Browsing by Author "Myllärniemi, Joona"

The circular economy has gained popularity as an alternative to the linear consumption and production practices that have accelerated various urgent environmental issues. Repair businesses are vital for an efficient transition to the circular economy, due to their capacity to keep materials and energy embedded in products in circulation for longer periods. The decreasing number of repair businesses can hinder consumer access to repair services, especially in a sparsely populated country like Finland. Moreover, repair plays a significant role in the circular economy strategies of Finland and the EU. However, there is little knowledge available about the barriers and enablers facing Finnish repair businesses. With this thesis, I aim to contribute to filling this knowledge gap and outline supportive measures for promoting Finnish repair businesses. To achieve this goal, I conducted interviews with eight repair businesses, four unions of repair businesses, one insurance company, and one spare part recycling centre. In addition, I conducted a literature review to understand the state-of-the-art knowledge about various factors affecting repair and repair businesses. The results from the interviews were largely in line with the current literature in terms of many barriers, enabling factors, and policy recommendations. However, the interviews revealed variation between different product categories, as well as in the prevalence and importance of barriers. Furthermore, the interviews highlighted several barriers for repair businesses in Finland that were not apparent in the literature review. To address these barriers, various supportive measures based on the literature and interviews were proposed. Further research should be conducted to assess the viability and effectiveness of these supportive measures.