Background. The amount of waste generated each year is increased, research indicates that 79 % of plastic waste is dumped in landfills, 12% to incinerated and 9% of the plastics are recycled. At the beginning of the year 2020, an increase in personal protective equipment (PPE) was noted as a direct result of the Covid-19 pandemic that spread around the world. As a foundation to the waste problem in society, VolvoGroup presented its zero mission goals. The zero missions goals were to be captured in a problem space provided by Volvo. A problem space that students at Blekinge Institute of Technology and Stanford University were set out to find a solution to. Objectives. The objectives of this thesis were through the Design Thinking strategy to find solutions that are circular and applied as a PSS. The goal is to apply a circular system of which Volvo Group can apply in their line of work, also to transition this solution into other areas, e.g. healthcare. Methods. For research measures, the Design Research Methodology was used to frame the research and Design Thinking to frame the design process. Results. The result presented is a machine that can provide Volvo Group or healthcare with circular single-use gloves. The circular aspects are enabled by a certain material, allowing the created system to be circular. The system is applied as a product-service system, enhancing the availability of gloves in either healthcare or inside Volvo Group. Conclusions. The circular system applied as a PSS satisfies the goals by Volvo Group by reducing waste generated, increasing availability of protective equipment, thus increasing the safety of users in need of PPE. The created circular system has the potential to be applied in other areas than waste management and healthcare, which can be proved through future research. / Bakgrund. Mängden sopor som slängs ökar för vart år som går. Forskning visar att79% av all plast som slängs går till deponi, 12% går till förbränning och resterandemängd plast (9%) återvinns. Under år 2020 har förbrukningen av skyddsartiklar av engångstyp ökat på grund av den Covid-19-pandemi som bröt ut i början av året. Den ökade förbrukningen har sin tur medfört nedskräpning av skyddsartiklar i naturen i en ökad omfattning. Till följd av detta har Volvo Group utformat ett uppdrag i syfte att få hjälp med att nå sin nollvision. Visionen innebär att utsläpp, olyckor och produktionsstopp ska upphöra helt och hållet. Uppdraget tilldelades en gruppstudenter på Blekinge Tekniska Högskola och Stanford University. Studenterna fick i uppgift att angripa problemet och komma med en lösning som uppfyller företagets nollvision. Syfte. Syftet med denna rapport är att genom design thinking- strategin finna en lösning som kan skapa ett cirkulärt system och appliceras som ett produkt-servicesystem (PSS). Målet är att kunna applicera detta system inom Volvo koncernen, men att även kunna presentera möjligheten att göra systemet tillämpningsbart inom sjukvården. Metod. I rent forskningssyfte användes Design Research Methodology för att rama in forskningen som skedde parallellt med utvecklingsprocessen. Utvecklingsprocessen följde ramarna för Design Thinking som presenterar olika typer av verktyg för design och utveckling av en produkt. Resultat. Det resultat som presenteras i denna rapport är ett cirkulärt system applicerat i en form av en PSS. Det som möjliggör detta system är ett material som tillåter reproduktion av engångshandskar som går att applicera inom sophanteringsindustrin. Detta indikerar även på att ett likande system kan medföra att sjukvården kan bli självständig i sitt användande av skyddsutrustning. Slutsatser. Ett cirkulärt system som uppfyller Volvos nollvision genom att skydda deras arbetare sluter ett kretslopp för en typ av skyddsutrustning. Det leder även tillökad tillgänglighet av utrusning. Detta system har potentialen att appliceras inom sjukvården i form av ett centraliserat system på sjukhus som tillför mindre enheter med tillverkade handskar.

