Extracting the relationship between product-service system features and their implementation barriers based on a literature review

Abstract

Product-service systems (PSSs) are gaining traction as a means of achieving sustainability. Predicting potential barriers of PSSs at the design phase is crucial for enhancing their social acceptability. To realise such predictions, designers should understand the relationship between potential barriers and features of designing PSSs in advance. Although existing studies have investigated several barriers in the design, implementation, and operation of PSSs, the relationship between the barriers and the PSS features is not sufficiently clear. Thus, predicting potential barriers during the design process remains challenging. The aim of this study was to propose a method to predict potential barriers based on the features of a PSS designed to enable appropriate preventive actions towards a sustainable PSS. To this end, this study investigated potential barriers and developed the categories that organise barriers in each life cycle phase (design, implementation, operation, etc.) of PSSs based on a literature review. Then, tendencies of the relationship between barriers and the features of PSSs were extracted by applying the developed categories to several PSS case studies. This result is effective for designers’ appropriate preventive actions for PSS configuration in the design phase by predicting potential barriers from the features of PSS being designed.