Exploring rental business models as a way to extend furniture lifetime: Establishing rental furnishing service for students in Lund

Abstract: The European furniture industry is driven to change from linear to circular business models. Product-service systems (PSS) are considered to offer promising solutions that may enable the transition towards the circular economy. In the furniture industry, one example of a product-service system is the furnishing rental service. However, understanding of how such a service could be developed and implemented is lacking. This research seeks to fill this gap by studying a case in Lund, Sweden, where several companies expressed interests in developing rental furnishing service for students. A mix-method of quantitative and qualitative research is used in this study. Firstly, based on the concept of PSS, the drivers, barriers, and ideal scenarios of the key actors in the case of Lund are explored through in-depth interviews and discussions. Secondly, based on the concept of network tactics proposed by Reim et al. (2015), four scenarios are then developed and their feasibility is assessed. Thirdly, based on the concept of stakeholder theory, potential consumers' acceptance and perceptions on developing such a service is also explored through an online survey and follow-up interviews. This thesis concludes that a more comprehensive PSS is a promising solution in addressing the problem of inefficient use of furniture in student accommodations. More proactive collaborations between institutional actors as well as consider consumers co-creator are encouraged in order to establish a rental furnishing service that can reach financial, environmental, and social sustainability. In order to accelerate the speed of the development of such a service, further research is required in two directions, namely test upon the ideal scenarios in a real-life context and research into the role of other types of the stakeholders, such as policymaker, local government, or financier.