Background: Fast furniture is a growing trend similar to fast fashion and fast food, implying that manufacturers produce large quantities of inexpensive furniture. At the same time, consumers use the furniture shorter and replace it more frequently. Fast furniture relies on high resource consumption, outsourced production, and furniture design that makes it necessary to replace it more often. This causes a decrease in quality and an increase in produced quantities. Most of the furniture worldwide is landfilled as it is not recyclable due to low-quality materials. One potential solution is implementing Circular Economic practices, including furniture rental as an alternative way of consumption. Consumer acceptance of this model is scarcely researched, but the formation of consumers' attitudes and intentions has been the subject of publications in other consumption contexts. The recent literature is reviewed, and a research framework was built based on the Theory of Reasoned Action and additional intrapersonal barriers and drivers. Purpose: This research aimed to explain the relationship between intrapersonal barriers and drivers with attitude and behavioral intention towards furniture rental. Further, it was aimed to show which furniture categories are most likely to be rented. Method: A quantitative approach deploying a self-administered online survey was chosen. 235 usable responses were gathered, which were analyzed using PLS-SEM to assess the hypothesized relationships. Conclusion: The findings show that the overall attitude towards furniture rental is positive. Trend orientation and perceived risk are the most influential antecedents of attitude and behavioral intention. Supporting the Theory of Reasoned Action, attitude is the strongest predictor of behavioral intention. Perceived sustainability value, perceived economic value, and materialism also significantly influence the intention to rent furniture. Familiarity with the Sharing Economy shows no significant influence. The study contributes to the existing literature on consumer intentions to use alternative consumption. A new research model was developed based on existing theory and literature. Managers can use the findings to alter, adapt, and build their furniture rental service offerings.

Background: Functional sales has in recent years become increasingly debated among companies, as a result of increased interest in developing more sustainable strategies. Meanwhile, companies lack knowledge of what changes functional sales causes, particularly about what incentives, barriers and financial implications that affect the development and implementation of the business model. Since companies are not fully aware of what aspects to take into consideration before implementing functional sales, many companies hesitate on taking the step towards a more sustainable future. Research aim: The research aim of this study is to investigate underlying incentives and barriers that affect the development and implementation of functional sales within retail industry, but also what financial implications it causes. Moreover, this study aims to investigate how the conditions for an implementation of functional sales can be improved, by managing the incentives and barriers identified. Method: This study has been conducted with pragmatism as a scientific starting point. Moreover, an abductive approach has been used. The research design for this study is qualitative design, where a simple case study was selected through a targeted sampling of ”a typical case”. The respondents were selected through a snowball and a targeted sampling. The method used for conducting the analysis was a thematic analysis. Findings: The incentives identified in this study were environmental sustainability, meeting customer needs, closer connection to the customer and profitability. The barriers identified were increased requirements for product design, increased costs for warehousing, service and transportation, changes in cash flows, existing accounting principles and lack of profitability. In order to strengthen versus bridge these incentives and barriers, companies should take the following aspects into consideration: a well-adapted design, environmentally friendly and efficient transportation, ensure high inventory turnover rate, an adequate pricing, a well- formulated guarantee agreement and ensure financing. / Bakgrund: Funktionsförsäljning har på senare år blivit allt mer omdebatterat bland företag, till följd av att ökat intresse av att utveckla mer hållbara strategier. Samtidigt saknas forskning om vilka processer som förändras vid funktionsförsäljning, samt vilka incitament, hinder och finansiella implikationer som påverkar utveckling och implementeringen av affärsmodellen. I och med att företag inte är fullt medvetna om vilka aspekter de behöver ta i beaktning inför en implementering, tvekar företag att ta steget mot en mer hållbar framtid. Syfte: Denna studie syftar till att undersöka vilka bakomliggande incitament och hinder som påverkar utvecklingen och implementeringen av en cirkulär affärsmodell baserad på funktionsförsäljning inom detaljhandeln, samt vilka finansiella implikationer de ger upphov till. Vidare syftar studien till att undersöka hur förutsättningarna för en implementering av funktionsförsäljning kan förbättras, genom hantering av dessa incitament och hinder. Metod: Studien har genomförts med pragmatism som vetenskaplig utgångspunkt. Vidare har ett abduktivt angreppssätt använts. Studiens forskningsdesign är kvalitativ, där ett fallföretag valts ut genom ett målstyrt urval av ”ett typiskt fall”. Respondenterna valdes ut genom både ett snöbollsurval och ett målstyrt urval. Den analysmetod som studien har använts sig av är en så kallad tematisk analys. Slutsats: De incitament som identifierats i denna studie är miljömässig hållbarhet, möta kundens behov, komma närmare kund samt lönsamhet. De hinder som identifierats är ökade krav på produktdesign, ökade kostnader vid lagerhållning, service och transport, förändrade kassaflöden, befintliga redovisningsprinciper samt utebliven lönsamhet. För att förstärka respektive överbrygga dessa bör företag ta följande aspekter i beaktning: en anpassad design, miljövänliga och effektiva transporter, säkerställa hög lageromsättningshastighet, rätt prissättning, ett välformulerat garantiavtal samt säkerställa finansiering.

