Abstract
The shift to markets based on servicising, i.e. market-level transitions from product-based to service-based production and consumption patterns, may contribute to achieve absolute decoupling, i.e. the combined development of economic growth and environmental impact reduction. However, the potential of this contribution is largely unknown. In this paper a generic agent-based model of servicising is presented with which this potential can be explored further, taking into account decision making procedures of business and consumer agents, including market research, preferences, and willingness to pay. The details of the servicising model are presented, and the model's abilities are demonstrated through three case studies from different sectors: car and bike sharing, crop protection, and domestic water-saving systems. Absolute decoupling was found to occur in some of the policy scenarios, but results vary widely between cases. It is concluded that the model can be used to explore the impact of public policy on the uptake of servicising and on absolute decoupling in various sectors, and is therefore a useful support tool for policy makers who aim to promote servicising, as well as for researchers studying potential servicising impacts.
Highlights
Continuous worldwide economic growth is still correlated with increasing consumption of resources and associated wastes, even though resource efficiency increases (Eurostat, 2011)
In this paper the following research question is answered: How can the potential impact of servicising policy on absolute decoupling be explored by means of agent-based modelling, and how can policy makers and researchers be supported in the modelling process? This question is addressed by means of the description and demonstration of a generic agent-based model that policy makers can use to explore the impacts of servicising policy in markets from various domains
This paper presents a generic agent-based model that can be used to explore the impact of servicising policy on absolute decoupling in various product-based markets
Summary
Continuous worldwide economic growth is still correlated with increasing consumption of resources and associated wastes, even though resource efficiency increases (Eurostat, 2011). This question is addressed by means of the description and demonstration of a generic agent-based model that policy makers can use to explore the impacts of servicising policy in markets from various domains. In this paper the following research question is answered: How can the potential impact of servicising policy on absolute decoupling be explored by means of agent-based modelling, and how can policy makers and researchers be supported in the modelling process? This model is to our knowledge the first comprehensive simulation model dealing with the service economy. The practical value and limitations of the model are discussed
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