Chinese Product-Service System Innovations Enabled via Governmental Policies: The E-Scooter Case

Chinese Product-Service System Innovations Enabled via Governmental Policies: The E-Scooter Case

Abstract

Together with increasingly saturated and commoditized global markets companies are driven to shift their business focus, adopting a strategy where customer perceived value is in the spotlight, and where products are bundled with services to offer Product-Service Systems (PSS). In this research we study the emergence of PSS solutions in the Chinese market via a selected case study on e-scooters, based on the governmental decision to ban fossil-fuel scooters in the late 90s and how this has spurred both a fossil-to-electric transformation and a product-to-function transformation. As seen in this research PSS is also an approach that is working well in the Eastern society and especially in China, based on governmental policies. It is gradually being adopted and applied in local industries significantly by China’s leading internet companies (Didi, Alibaba etc). The PSS concept represented by e-bike cases in China has gradually penetrated into different industries. With governmental decisions as the key turn-point, it can be seen in practice and development that China’s related service industry is using e-bike PSS to carry out the new business model from selling e-bikes to providing service-oriented solutions.

Keywords

Product-Service Systems (PSS), Case study, Circular economy

Citation

Yan, Z., Larsson, T., & Larsson, A. (2021). CHINESE PRODUCT-SERVICE SYSTEM INNOVATIONS ENABLED VIA GOVERNMENTAL POLICIES: THE E-SCOOTER CASE. Proceedings of the Design Society, 1, 611-620. doi:10.1017/pds.2021.61

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