IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/teinso/v81y2025ics0160791x25000442.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Exploring the nexus of institutional factors and regulatory focus in driving platform-based servitization and circular economy adoption

Author

Listed:
  • Shah, Sayed Kifayat
  • Yuan, Jingbo
  • Tajeddini, Kayhan
  • Gamage, Thilini Chathurika
  • Liu, Mingxia

Abstract

Although digitalization has garnered considerable attention in service management literature, integrating a platform-based approach to boost circular economy (CE) practices remains relatively underexplored. Grounded in the institutional-based theory and regulatory focus theory, this paper investigates how institutional-level factors and regulatory focus (RF) foster platform-based servitization (PBS), driving CE practices in business firms. Using data drawn from a paper-based survey of 390 managers from 143 service firms in China, this study used the partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique to analyze the data. The findings reveal that metaverse, network collaboration, and environmental disclosure significantly and positively impact fostering PBS. PBS, in turn, acts as a mediator, potentially influencing the implementation of CE practices in business firms. Further, promotion-RF positively moderates the relationship between fostering PBS in business firms and implementing CE practices, whereas preventive-RF negatively moderates this relationship. These findings provide actionable recommendations for managers and industry practitioners to formulate business strategies that fully harness the potential of promoting PBS and CE beyond purely technological benefits.

Suggested Citation

  • Shah, Sayed Kifayat & Yuan, Jingbo & Tajeddini, Kayhan & Gamage, Thilini Chathurika & Liu, Mingxia, 2025. "Exploring the nexus of institutional factors and regulatory focus in driving platform-based servitization and circular economy adoption," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:teinso:v:81:y:2025:i:c:s0160791x25000442
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techsoc.2025.102854
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160791X25000442
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.techsoc.2025.102854?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mathivathanan, Deepak & Mathiyazhagan, K. & Khorana, Sangeeta & Rana, Nripendra P. & Arora, Bimal, 2022. "Drivers of circular economy for small and medium enterprises: Case study on the Indian state of Tamil Nadu," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 997-1015.
    2. Daniel L Gamache & François Neville & Jonathan Bundy & Cole E Short, 2020. "Serving differently: CEO regulatory focus and firm stakeholder strategy," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(7), pages 1305-1335, July.
    3. Shen, Lei & Sun, Wanqin & Parida, Vinit, 2023. "Consolidating digital servitization research: A systematic review, integrative framework, and future research directions," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    4. Guo, Aifang & Li, Yuke & Zuo, Ze & Chen, Guangpu, 2015. "Influence of organizational elements on manufacturing firms' service-enhancement: An empirical study based on Chinese ICT industry," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 183-190.
    5. Li, Fangye & Liu, Weiwei & Bi, Kexin, 2021. "Exploring and visualizing spatial-temporal evolution of patent collaboration networks: A case of China's intelligent manufacturing equipment industry," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    6. Zabel, Christian & O'Brien, Daniel & Natzel, Jonathan, 2023. "Sensing the Metaverse: The microfoundations of complementor firms' dynamic sensing capabilities in emerging-technology ecosystems," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    7. Chowdhury, Soumitra & Åkesson, Maria & Thomsen, Michel, 2021. "Service innovation in digitalized product platforms: An illustration of the implications of generativity on remote diagnostics of public transport buses," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    8. Do, Quynh & Mishra, Nishikant & Colicchia, Claudia & Creazza, Alessandro & Ramudhin, Amar, 2022. "An extended institutional theory perspective on the adoption of circular economy practices: Insights from the seafood industry," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 247(C).
    9. Wai-Ming To & Peter K. C. Lee & Antonio K. W. Lau, 2021. "Economic and Environmental Changes in Shenzhen—A Technology Hub in Southern China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-17, May.
