Table 4 Service research priority:... | Emerald Publishing

Table 4

Service research priority: circular service operations and systems

Illustrative managerial challenges/opportunities	Illustrative service research questions
● Managers are challenged to think beyond “just” circular resources; rather the entire service model can be set up to support such initiatives yet comes with its own challenges and requires greater managerial guidance	● How can circular operations optimize packaging strategies to reduce waste generation and environmental impact while maintaining product integrity and customer satisfaction?
● Even if managers are seeking to dematerialize and increase circular service systems, this will often require the “opening up” of existing systems to allow for alternative solutions to be employed, which comes with new challenges	● What are the key drivers and barriers for the dematerialization of products and services in sustainable operations, and how can firms effectively transition towards more resource-efficient alternatives?
● Often circular solutions might be implemented in local “test beds’ first; however, managers are often challenged the task of scaling such solutions into broader relevance and applicability	● How to scale up circular service models to increase reach and impact? In addition, how to do this in an authentic and meaningful way to avoid equivalent tendencies such as “green washing”, etc.?
● What kind of industry-specific challenges and opportunities are associated with transforming service operations toward higher sustainability?	● What are the key challenges and opportunities in adopting sustainable practices within, for example, the healthcare industry to minimize environmental impacts while maintaining high-quality patient care?
● Circularity requires alignment across the value chain/service system. It is likely a difficult task to ensure all partners are on board and committed, while potentially requiring the opening up their processes and databases	● What is the role of various actors in facilitating and enhancing the implementation of circular solutions? To what degree are knowledge sharing or collaborative governance possible to enable circular solutions?
● Public procurement represents a significant share of service systems and resources. Yet, city councils, schools or universities, hospitals, etc. can feel overwhelmed in changing their systems toward circular solutions	● How can public institutions reconsider their procurement approaches to enable circular solutions? What is the right balance between imposing requirements on suppliers versus incentivizing suppliers? How can they support a change in public service consumptions among citizens?
● To date, governments have led the push toward more circular systems (e.g. banning single use plastics), however, there is an expectation that organizations will start to lead the charge (Ponte, 2019)	● What is the impact of regulatory and policy landscapes on circular service management and how do service managers navigate this best?
● Scaling up of new and “better” solutions in service systems is a major management challenge (Di Pietro et al., 2017). Circular solutions might not scale up due to inhibiting rules and regulations	● What are major inhibitors and enablers for circular operations practices to scale up? What role do dynamic contracts play? What constitutes best practice?
● Culture and other institutional factors might act as barriers or facilitators for service operations	● Which values, norms, symbols, language or other artefacts support the implementation of circular services?

Illustrative managerial challenges/opportunities	Illustrative service research questions
● Managers are challenged to think beyond “just” circular resources; rather the entire service model can be set up to support such initiatives yet comes with its own challenges and requires greater managerial guidance	● How can circular operations optimize packaging strategies to reduce waste generation and environmental impact while maintaining product integrity and customer satisfaction?
● Even if managers are seeking to dematerialize and increase circular service systems, this will often require the “opening up” of existing systems to allow for alternative solutions to be employed, which comes with new challenges	● What are the key drivers and barriers for the dematerialization of products and services in sustainable operations, and how can firms effectively transition towards more resource-efficient alternatives?
● Often circular solutions might be implemented in local “test beds’ first; however, managers are often challenged the task of scaling such solutions into broader relevance and applicability	● How to scale up circular service models to increase reach and impact? In addition, how to do this in an authentic and meaningful way to avoid equivalent tendencies such as “green washing”, etc.?
● What kind of industry-specific challenges and opportunities are associated with transforming service operations toward higher sustainability?	● What are the key challenges and opportunities in adopting sustainable practices within, for example, the healthcare industry to minimize environmental impacts while maintaining high-quality patient care?
● Circularity requires alignment across the value chain/service system. It is likely a difficult task to ensure all partners are on board and committed, while potentially requiring the opening up their processes and databases	● What is the role of various actors in facilitating and enhancing the implementation of circular solutions? To what degree are knowledge sharing or collaborative governance possible to enable circular solutions?
● Public procurement represents a significant share of service systems and resources. Yet, city councils, schools or universities, hospitals, etc. can feel overwhelmed in changing their systems toward circular solutions	● How can public institutions reconsider their procurement approaches to enable circular solutions? What is the right balance between imposing requirements on suppliers versus incentivizing suppliers? How can they support a change in public service consumptions among citizens?
● To date, governments have led the push toward more circular systems (e.g. banning single use plastics), however, there is an expectation that organizations will start to lead the charge (Ponte, 2019)	● What is the impact of regulatory and policy landscapes on circular service management and how do service managers navigate this best?
● Scaling up of new and “better” solutions in service systems is a major management challenge (Di Pietro et al., 2017). Circular solutions might not scale up due to inhibiting rules and regulations	● What are major inhibitors and enablers for circular operations practices to scale up? What role do dynamic contracts play? What constitutes best practice?
● Culture and other institutional factors might act as barriers or facilitators for service operations	● Which values, norms, symbols, language or other artefacts support the implementation of circular services?

Source(s): Table by the authors