Impact of sustainable product development tools through intermediaries: A multi-actor study of pathways and conditions

Journal article, 2026

This study provides an empirically grounded, multi-actor investigation of how industrial impact of sustainable product development (SPD) tools forms along the pathway from academic tool development, through intermediary adoption and adaptation, to client application, and under what conditions impact unfolds over time. A multi-actor, multiple-case design, combining an embedded consultancy case with cross-sector client cases was employed, using interviews and follow-up questionnaires to explore how consultants adopt and adapt academically developed SPD tools and how clients experience and assess their application and impact. The analysis shows that adoption by consultants is enabled when tools are proven useable and time-effective in early phases, provide clear visualizations and credible traceability, and can be customized to sector language and practices. Across client cases, the application of SPD tools was perceived primarily as an enabler for innovation and competitiveness, together with increased ability to meet customer needs and improved reputation. The findings indicate a multi-layered and time-phased pattern of impact where impacts were reported most consistently at organizational level, including mindset change, cross-functional dialogue, and prioritization routines, whereas more technical and measurable outcomes emerged more selectively, with time delay, and depended on enabling conditions beyond tool use, e.g., governance and leadership, supplier capability and openness, policy and market signals. System-level change is discussed as a potential downstream pathway when SPD tool use is paired with deliberate work on enabling conditions. The study synthesizes these insights into seven multi-actor recommendations for researchers, consultants, and firms on designing, translating, and embedding SPD tools to maximize impact.