Short answer

When designing business models that integrate product-as-a-service with circular economy principles, actively consider and strategically influence the regulatory, normative, and mimetic pressures in the market to enhance legitimacy and operational viability.

Field: Innovation & Design
Source: Journal of Cleaner Production (2024)
Method: Conceptual study with illustrative case examples
Evidence: Strong effect

Aligning product-as-a-service models with circular economy principles is significantly driven by a confluence of institutional pressures that enhance business model legitimacy and operational success. This innovation & design research insight is drawn from a 2024 study published in Journal of Cleaner Production. Using Conceptual study with illustrative case examples, researchers explored how this design variable affects real-world outcomes. The key design takeaway: When designing business models that integrate product-as-a-service with circular economy principles, actively consider and strategically influence the regulatory, normative, and mimetic pressures in the market to enhance legitimacy and operational viability.

Study

Innovation & DesignRecentStrong effect

Institutional Confluence Drives Sustainable Servitization and Circularity

Journal of Cleaner Production · 2024

Key Findings

01Institutional confluence can act as a key driver for aligning servitization with circular principles.
02This confluence enhances the legitimacy of sustainable business models to stakeholders.
03It shapes resources, processes, and value capture mechanisms to support sustainability.
04It can inhibit the adoption of unsustainable business models.

Application

Design takeaway

How to apply

When developing a new product-service system, research the existing and potential regulatory requirements, industry standards, and competitor practices to identify opportunities for creating institutional confluence that supports circularity.

Project actions

01When proposing a new design or business model, analyze the 'institutional environment' it will operate in.
02Consider how you can make your design more appealing by aligning it with existing or emerging regulations, industry norms, and successful competitor strategies.

Method & Evidence

AimHow can institutional confluence facilitate the alignment of servitization and circular economy principles within business models to promote environmental sustainability?

MethodConceptual study with illustrative case examples

ProcedureThe study develops the concept of institutional confluence by analyzing how various institutional pressures (regulatory, normative, mimetic) interact to support business models that combine servitization (product-as-a-service) with circular economy principles. Case examples from existing sustainable servitization and circular business models are used to illustrate the concept.

ContextBusiness model innovation, sustainable business practices, servitization, circular economy

Variables

IVInstitutional confluence (configuration of regulatory, normative, and mimetic pressures)

DVAlignment of servitization and circularity principles in business models; Business model legitimacy and operational success; Environmental sustainability outcomes

Strengths & Limitations

Strengths

+Provides a novel conceptual framework (institutional confluence) for understanding sustainable business model innovation.
+Connects two important but often separate concepts: servitization and circularity.

Limitations

It can be challenging to accurately measure or predict the impact of institutional confluence, and external factors can change rapidly.

Reliability & validity

The conceptual nature of the study and reliance on illustrative cases may limit generalizability. Future empirical research is needed to establish reliability and validity across diverse contexts.

Think critically

To what extent can designers actively 'create' institutional confluence, rather than simply reacting to it, to drive sustainable innovation?

Design Principles

"Design for institutional confluence to foster sustainable business model innovation."

Designers and strategists can leverage institutional confluence—the combined effect of regulatory, normative, and mimetic pressures—to legitimize and operationalize business models that integrate servitization and circularity. This approach fosters innovation by shaping resources, processes, and value capture, while simultaneously discouraging unsustainable practices.

What This Means for Your Design

Think about how rules, what people expect, and what competitors are doing can all work together to make it easier for a company to offer services instead of just products, and to make those services environmentally friendly.

How to use in your project

1.Use the concept of institutional confluence to justify the strategic direction of your design project, explaining how external pressures can support your proposed sustainable business model.

Add to My Project

Quick Cite

Paragraph starter

The proposed design for a [product/service] aims to integrate servitization with circular economy principles. This approach is further strengthened by the concept of 'institutional confluence,' where regulatory, normative, and mimetic pressures can collectively enhance the legitimacy and operational viability of such a sustainable business model. By aligning with [mention specific regulations, industry standards, or competitor actions], this design seeks to leverage these external forces to foster adoption and discourage unsustainable alternatives.

Source

Journal of Cleaner Production

Aligning servitization and circularity: The role of institutional confluence in sustainable business models

journal · 2024

View source

Questions About This Research

What does the research say about institutional confluence drives sustainable servitization and circularity?: When designing business models that integrate product-as-a-service with circular economy principles, actively consider and strategically influence the regulatory, normative, and mimetic pressures in the market to enhance legitimacy and operational viability. Evidence: Journal of Cleaner Production (2024).
Why does "Institutional Confluence Drives Sustainable Servitization and Circularity" matter for design?: Designers and strategists can leverage institutional confluence—the combined effect of regulatory, normative, and mimetic pressures—to legitimize and operationalize business models that integrate servitization and circularity. This approach fosters innovation by shaping resources, processes, and value capture, while simultaneously discouraging unsustainable practices.
How can designers apply this research?: When designing business models that integrate product-as-a-service with circular economy principles, actively consider and strategically influence the regulatory, normative, and mimetic pressures in the market to enhance legitimacy and operational viability.
What were the main findings?: Institutional confluence can act as a key driver for aligning servitization with circular principles.. This confluence enhances the legitimacy of sustainable business models to stakeholders.. It shapes resources, processes, and value capture mechanisms to support sustainability.. It can inhibit the adoption of unsustainable business models.
What research method was used?: Conceptual study with illustrative case examples.
How strong is the evidence?: Evidence strength is rated Strong effect, based on a 2024 journal from Journal of Cleaner Production.
What should I do differently in my next project?: When developing a new product-service system, research the existing and potential regulatory requirements, industry standards, and competitor practices to identify opportunities for creating institutional confluence that supports circularity.
What are the limitations?: The study is conceptual and relies on illustrative case examples, requiring further empirical validation across diverse contexts.