Organizational implications of circular business models

Purpose and goal

The goal of the project was to evaluate opportunties for, and plan a second project for, the funding programme Innovative organization with Volvo Construction Equipment and one of their customers. During the project the application project changed, rendering the customer´s organization irrelevant. Therefore Volvo Car Corporation Accessory was engaged as the second company partner. Specific application projects and individuals in each company were connected to a future collaborative research project in stage 2. A detailed plan for analysis and diffusion was developed.

Results and expected effects

The project has achieved expected results: groundwork for application in stage 2; a detailed plan and budget for stage 2; and grounded plan for how the results of stage 2 will be utilized by the involved companies and Swedish industry. Of note is that the involved companies are very interested in the project and its theme (functional sales and circular business models). For instance, one company explicitely suggested an increase in project size and corresponding in kind-financing compared to the project plan (and beyond the programme´s maximal funding limit).

Approach and implementation

The project was implemented in line with the five steps of the funding application: 1. Need and opportunity identification based on 15 interviews. 2. A structured literature review of methods for development of functional sales offers. 3. Interviews and the literature informed a specification of research questions and the project plan in stage 2. 4. Concept and offer development plans for application projects were iteratively created with, and by, the companies. 5. Internal diffusion occurs through the collaborative research design, external through industry associations.