An ecosystem orchestration framework for the design of digital product passports in a circular economy

Abstract

Digital product passports are considered key levers for a circular economy. By encouraging intraorganizational and interorganizational exchange of data and information, they enable informed life cycle decision-making to circulate products and materials at their highest utility. This is contingent on the engagement of supply chain actors to contextualize the industrial implications in the span between regulatory compliance and additional value-generation. Through the lens of ecosystem orchestration, this multiple case study draws upon industrial insights from three product manufacturers as well as a sample of their respective suppliers, service partners, customers, and third-party recycling companies to identify 16 practices and five orchestration mechanisms. These unfold at different stages of ecosystem maturity. Combined, they construct a framework for the adaptation of digital product passports in industrial ecosystems. This provides guidance for practitioners throughout the contextualization and utilization of digital product passports and extends the scientific debate in the direction of operationalization. As digital product passports are still in their infancy, avenues for further research are identified, particularly concerning the operational foundations, including the adherent driving and inhibiting factors toward the implementation of digital product passports.