State-of-the-art on product-service systems and digital technologies

Book chapter, 2021

Digitalization has undoubtedly revolutionized the way businesses think, plan and operate. This transition finds origin in the dramatic increase in demand of digital solutions, from those that target every day activities to highly-specific manufacturing processes. The last decades have been characterized for having both researchers and practitioners join efforts to innovate through solutions that are smarter, more productive and more efficient. This constant effort has accompanied the appearance of other impactful phenomena, often considered as a new industrial revolution. In a historically parallel line, companies made leaps towards exploring alternative ways to organize their business structure and relate to their customers. So is the case of Product-Service Systems (PSS), which have called for increased attention in the last years due to the extensive opportunities they offer. Recent literature raises the question of which and how sustainability advantages can be derived from PSS implementation. This study aims to understand the interactions of digital technologies and PSS through a state-of-the-art review. The authors have identified that academic literature encounters the challenge of finding digital technologies under a large cloud of different terminologies, which complicates systematization. Therefore, increased efforts will be applied to clarify the area of study and provide novel insights and results. This process will include the dissemination of enablers, constrains and possible effects of integrating digital technologies with PSS. The authors aim to contribute to the on-going discussion regarding the relationship between PSS and sustainability, specifically in applications that have high impacts, such as digital technologies.