CIRCULAR LOGISTICS SERVICES: CONCEPTUALIZATION, CONFIGURATION AND VALUE-CREATION

Licentiate thesis, 2026

Abstract

The transition from a linear to a circular economy (CE) demands logistics services that extend beyond the forward or reverse movement of goods to enable multi-directional, multi-loop resource circulation. Despite growing scholarly attention to the intersection of logistics and CE, the field exhibits two interrelated gaps that limit the understanding of the logistics service in CE. The first is conceptual: reverse logistics (RL) remains the dominant framing for logistics in CE, yet its unidirectional, single-lifecycle scope does not capture the multi-actor, multi-directional, and multi-loop resource circulation demands from CE. The second is configurational: even if a broader concept were established, the field has neither assessed whether existing logistics actors can deliver on it nor explained through what conditions and configurations logistics services create value in CE. These are two dimensions of the same problem: designing logistics services in CE requires understanding both who can provide what services and how the service provision translates into value. This thesis addresses both gaps with the purpose of developing a conceptual foundation for understanding logistics services in CE through three studies. The first study is a systematic literature review conceptualizing circular logistics services (CLS); the second study is a contingency theory-based content analysis assessing logistics service buyer-provider fit; and the third study is interview-based, examining CLS value creation through service-dominant logic and the logistics utility concept.

The findings characterize CLS as a distinct logistics service phenomenon in three ways: (i) by extending RL through three building blocks and a formal definition that captures the multi-actor, multi-loop and multi-directional resource circulation aspects of CE; (ii) by establishing that no single provider type achieves fit across strategic, functional, and capability levels simultaneously; and (iii) by reconsidering the logistics utility framework, where form utility shifts to become the central logistics function in CE. The findings further show that CLS creates value through its own service logic rather than as operational support. This service logic comprises four conditions (specialist knowledge, material properties, dual-value logic, and institutional arrangements) that shape how value is created, giving rise to five CLS archetypes that capture distinct value-creating configurations, formalized through seven propositions.

The thesis contributes to CE and logistics literature by introducing CLS as a distinct service concept, adding a three-layer fit concept to contingency theory for logistics service buyers and providers, reconfiguring the logistics utility framework, and qualifying service-dominant logic for material-intensive CE contexts.