Proposal of an integrated design framework for ICT-supported Circular Economy business

To realize a circular economy (CE) business, it is important to provide adequate value to users by satisfying the environmental sustainability of the business and its profitability. Moreover, with the recent progress in information and communication technology, modern information systems are indispensable enablers for realizing such CE business types. In this study, we focus on five indispensable elements in designing a CE business (namely, service, product, information system, product life cycle, and earnings structure). To realize a CE business, the mentioned elements must be designed to interact with each other as an integrated system. Therefore, this study proposes a design framework that organizes the design processes of the five elements in a parallel and consistent manner. Based on this framework, we conduct a case study.