The increasing use of natural resources and the pollution it causes calls for new ways of addressing customer needs. Additionally, a more uncertain and complex world also presents new challenges. In this thesis, these new challenges are tackled through inter and transdisciplinary research, which require more interaction across disciplines to tackle complex phenomena. The manner in which companies address customer needs starts from the designing (a multiplestakeholder perspective) of offerings where companies rely on different types of support (guidelines, standards, methods and tools). In this thesis, these offerings, include products, services, systems, and solutions. This plays an important role in the use of natural resources and its impact on the environment. In this Licentiate, I present results to show initial cues on how to design resource-efficient offerings, and more specifically their analysis and evaluation in the early stages of the design process. This type of offerings is suggested to be crucial for the circular economy, which can be understood as a paradigm shift towards sustainability. In this paradigm shift, designing is carried out by taking into account reuse, remanufacture and recycling of products as strategies by multiple stakeholders and companies. Other strategies include providing services, a function or a solution through dematerialization and transmaterialization. The methods used in this research are narrative and systematic literature reviews, thematic analysis and a case study. The results show a lack of interdisciplinary research in the academic literature in subjects relevant to the design of resource-efficient offerings. The results also show a need to clarify what transdisciplinary research entails. Moreover, current practice shows that support used by companies needs to consider several factors for it to be useful, for example, the vision of the company, participation of potential users of the support and everyday operations, among other characteristics. Finally, more practical support coming from academia is necessary to improve its use in industry. / <p>Information om opponent och seminarium saknas</p>

Increasing awareness of anthropogenic impacts on the planet has lead to efforts to reduce negative environmental impacts in product development for several decades. Benefits to companies who focus on sustainability initiatives have been put forth more recently, leading to many efforts to incorporate sustainability considerations in their product innovation processes. The majority of current sustainability considerations in industry constrain design space by emphasizing reduced material and energy flows across the product’s life cycle. However, there is also an opportunity to use awareness of sustainability to bring attention to new facets of design space and to drive innovation. Specifically there is an opportunity for product-service systems (PSS) to be a vehicle through which sustainability-driven innovation occurs. A framework for strategic sustainable development (FSSD) provides the basis for understanding sustainability in this work, and provides clarity with regard to how to think about sustainable products and service innovations. The “backcasting” approach included in this framework also provides insight into how incremental and radical approaches could be aligned within the product innovation working environment. This thesis explores how sustainability considerations can be better integrated into existing product innovation working environments in order to drive innovation processes within firms, with a specific emphasis on opportunities that occur as sustainability knowledge leads to innovation through a product-service system approach. It endeavors to contribute to both theory development within the emerging sustainable PSS design research area, and also to advance the state of practice within industry by connecting dots between the state of theory and the state of practice. Society’s opportunity to become more sustainable and industry’s desire for innovation in order to lead to or increase profitability are often in conflict. However, this thesis argues that knowledge of global social and ecological sustainability can be used to drive innovation processes, and that there are win-win opportunities that can often be achieved through a PSS approach. There is some, but not sufficient, support for the inclusion of sustainability considerations in the product innovation process, and even fewer tools to support the use of sustainability to drive innovation. In response, an approach to providing support that brings together the FSSD and various approaches to systems modeling and simulation is presented. Opportunities to use sustainability-friendly attributes of existing products through a PSS-approach are also presented.

