Sociotechnical Barriers to Circular Furniture Production: A Case Study of Swedish Regional Counties

Paper in proceeding, 2026

The transition toward a Circular Economy (CE) demands a systemic transformation of production systems, requiring the simultaneous evolution of organizational structures and technology, often framed as socio-technical alignment. In Sweden, regional counties act as major public customers for the domestic furniture industry, and their procurement routines strongly influence how circular material flows are enabled-or constrained-in practice. Grounded in the Socio-Technical Systems Theory (STST) framework, this study investigates how sociotechnical misalignments limit the development of circular furniture production systems. A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining a quantitative survey administered to managers across Sweden's regional counties (47.6% response rate, N=10) with thematic analysis of expert focus group interviews. The results reveal persistent fragmentation across the socio-technical system. On the social side, responsibility for furniture strategy is often unclear or absent, with 40% of respondents reporting no assigned ownership. On the technical side, existing digital procurement systems remain poorly suited to circular practices, lacking basic functionality for asset tracking, reuse coordination, and reverse logistics. The study concludes that industrial-scale circularity cannot be achieved through isolated interventions. Instead, it requires joint optimization of procurement governance, digital infrastructure, and manufacturing systems. Particular attention must be given to the everyday user journey of ordering furniture, where circular options currently remain difficult to identify, evaluate, and choose in practice.