Product Quality in the Circular Economy: A Systematic Review of its Definition and Contexts in Scientific Literature

Abstract

In the context of the Circular Economy (CE), quality is one of the most widely used keywords, but generally perceived as an ambiguous term without further definition or explanation. The present paper analyzes the use of the term product quality in the context of the CE through a systematic literature review including 132 peer-reviewed journal articles. The results reveal that the term quality, although not always explicitly defined, is associated with a variety of topics, namely market value, customer perspective, functionality, technical attributes, longevity, R-strategies and design, and environmental aspects. The aforementioned topics are used in different application contexts and partly show reciprocal relationships amongst each other. They further refer to the three sustainability perspectives (environmental, economic and social). The quantification of quality is observed to be rather limited and mainly based on assumptions. When it is quantified, technical properties, functionality and longevity are most frequently mentioned aspects, which are used within circularity or environmental impact assessment. While acknowledging the limitations arising from the scope of the included studies, which may be influenced by the keywords chosen, the review revealed that quality in the CE literature is complex and ambiguous. Therefore, for future research, we recommend authors to clearly define quality and its characteristics in the context of their respective research. By doing so, a better interpretation and comparability of the results can be achieved. Graphical Abstract