The Fashion industry has grown rapidly over the past decade. The industry is one of the world’s most polluting industries and the way we produce and consume clothes has to change, to reach sustainability across the industry. The fashion industry requires a new “textile economy” where business models are developed to keep products in use and continuously circulate. Therefore, developing business model that can keep products in use and make them circulate is one way forward. Product-Service-Systems (PSS) have become a discussion amongst researchers to be a possible way of reaching more sustainable practices across the industry. This study therefore looks at one form of PSS, leasing and rental. The study will investigate, technical garments because from a durability and quality perspective they are ideal to incorporate in this type of model. Therefore, this study aimed at developing an ideal circular leasing and rental model to see what requirements is needed to keep activity-based, technical garments in use. It was also of interest to investigate what challenges and opportunities the Swedish outdoor industry face when implementing a leasing and rental model, and if they can fulfil the requirements of the ideal circular model. A qualitative method was used through semi-structured interviews to collect the empirical data. The results show that the requirements of an ideal circular leasing and rental model includes Sustainability, Investments/Economic profit, Human resources, Logistics, Product design and Upcycling. The empirical results from the Swedish outdoor industry shows that they require the same factors as the model, however two more requirements are highlighted by the industry, Thirdparty-partner and customer demand. The results also shows that today it is too challenging for the Swedish outdoor industry fulfil the requirements of an ideal circular leasing and rental model. Collaborating with a third-party-partner is one aspect the industry see as an opportunity. The products have an opportunity to be kept in use because the brands will care for them. However, the industry face more challenges than opportunities, some of the challenges are investments and economic profit, logistics and upcycling processes of activity-based technical garments.

Combining products and services into Product-Service Systems (PSS), which are often owned and even operated by the company offering them, is seen as an important element of conducting more sustainable business. The prospective environmental benefits of PSS lie mainly in the improved resource- and operational efficiency. This is achieved by way of a critical shift in incentive structure: If an industrial company assumes responsibility for an offering throughout the lifecycle, the terms on which that company operates are changed substantially in comparison to traditional product sales. Instead of benefiting from a short lifetime through additional sales opportunities or making profit through the sale of spare parts, in highly integrated PSS, each parts exchange, each technicians’ visit and each day the lifetime of the offering is reduced directly affects the bottom line of the provider. Due to that, solely as a result of economic rationality, a provider of these offerings has an incentive to design in such a way that the life of this offering is prolonged, need for spare parts is reduced, service activities are facilitated and simplified, and that the conditions are in place to allow for a second or third life of the offering through remanufacturing. Regardless of this compelling logic, at times, industrial companies fail to establish the preconditions to capturing these benefits as they continue to rely on product and sales-centric design processes even though they provide PSS. This thesis aims to examine this unexploited opportunity from two vantage points. On the one hand, methods conceived in academia to support industry in implementing and executing joint, lifecycle-focused design of products and services, and the use of these methods in practice, are examined. Here, the focus firstly lies on understanding how PSS are designed today, and secondly, on what should change about PSS design methods to improve their implementability and usability in industrial practice, so that they can fulfill their supposed role as facilitators of efficient PSS design and operation. On the other hand, the possible benefits of providing specifically designed and lifecycle-focused PSS as an industrial company are in focus. To this end, the value attained by providers throughout the use phase of PSS is investigated, to then identify possible approaches towards enhancing this value. Eventually, both focus-areas are joined in an effort to examine the interaction between method-supported, lifecycle-oriented PSS design and the value attained by providers of such offerings. As a result of the research, a lacking adaptation of design processes to PSS is identified in the case companies. Further, shortcomings of PSS design methods conceived in academia, e.g. excessive complexity, lacking clarity and rigidity, are found in both literature as well as in a study with an industrial company. To take a first step towards rectifying this issue, six characteristics intended to enhance implementability and usability of PSS design methods, are presented. The value attained by PSS providers has been found to be a complex but important subject. In a case study, value determinants of high relevance to the use phase of the lifecycle have been identified and assessed for their utility as indicators in the evaluation and enhancement of PSS offerings in the design phase. The practitioners involved were supportive of the applicability of the systematic approach presented to capture more value through offering PSS. In joining both the value- and method-oriented approach, the mutual dependency of both aspects is discussed. In order to provide PSS in an economically and environmentally efficient fashion, adapting the existing design processes is imperative. The value attained by the provider can, complementary to existing customer-centric approaches, serve as an important goal for the adaptation of design processes. Ultimately, through understanding the change in incentive structure at the core of PSS, and through implementing a value-driven design process supported by efficient and effective methods aimed at providing both customer value and capturing provider benefits throughout the lifecycle, there is a genuine potential of conducting more sustainable business.

