Circular Product-Service-System Ideation Canvas – A Framework for the Design of Circular Product-Service-System Ideas

Abstract

The concept of the circular economy has emerged as a promising economic model to fulfill the increasing requirements for sustainable development. The underlying mechanism of a circular economy is based on the reuse, reduce, and recycle of technical and biological resources. Manufacturing companies need to adapt their existing business to the specific requirements of a circular economy to remain viable. Especially, the existing product design must be adapted to the business logic of a circular economy. For this, product-service-system (PSS) have a variety of potentials to operationalize a circular economy. However, the manufacturing sector lacks knowledge and methodological assistance to develop circular product-service-system ideas. Hence, the aim of the paper is a circular PSS ideation canvas to develop expedient PSS ideas for a circular economy. For this purpose, a design science approach was used. Requirements for the design of circular PSS ideas were gathered from literature and practice. Based on this, the identified requirements were assessed using a qualitative content analysis and assigned into an appropriate structuring framework. The resulting circular PSS ideation canvas comprises the core aspects of the value proposition canvas according to Osterwalder/Pigneur as well as 16 additional elements, such as obligations, existing business value, and the internal goals. Hence, the circular PSS ideation canvas provides companies with a systematic and structured assistance for developing new and circular PSS ideas. This enables companies to create initial PSS ideas in consideration of circular and sustainable requirements. The practical applicability of the circular PSS ideation canvas was evaluated with a medium-sized company in the electronics sector.