Transition towards Sustainable Solutions: Product, Service, Technology, and Business Model

Abstract

Nowadays, the horse industry can be considered as an important industry in European countries and has a major role in agricultural industry throughout the world. Although today the diversity of the horse-related companies provides new markets and business opportunities, there are also some sustainable issues which needs to be addressed. Therefore, this study contributes to this research gap by reviewing the concept of sustainability and existing approaches to find sustainable solutions for companies. These sustainable approaches can be applied to products, services and technologies as well as business models, such as the product-service-system (PSS), circular economy (CE) and industrial symbiosis (IS). Although there seems to be a growing understanding of sustainable approaches and their role in sustainable development, there is a lack of research at the empirical level regarding the types of sustainability approaches (i.e., technologies, services, products and business models) that evolve in specific industries. The empirical data in this research have been collected from a cross-section of Finnish horse industry operators to determine how willing companies are to exploit approaches to sustainable solutions, as well as what the existing sustainable solutions are in this industry. The response rate of this study is approximately 24 percent, including 139 received valid responses among the sample of 580 operators.

Designing business models in circular economy: A systematic literature review and research agenda

“…In addition, and always based on the shift towards a new way of proposing value for customers—that is, delivering functionality rather than ownership—the PSS research also offers the opportunity to reflect on the transition to more sustainable business models (Nasiri, Rantala, Saunila, Ukko, & Rantanen, ; Yang, Smart, Kumar, Jolly, & Evans, ), which provides the basis for companies to better contribute to a circular economy (Khan, Mittal, West, & Wuest, ). In particular, PSSs tackle the issue of changing the traditional (linear) industrial paradigm by reducing the environmental consumption and by contributing to a more efficient use of resources.…”

Sustainability Assessment of Product–Service Systems Using Flows between Systems Approach

“…To address the sustainable design of a PSS, the sustainability performance of the system, taking into account environmental, economic and social dimensions, should be quantified. However, the studies in relation to PSS sustainability assessment are still in the early phase, and criteria, methods and tools to support the assessment process are required [10,11].…”

Using an online platform for the improvement of industrial symbiosis and circular economy (in Western Macedonia, Greece)

“…The objectives and targets set in European legislation (based on the "waste hierarchy") are key drivers to improve waste management, stimulate innovation in recycling, limit the use of landfilling, and create incentives to change consumer behavior (Van Ewijk et al, 2018). If we re-manufacture, reuse and recycle, and if one industry's waste becomes another's raw material, we can move to a more circular economy where waste is eliminated and resources are used in an efficient and sustainable way (Nasiri et al, 2018).…”