The increased sophistication of customer needs pushes manufacturers toward integrated offerings where physical products and intangible services collaboratively generate value, also known as Product-Service Systems (PSS). This shifts the focal point from product performance to overall system functionality. However, this naturally increases the importance of requirements linked to the operation and the system's behavior, e.g., reliability, safety, and flexibility. These kinds of requirements that dictate how a system should behave and operate in its context are called non-functional requirements. However, most manufacturing firms have a legacy of focusing mainly on functional requirements.  Alongside this trend, there has been an increasing affordability and availability of data. However, how this data can be utilized for value creation remains a question for the industry. Operational data can serve as a vital source of information about the PSS behavior and value delivery process. Since non-functional requirements depend on the operational context for measuring their performance, operational data can thus provide new insights.  This thesis aims to study the motivation for and challenges of working with non-functional requirements and value within Digital PSS design by manufacturing firms. Firstly, the management of non-functional requirements in the design process is studied. The empirical research determined that there are six challenges that a design team and organization face when working with non-functional requirements. The challenges highlight that non-functional requirements’ fuzzy and intangible aspects make them easy to neglect and hard to include in design and decision-making. A state-of-the-art review is conducted to identify possible remedies. Onward, the intersection between data and value is explored. An overarching classification of operational data and how these can contribute to different forms of value creation is presented based on previous literature. Further, the analysis shows what kind of operational data can be collected using three levels of granularity. Experiences and reflections from multiple companies at different stages in their servitization journey are gathered to complement and expand the perspective on operational data and value.

Problem: Public procurement constitutes a large part of the global economy, accounting for 15% of GDP. But it is also responsible for 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions and consumes vast amounts of raw materials as it is strongly focused on linear products. A more circular alternative is the procurement of Product-Service Systems (PSS), which combine products and services. However, research shows that Circular Public Procurements, such as procurements of PSS, are more complex and require deeper procurer-supplier interaction. Yet, the procurer-supplier interaction in the context of public procurement of PSS has not been empirically explored.  Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore how the interaction between the procurer and supplier throughout the public procurement process can facilitate public procurement of PSS. Method: A qualitative multiple-case study was conducted, exploring four cases of public procurements of PSS between Swedish municipalities and Swedish private companies. Seven semi-structured interviews with interviewees from both sides were conducted. The data was triangulated with case-specific procurement documents.  Results: Procurer-supplier interaction was found to be crucial for procurers and suppliers throughout the public procurement process to make PSS happen and to improve its quality. In both, the preparation and utilisation phase of public procurement, the interaction can bring benefits for procurers as well as for suppliers, thus facilitating PSS.

