Data-Driven Sustainable Services: A Technology Affordance Perspective

Tanvir Ahmed () and Christian Kowalkowski
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Tanvir Ahmed: Linköping University, Centre for Business Model Innovation (CBMI), Department of Management and Engineering (IEI)
Christian Kowalkowski: Linköping University, Centre for Business Model Innovation (CBMI), Department of Management and Engineering (IEI)

A chapter in Sustainable Product-Service Systems, 2026, pp 167-183 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract This chapter explores how manufacturing firms can leverage data to enable sustainable digital servitization, enhancing both environmental and financial performance. Using affordance theory, it presents a framework for identifying and actualizing data affordances to create sustainable services. It introduces the concept of data debt, emphasizing risks from data disaffordances, when firms underutilize data, undermining decision-making and return on investment. The proposed three-step framework involves: (1) data shaping, converting raw data into insights; (2) identifying first-order affordances to develop descriptive services for operational optimization; and (3) leveraging feedback loops to identify second-order affordances that support prescriptive services and sustainable product usage. This cascading nature of affordances highlights lower-order affordances to enable higher-order affordances to foster sustainable data-driven servitization. The chapter outlines four service orientations: managing depreciation, extending lifecycles, reducing environmental impact, and improving efficiency. It highlights the practice-oriented value of advanced data analytics and reuse through data sharing and expert collaboration.

Keywords: Sustainability; Servitization; Data affordance; Data debt (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-032-07765-3_10

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-07765-3_10

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