From Theory to Reality: Implementing Product-as-a-Service in Practice
(2025) INTM01 20251Innovation Engineering
- Abstract
- The way resources are extracted, consumed and handled after use puts pressure on the environment. In order to slow down the flow of resources, circularity has emerged as a solution by the EU through the Circular Economy Action Plan. To make the transition to a circular economy possible, companies have to adjust their business models accordingly and Product-as-a-Service is one of many circular business models which has been identified as a gateway to the circular economy.
This thesis explores the transition from a traditional product-based business model to a Product-as-a-Service model at Nor:disk Clean Solutions. It aims to bridge the gap between literature and practical execution by identifying challenges and enablers in the... (More) - The way resources are extracted, consumed and handled after use puts pressure on the environment. In order to slow down the flow of resources, circularity has emerged as a solution by the EU through the Circular Economy Action Plan. To make the transition to a circular economy possible, companies have to adjust their business models accordingly and Product-as-a-Service is one of many circular business models which has been identified as a gateway to the circular economy.
This thesis explores the transition from a traditional product-based business model to a Product-as-a-Service model at Nor:disk Clean Solutions. It aims to bridge the gap between literature and practical execution by identifying challenges and enablers in the transition using a qualitative research design. This study contributes to existing research as it provides insights into the organizational, economic and operational factors influencing success when adopting Product-as-a-Service. The research questions are answered through a case study and a comparison with literature. Lastly, the findings were clustered into aggregated dimensions in a Gioia analysis, providing an overview of challenges and enablers.
In conclusion, key challenges consisted of a fragmented market structure and the need for a clear value proposition. Important enablers included being adaptable and having supportive ownership. While the literature recognizes some challenges and enablers, such as the importance of external alignment, it does not fully capture the complexity of implementing a new business model, for example overlooking the implications of a scattered market. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9198913
- author
- Johansson, Sofia LU and Martinsson, Oscar
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- INTM01 20251
- year
- 2025
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- circularity, circular business models, Product-as-a-Service, PaaS, Product-Service Systems, PSS
- language
- English
- id
- 9198913
- date added to LUP
- 2025-06-17 13:15:34
- date last changed
- 2025-06-17 13:15:34
@misc{9198913,
abstract = {{The way resources are extracted, consumed and handled after use puts pressure on the environment. In order to slow down the flow of resources, circularity has emerged as a solution by the EU through the Circular Economy Action Plan. To make the transition to a circular economy possible, companies have to adjust their business models accordingly and Product-as-a-Service is one of many circular business models which has been identified as a gateway to the circular economy.
This thesis explores the transition from a traditional product-based business model to a Product-as-a-Service model at Nor:disk Clean Solutions. It aims to bridge the gap between literature and practical execution by identifying challenges and enablers in the transition using a qualitative research design. This study contributes to existing research as it provides insights into the organizational, economic and operational factors influencing success when adopting Product-as-a-Service. The research questions are answered through a case study and a comparison with literature. Lastly, the findings were clustered into aggregated dimensions in a Gioia analysis, providing an overview of challenges and enablers.
In conclusion, key challenges consisted of a fragmented market structure and the need for a clear value proposition. Important enablers included being adaptable and having supportive ownership. While the literature recognizes some challenges and enablers, such as the importance of external alignment, it does not fully capture the complexity of implementing a new business model, for example overlooking the implications of a scattered market.}},
author = {{Johansson, Sofia and Martinsson, Oscar}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{From Theory to Reality: Implementing Product-as-a-Service in Practice}},
year = {{2025}},
}