Diffusion of access-based product-service systems: Adoption barriers and how they are addressed in practice

摘要: Access-based product-service systems are frequently suggested as innovative business models that could enable sustainable consumption, by allowing consumers to access products’ functionalities without purchasing the products. This can reduce the number of idle products and incentivise the providing organisation to extend product lifetimes through maintenance and repair, as only ‘functional’products generate revenue. However, consumer adoption of such offerings has been slow so far. In this study, we present barriers to consumer adoption of access-based product-service systems, ways in which they are addressed in practice, and examine them through an innovation management lens. We identify adoption barriers in literature and explore how they are addressed in practice through interviews with providers and users of access-based product-service systems for mobility such as bicycle sharing. We cluster the resulting data according to the innovation attributes of Rogers’(1995) innovation diffusion model. Many barriers relate to the benefits and hindrances perceived by consumers in access-based product-service systems compared to more traditional alternatives. We conclude that consumer adoption of access-based product-service systems is more complex than the diffusion of product innovations because access-based product-service systems are bundles of product, service, and infrastructure elements. Consumer adoption of these offerings can be enhanced by providing relevant benefits and by increasing the visibility of their consumption.