Opportunities and barriers for circular economy-business models Comparing conditions for rental in markets dominated by sales

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to describe motives, opportunities and barriers, and their similarities and differences, for firms that rent out products in markets dominated by sale firms. This is empirically investigated by interviews with representatives of six firms operating in different markets. The theoretical framework is general economic sociology and in particular “new institutional” theories about markets and fields combined with agency theories. What is similar between the firms is that they try to establish rental in their market, they do not have role models and they experience rental as unknown or “strange” for prospective cooperators and consumers. Differences are mainly dependent on their type of customer, the products, and whether they base their business model on rental or do it as a “side project”. This article identifies that firms that mostly sell products, but also develop rental services, have a particularly interesting position, providing possible tensions between accounted motives, perceived opportunities and actual strategies to spread rental.