Purpose: This study aims to examine what is needed by manufacturers and their resellers in thetruck manufacturing industry that wants to pursue a result-oriented PSS. More specifically, thisstudy aims to answer what capabilities are needed for the actors and address what partnershipfactor is needed for collaboration. At the same time, collaboration has been found vital to pursuea PSS, whereas partnership factors can be used to leverage the needed capabilities. Method: This study builds on a qualitative single case study research strategy. The unit of analysisconsists of the European truck manufacturer and its resellers in Singaporean and Malaysianmarkets that want to pursue a product-service system (PSS). The primary data collection wasdone through 24 interviews with decision-makers in a three-phase model, and internalPowerPoint presentations were collected as secondary data. The primary data was then analyzedusing thematic analysis. The main role of theory was to use it to develop interview guides andto be used to code per the thematic analysis. Findings: The result of this study is a framework that shows scholars and practitioners whatcapabilities and partnership factors are needed when planning to pursue a result-oriented PSS inthe truck manufacturing industry. Thirty-three capabilities were identified and categorized acrossvarious business areas, such as capabilities related to the operations of the PSS and innovation.This research further identified six essential partnership factors and explained how these couldbe used to leverage the identified capabilities. Lastly, this research presents a roadmap forprioritizing capabilities and partnership factors for early-stage PSS implementation. The first stepof five is that management should create a clear concept and direction and then create a dedicatedPSS unit to further get the necessary capabilities and partnership factors through iterations. Theoretical- and managerial implications: This study contributes to current PSS literature byexpanding the understanding of what capabilities and partnership factors are needed from amanufacturer-reseller perspective to offer a PSS. Also, it addresses how the partnership factorscan be used to leverage the identified capabilities. Managers can use the framework to evaluatewhich of the capabilities and partnership factors they already have or which they need to get. Itcan further be used to assess the other party before going into a PSS collaboration together. Theroadmap initially guides what is essential so managers can prioritize how to develop or acquirethe necessary capabilities and partnership factors. / Syfte: Denna studie syftar till att undersöka vad som behövs av tillverkare och deras återförsäljare inom lastbilstillverkningsindustrin som vill erbjuda en resultatorienterad PSS. Mer specifikt syftar denna studie till att svara på vilka kapabiliteter som behövs för aktörerna men även villka partnerskapsfaktor som behövs för samverkan. Detta då samarbete visat sig vara avgörande för att driva en PSS, medan partnerskapsfaktorer kan användas för att maximera de nödvändiga kapabiliteterna. Metod: Denna studie bygger på en kvalitativ forskningsstrategi för enskilda fallstudier. Analysenheten består av den europeiska lastbilstillverkaren och dess återförsäljare på singaporeanska och malaysiska marknader som vill erbjuda en PSS. Den primära datainsamlingen gjordes genom 24 intervjuer med beslutsfattare i en trefasmodell och interna PowerPoint-presentationer samlades in som sekundärdata. Primärdata analyserades sedan med hjälp av tematisk analys. Teorins huvudsakliga roll var att använda den för att utveckling intervjuguider och användas även för att koda i den tematiska analysen Resultat: Resultatet av denna studie är ett ramverk som visar forskare och praktiker vilka kapabiliteter och partnerskapsfaktorer som behövs när man planerar att driva en resultatorienterad PSS inom lastbilsindustrin. Trettiotre kapabiliter identifierades och kategoriserades över olika affärsområden, såsom kapabiliteter relaterade till driften av PSS och innovation. Denna forskning identifierade även sex viktiga partnerskapsfaktorer och förklarade hur dessa kunde användas för att utnyttja de identifierade kapabiliteterna maximalt. Slutligen presenterar denna forskning en roadmap för en prioritering av de identifierade kapabiliteterna och partnerskapsfaktorer för PSS-implementering i ett tidigt skede. Det första steget av fem är att ledningen ska skapa ett tydligt koncept och riktning för att sedan skapa en dedikerad PSS-enhet vars upgift är att få tag eller skapa de nödvändiga kapabiliteterna och partnerskapsfaktorerna genom iterationer. Teoretiska och praktiska implikationer: Denna studie bidrar till aktuell PSS-litteratur genom att utöka förståelsen för vilka kapabiliteter och partnerskapsfaktorer som behövs ur ett tillverkare-återförsäljarperspektiv för att erbjuda en PSS. Den tar också upp hur partnerskapsfaktorerna kan användas för att utnyttja de identifierade kapabiliteterna maximalt. Beslutsfattare kan använda ramverket för att utvärdera vilka av de kapabiliteter och partnerskapsfaktorer de redan har eller vilka de behöver skaffa. Den kan vidare användas för att bedöma den andra parten innan man går in i ett PSS-samarbete tillsammans. Roadmappen vägleder initialt vad som är väsentligt så att beslutsfattare kan prioritera hur man ska utvecklar eller införskaffa de nödvändiga kapabiliteterna och partnerskapsfaktorerna.