Capturing the Human Side of the Product Lifecycle: A Behavior Process Framework for Product Users within a Realized Circular Economy

Abstract The role of consumers - or product users - in achieving a realized Circular Economy (CE) remains insufficiently explored. Likewise, a comprehensive understanding of what it means to be the recipient of fully implemented CE strategies is missing. This paper introduces the “Circular Economy Behavior Process” (CEBP) Framework, an integrative conceptualization of the “human side” of the commonly depicted product lifecycle. Drawing on inter- and transdisciplinary perspectives, the CEBP Framework comprises seven process stages (e.g., “search” and “end-of-use”) and four behavioral pathways (Reduce, Acquire, Own, Access), capturing product user actions and choices along these pathways – hence, the holistic implications for the everyday life of product users. Through a Delphi survey involving 17 experts in CE and sufficiency, from a wide range of backgrounds, the framework was refined and validated. The CEBP Framework advances understandings of what a fully realized CE can entail for product users, providing both theoretical insight and foundation for practical guidance. Specifically, it serves as a tool for policymakers and practitioners to design interventions that foster and enable consumer engagement in CE behaviors. Moreover, the framework offers a structured means to bridge the long-standing divide between sustainable consumption (behavioral perspectives) and sustainable production (design and engineering). This integration enhances comprehension of the dynamic interactions among technology, business models, infrastructure, consumption, and policy, which are key to achieving sustainable, systemic outcomes.