The role of digital technologies to overcome Circular Economy challenges in PSS Business Models: an exploratory case study

Abstract

Circular Economy has been usually indicated as a promising approach to promote economic development and sustainability. Despite this general agreement, the Circular Economy paradigm is still little adopted by companies, as they need to face several challenges. In this context, Product-Service Systems (PSS) Business Models play a major role, as they have been proposed as an opportunity for promoting sustainability. Today, digital technologies are seen as a key factor to enable PSS, allowing at the same time the introduction of Circular Economy into companies. However, little attention has been set on how new digital technologies can overcome in practice the main Circular Economy challenges. To fill this gap, this paper explores such a role through a case study of a company who leverages Internet of Things, Big Data and Analytics in the provision of its PSS Business Model. Based on the findings of the empirical investigation, the role that the selected digital technologies play in overcoming the Circular Economy challenges is presented and discussed.