    10. Upadhayay, Neha B. & Rocchetta, Silvia & Gupta, Shivam & Kamble, Sachin & Stekelorum, Rebecca, 2024. "Blazing the trail: The role of digital and green servitization on technological innovation," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    11. Zhang, Abraham & Wang, Jason X. & Farooque, Muhammad & Wang, Yulan & Choi, Tsan-Ming, 2021. "Multi-dimensional circular supply chain management: A comparative review of the state-of-the-art practices and research," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    12. Kapoor, Kawaljeet & Bigdeli, Ali Ziaee & Schroeder, Andreas & Baines, Tim, 2022. "A platform ecosystem view of servitization in manufacturing," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    13. Weeks, Richard & Benade, Siebert, 2015. "The development of a generic servitization systems framework," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 97-104.
    14. Al-Emran, Mostafa & Deveci, Muhammet, 2024. "Unlocking the potential of cybersecurity behavior in the metaverse: Overview, opportunities, challenges, and future research agendas," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    15. Armstrong, J. Scott & Overton, Terry S., 1977. "Estimating Nonresponse Bias in Mail Surveys," MPRA Paper 81694, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Cheng, Li-Keng & Huang, Hsien-Long & Yang, Shou-Yu, 2021. "Attitude toward 5G: The moderating effect of regulatory focus," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    17. Maduku, Daniel K., 2024. "How environmental concerns influence consumers’ anticipated emotions towards sustainable consumption: The moderating role of regulatory focus," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    18. Wirtz, Jochen & Xiao, Ping & Chiang, Jeongwen & Malhotra, Naresh, 2014. "Contrasting the Drivers of Switching Intent and Switching Behavior in Contractual Service Settings," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 90(4), pages 463-480.
    19. Jiang, Hong & Yang, Jingxuan & Gai, Jinlong, 2023. "How digital platform capability affects the innovation performance of SMEs—Evidence from China," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    20. Abou-Foul, Mohamad & Ruiz-Alba, Jose L. & López-Tenorio, Pablo J., 2023. "The impact of artificial intelligence capabilities on servitization: The moderating role of absorptive capacity-A dynamic capabilities perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    21. Dalenogare, Lucas Santos & Le Dain, Marie-Anne & Ayala, Néstor F. & Pezzotta, Giuditta & Frank, Alejandro G., 2023. "Building digital servitization ecosystems: An analysis of inter-firm collaboration types and social exchange mechanisms among actors," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    22. Xing, Yijun & Liu, Yipeng & Davies, Philip, 2023. "Servitization innovation: A systematic review, integrative framework, and future research directions," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    23. Arpaci, Ibrahim & Karatas, Kasim & Kusci, Ismail & Al-Emran, Mostafa, 2022. "Understanding the social sustainability of the Metaverse by integrating UTAUT2 and big five personality traits: A hybrid SEM-ANN approach," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    24. Tian, Jiamian & Coreynen, Wim & Matthyssens, Paul & Shen, Lei, 2022. "Platform-based servitization and business model adaptation by established manufacturers," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    25. Shuhaiber, Ahmed & Mashal, Ibrahim, 2019. "Understanding users’ acceptance of smart homes," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    26. Al-Emran, Mostafa, 2023. "Beyond technology acceptance: Development and evaluation of technology-environmental, economic, and social sustainability theory," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    27. Shah, Sayed Kifayat & Zhongjun, Tang & Sattar, Abdul & XinHao, Zhou, 2021. "Consumer's intention to purchase 5G: Do environmental awareness, environmental knowledge and health consciousness attitude matter?," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    28. Huy Quang Pham & Phuc Kien Vu, 2022. "Unravelling the Potential of Digital Servitization in Sustainability-Oriented Organizational Performance—Does Digital Leadership Make It Different?," Economies, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-20, July.
