A conceptional structure for challenging the rebound effect of the product-service system

Abstract

The product obsolescence rate is one of the product-service system rebound effect issues. Obsolescence can be generated by both planned obsolescence and post-production obsolescence. Planned obsolescence can increase sales and revenue artificially. However, the pattern of planned obsolescence has demonstrated that obsolescence is no longer limited to functional obsolescence but rather rapidly evolves to include quality and aesthetic aspects. Moreover, post-production consuming behaviours hasten the rate of product obsolescence, especially in the absence of ownership. At this point, rapid obsolescence contradicts the spirit of the Product-service System's (PSS) value proposition. During the stage of value co-creation, such topics must be considered. According to research on PSS and the co-creation process, the co-creation of value is inherent to PSS. Nevertheless, managing the process of value co-creation is another challenge. In addition, decision-making should also be prevented from being dominated by a high degree of centralisation. This paper presents a preliminary investigation into constructing a framework for managing the value co-creation process and decision-making to prevent the rebound effect based on conceptual review. This study identifies methods applicable to the co-creation procedure. A conceptional structure of co-creation of value and decision-making is presented.