Product Reuse Economics in Closed‐Loop Supply Chain Research

TLDR

The paper reviews analytic research on the business economics of product reuse, inspired by industrial practice, and calls for future empirical studies on consumer behavior, product diffusion, and return valuation. The authors classify the literature into four streams—industrial engineering/operations research, design, strategy, and behavioral—and present a framework linking these streams. The review highlights insights and critical assumptions for each paper, noting that some modeling assumptions risk institutionalization and urging renewed exploration of industrial practice.

Abstract

This paper provides a critical review of analytic research on the business economics of product reuse inspired by industrial practice. Insights and critical assumptions are provided for each paper. We further classify the research into four streams: industrial engineering/operations research, design, strategy, and behavioral, and present a framework linking these streams. We find that some modeling assumptions risk being institutionalized, and suggest a renewed exploration of industrial practice. Future research should also include empirical work on consumer behavior, product diffusion, and valuation of returns.