    29. Lapologang, Sebaka & Zhao, Shuliang, 2023. "The impact of environmental policy mechanisms on green innovation performance: the roles of environmental disclosure and political ties," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    30. Fu, Xiaolan & Ghauri, Pervez & Ogbonna, Nwamaka & Xing, Xiaoqiang, 2023. "Platform-based business model and entrepreneurs from Base of the Pyramid," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    31. Pallant, Jessica L. & Karpen, Ingo O. & Sands, Sean J., 2022. "What drives consumers to customize products? The mediating role of brand experience," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    32. Hong Nham, Nguyen Thi & Ha, Le Thanh, 2022. "Making the circular economy digital or the digital economy circular? Empirical evidence from the European region," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    33. Khanra, Sayantan & Dhir, Amandeep & Parida, Vinit & Kohtamäki, Marko, 2021. "Servitization research: A review and bibliometric analysis of past achievements and future promises," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 151-166.
    34. Kumar, Mukesh & Raut, Rakesh D. & Mangla, Sachin Kumar & Chowdhury, Soumyadeb & Choubey, Vikas Kumar, 2024. "Moderating ESG compliance between industry 4.0 and green practices with green servitization: Examining its impact on green supply chain performance," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    35. Vendrell-Herrero, Ferran & Bustinza, Oscar F. & Opazo-Basaez, Marco, 2021. "Information technologies and product-service innovation: The moderating role of service R&D team structure," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 673-687.
    36. Sophie I. Hallstedt & Ola Isaksson & Anna Öhrwall Rönnbäck, 2020. "The Need for New Product Development Capabilities from Digitalization, Sustainability, and Servitization Trends," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-26, December.
    37. Chen, Ping-Kuo & Ye, Yong & Wen, Ming-Hui, 2023. "Efficiency of metaverse on the improvement of the green procurement policy of semiconductor supply chain – based on behaviour perspective," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(PA).
    38. Elisa Carloni & Serena Galvani, 2024. "Correction to: Actors, resources, and activities in Digital Servitization: a business network perspective," Italian Journal of Marketing, Springer, vol. 2024(2), pages 245-246, June.
    39. David J. Langley, 2022. "Digital Product-Service Systems: The Role of Data in the Transition to Servitization Business Models," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-17, January.
    40. Lucas Santos Dalenogare & Marie-Anne Le Dain & Néstor Ayala & Giuditta Pezzotta & Alejandro Frank, 2023. "Building digital servitization ecosystems: An analysis of inter-firm collaboration types and social exchange mechanisms among actors," Post-Print hal-04811390, HAL.
    41. Kakar, Shayan Khan & Wang, Jing & Arshed, Noman & Le Hien, Tran Thi & Akhter, Sehrish & Abdullahi, Nazir Muhammad, 2025. "The impact of circular economy, sustainable infrastructure, and green FinTech on biodiversity in Europe: A holistic approach," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    42. Julian Kirchherr & Andrea Urbinati & Kris Hartley, 2023. "Circular economy: A new research field?," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 27(5), pages 1239-1251, October.
    43. Shah, Sayed Kifayat & Zhongjun, Tang, 2021. "Elaborating on the consumer’s intention–behavior gap regarding 5G technology: The moderating role of the product market-creation ability," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    44. Elisa Carloni & Serena Galvani, 2024. "Actors, resources, and activities in Digital Servitization: a business network perspective," Italian Journal of Marketing, Springer, vol. 2024(2), pages 197-224, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Filosa, Clara & Jovanovic, Marin & Agostini, Lara & Nosella, Anna, 2025. "Pivoting B2B platform business models: From platform experimentation to multi-platform integration to ecosystem envelopment," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 280(C).
