Roles and capabilities of stakeholders in open design-driven distributed value creation for localised circular economies

Abstract

Open design and distributed production present potentials for empowering individuals and communities to create, share, access and produce diverse, sustainable designs that can meet their own local needs and the needs of future generations. The literature on distributed production and value creation deploys various sustainable future visions, along with matching assumptions on the roles of various stakeholders who can engage in these open and distributed processes of design, production, and post-use, who operate at varying scales (i.e., individual, local, regional, and global) and with different intentions for creating and recapturing value (i.e., for self and for others). This paper presents the outcomes of a survey conducted as part of a research project on exploring open design-led business models that can establish resilient and adaptive distributed value creation networks and localised circular economy loops, with a particular focus on electrical household appliances. The survey aimed to understand the varying roles stakeholders can take, their existing capabilities, and the kinds of knowledge, skills, and resources they would require to actively participate in such distributed production and value creation networks in Turkey. The results provide comprehensive insights into the types of stakeholders involved in the process, the knowledge, skills, and resources required, and the gaps in accessing them in Turkey. The paper identifies various directions for future research, including exploring secondary raw materials for individual fabrication, individualised post-use practices of reuse, refurbishing and recycling, and codesigning post-use.