Dimensions of Behaviour Change in the context of Designing for a Circular Economy

Abstract

Circular economy research has seen increasing attention over the years, but with limited attention for how to design circular solutions that will actually change user behaviour. At the same time, Design for Sustainable Behaviour as a research field has so far not explicitly focused on behaviours that are particular for a circular economy. To address this gap, the paper presents product and service examples as a grid consisting of nine dimensions of behaviour change (control, obtrusiveness, timing, exposure, meaning, importance, direction, encouragement, and empathy) and four goals for circular economy (maintenance, reuse, refurbishment, and recycling). It is shown that examples for almost all combinations exist. Second, based on four case studies, the paper addresses in more detail how different dimensions of behaviour change are used and analyses their application in four case companies. Results suggest that all dimensions are relevant, but the variation in application differs greatly.