Assessment of the maturity of product-as-a-service business models for household appliances from the perspective of R strategies in Circular Economy

Abstract

Product-as-a-service (PaaS) is an example of a circular business model which is currently promoted by the European Commission, as one of the main drivers towards transition to Circular Economy. The current policy prioritizes products with high circularity potential, as for example Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE), to improve product durability, reusability, upgradability, and reparability. PaaS models are emerging in consumer markets, but their circularity is often not fully explored. To overcome this limitation, we propose a new approach to assess PaaS business models from the perspective of R strategies, such as remanufacturing, refurbishment, or repair. The model is designed based on the literature review, the opinions of industry experts, and secondary and primary case studies. The available offers for PaaS of household appliances for B2C are analyzed, with particular emphasis on the implemented elements of the R strategies. The results show that the potential of PaaS models with regard to their circularity has not yet been fully exploited.