    2. Bag, Surajit & Gupta, Shivam & Chan, Hau-Ling & Kumar, Ajay, 2024. "Building smart product-service systems capabilities for circular supply chains in the Industry 4.0 era," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    3. Castro-Lopez, Adrian & Iglesias, Victor & Santos-Vijande, María Leticia, 2023. "Organizational capabilities and institutional pressures in the adoption of circular economy," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    4. Kumar, Mukesh & Raut, Rakesh D. & Mangla, Sachin Kumar & Chowdhury, Soumyadeb & Choubey, Vikas Kumar, 2024. "Moderating ESG compliance between industry 4.0 and green practices with green servitization: Examining its impact on green supply chain performance," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    5. Papadopoulos, Thanos & Pattanayak, Sirsha & Ramkumar, M., 2025. "Exploring the impact of metaverse adoption on sustainability outcomes in retail organizations: A dynamic capabilities view perspective," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 217(C).
    6. Ayala, Néstor Fabián & Rodrigues da Silva, Jassen & Cannarozzo Tinoco, Maria Auxiliadora & Saccani, Nicola & Frank, Alejandro G., 2025. "Artificial Intelligence capabilities in Digital Servitization: Identifying digital opportunities for different service types," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 284(C).
    7. Pedro E. Minaya & Lucía Avella & Juan A. Trespalacios, 2024. "Synthesizing three decades of digital servitization: a systematic literature review and conceptual framework proposal," Service Business, Springer;Pan-Pacific Business Association, vol. 18(2), pages 193-222, June.
    8. Gia Ninh Nguyen & Sandeep Salunke, 2025. "The role of servitization in turbulent markets: evidence from Malaysian manufacturing companies," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 52(2), pages 313-357, June.
    9. Chowdhury, Soumyadeb & Ren, Shuang & Richey, Robert Glenn, 2025. "Leveraging artificial intelligence to facilitate green servitization: Resource orchestration and Re-institutionalization perspectives," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 281(C).
    10. Jia, Yibo & Cui, Li & Su, Jingqin & Wu, Lin & Akter, Shahriar & Kumar, Ajay, 2024. "Digital servitization in digital enterprise: Leveraging digital platform capabilities to unlock data value," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 278(C).
    11. Rimsha Naeem & Marko Kohtamäki & Vinit Parida, 2025. "Artificial intelligence enabled product–service innovation: past achievements and future directions," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 19(7), pages 2149-2192, July.
    12. Lu, Hsiao-Han & Huang, Shi-Fen, 2025. "Assessing the key factors influencing 4G users' intentions to upgrade to 5G networks," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    13. Rehman, Anisur & Behera, Rajat Kumar & Islam, Md Saiful & Elahi, Yasir Arafat & Abbasi, Faraz Ahmad & Imtiaz, Asma, 2024. "Drivers of metaverse adoption for enhancing marketing capabilities of retail SMEs," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    14. Peng, Yue & Wang, Wei & Zhen, Shangsong & Liu, Yunqiang, 2024. "Does digitalization help green consumption? Empirical test based on the perspective of supply and demand of green products," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    15. Canboy, Başak & Khlif, Wafa, 2025. "Beyond efficiency: Revisiting AI platforms, servitization and power relations from a critical perspective," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    16. Wang, Shaofeng & Zhang, Hao, 2024. "Green entrepreneurship success in the age of generative artificial intelligence: The interplay of technology adoption, knowledge management, and government support," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    17. Shahzad, Khuram & Ashfaq, Muhammad & Zafar, Abaid Ullah & Basahel, Sarah, 2024. "Is the future of the metaverse bleak or bright? Role of realism, facilitators, and inhibitors in metaverse adoption," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    18. Xing, Zeyu & Yalçin, Haydar & Daim, Tugrul, 2024. "Digital Economy's influence on R&D Network configurations: Integrating resource dependence theory and institutional theory," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    19. Luo, Shuangcheng & Xiong, Zhiqiao & Liu, Jianjiang, 2024. "How does supply chain digitization affect green innovation? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    20. Mina, Giorgio & Peira, Giovanni & Bonadonna, Alessandro, 2023. "Public perception and social sustainability of indoor farming technologies: A systematic review," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:teinso:v:81:y:2025:i:c:s0160791x25000442. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/technology-in-society .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.