovation. The overview is a useful input for public clients, because they can gain knowledge about how they can include the values perspective in their decision-making process.