Circular Economy Strategies: Unexplored Business Models and Public Scheme Interactions
Category: Sustainability · Effect: Moderate effect · Year: 2025
Many circular economy business strategies, particularly those focused on product life extension and use extension, remain underexplored in game theory research, despite their potential for sustainability.
Design Takeaway
Focus innovation efforts on developing and understanding the viability of circular economy models like product-as-a-service and product life extension, as these are currently underserved areas with significant potential.
Why It Matters
Understanding the strategic interactions between emerging circular economy business models and existing public incentives is crucial for fostering widespread adoption. Identifying these research gaps allows for targeted development of policies and business strategies that can accelerate the transition to a circular economy.
Key Finding
Current research in circular economy and game theory heavily favors resource recovery strategies, leaving product life extension, use extension, and newer models like sharing platforms and PaaS largely unexamined in the context of public incentives.
Key Findings
- Resource recovery is the most researched circular economy strategy in game theory literature.
- Product life extension and product use extension strategies are significantly under-researched.
- Strategies like circular inputs, sharing platforms, and product-as-a-service (PaaS) are largely unexplored in relation to public schemes.
Research Evidence
Aim: What are the unexplored intersections between circular economy business strategies and public schemes within game theory research?
Method: Literature Review and Game Theory Analysis
Procedure: The study surveyed existing game theory literature concerning circular economy business strategies and public schemes, categorizing strategies and public incentives to identify areas of limited research.
Context: Circular Economy Business Strategy and Public Policy
Design Principle
Prioritize research and development into circular economy business models that extend product life and promote service-based offerings, as these represent significant opportunities for sustainable innovation.
How to Apply
When developing new product or service concepts, consider how they can be designed for longevity, repairability, and eventual reintegration into material cycles, and investigate potential public support mechanisms.
Limitations
The analysis is based on existing game theory literature, which may not encompass all emerging circular economy strategies or public schemes.
Student Guide (IB Design Technology)
Simple Explanation: Many ways to make products circular are not well-studied, especially when considering how government help (like grants or taxes) works with business ideas like renting products instead of selling them, or making products last longer.
Why This Matters: Understanding which circular economy strategies are less explored helps identify opportunities for innovation and allows for more informed design decisions that can contribute to sustainability goals.
Critical Thinking: Given the under-exploration of certain CE strategies, what are the potential risks and rewards for businesses that pioneer these models, and how can public schemes be designed to mitigate risks and amplify rewards?
IA-Ready Paragraph: This research highlights that while resource recovery is a well-studied aspect of the circular economy within game theory, strategies such as product life extension, use extension, and product-as-a-service remain significantly underexplored. This gap presents an opportunity for design projects to investigate innovative business models and their interaction with public schemes, potentially leading to more effective and widespread adoption of circular practices.
Project Tips
- When choosing a design project, consider exploring a circular economy strategy that is currently under-researched.
- Investigate how different public incentives could support or hinder the adoption of your chosen circular economy strategy.
How to Use in IA
- Use this research to justify the novelty and potential impact of your chosen design approach within the circular economy.
Examiner Tips
- Demonstrate an awareness of the broader landscape of circular economy strategies and their current research status.
Independent Variable: Circular Economy Business Strategies (e.g., resource recovery, product life extension, PaaS)
Dependent Variable: Level of research and investigation within game theory literature, interaction with public schemes
Controlled Variables: Public schemes (e.g., taxation, subsidies, EPR)
Strengths
- Provides a structured overview of research gaps in CE strategy and public scheme interactions.
- Identifies specific areas for future research and design innovation.
Critical Questions
- Why have certain CE strategies been more extensively researched than others?
- What are the primary barriers to adopting less-researched CE strategies, and how can public schemes address these?
Extended Essay Application
- An Extended Essay could investigate the game theory dynamics of implementing a product-as-a-service model in a specific industry, considering various public incentive structures.
Source
Circular economy business strategies and public schemes: a game theory‐based survey · International Transactions in Operational Research · 2025 · 10.1111/itor.70031