Manufacturing firms’ efforts and challenges in digitalization: searching for circularity

Other conference contribution, 2023

ABSTRACT. Purpose Digitalization creates numerous opportunities including digitally enabled offerings and extended “product lifetime” (Ertz et al., 2022). Manufacturers are increasingly investing in a range of digital technologies (Aryal et al., 2018). Research starts to explore how digital-enabled circular strategies can work and how digital technologies can be leveraged for circular economy (CE) (Kristoffersen et al., 2020). However, how to achieve this is in practical terms is referred to as an industry challenge and very uncertain (Björkdahl, 2020). Manufacturers need decision and implementation support for developing CE strategies and related application of digital technologies. Developing this type of understanding and support is the starting point for this paper. In this study, we aim to study manufacturing companies’ efforts towards digitalization and circularity. The goal is to analyze the challenges involved and to identify possible paths forward towards circularity.

Design/methodology/approach The paper builds on a multiple case study of three manufacturers in Sweden. The case studies rely on multiple data sources, interviews, study visits, workshops, and secondary information. The within-case analysis forms the base for discussion across cases and elaborate on the paths towards circularity.

Findings The preliminary results show that the three manufacturers have focused on exploring new service-based offering to their customers using digitalization, seeing it as an enabler to enrich their market offers. While interested in circularity, using digitalization to become more circular seems challenging due to digitalization not being treated as an opportunity for cross-department transformations.

Original/value This paper sheds light on how three manufacturers use digital technologies to develop service-based products and are planning for sustainable circular transition through digitalization. It identifies common industrial challenges and provide suggestions to practitioners and researchers on what is needed to achieve digitally enabled circular systems.