A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä
Digital platforms for nurturing circular neighbourhood spirits
Tekijät: Korsunova, Angelina; Kurilova, Marina; Viholainen, Noora; Lundberg, Piia; Nenko, Oleksandra; Galaktionova, Anastasiia
Kustantaja: Bristol University Press
Julkaisuvuosi: 2025
Journal: Consumption and Society
Tietokannassa oleva lehden nimi: Consumption and Society
Vuosikerta: 4
Numero: 2
Aloitussivu: 296
Lopetussivu: 315
eISSN: 2752-8499
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1332/27528499Y2025D000000048
Verkko-osoite: https://doi.org/10.1332/27528499Y2025D000000048
The circular economy vision assumes that consumers will be increasingly turning into users of circular services, enabled by various digital platforms. Yet while apps can help to connect and educate consumers on circularity, the app market can be overwhelming. Moreover, many digital tools are designed for consumers as independent rational individuals, interested in self-gain and self-education. Our study combines social learning theory, literature on circular consumption and digitalisation to highlight the need for digital solutions that could reinforce existing social relations and serve as enabling tools for neighbourhood-based approaches of reusing, sharing, renting and recycling together with close circles of friends, relatives or neighbours. Empirically, we draw on everyday experiences of front-runner citizens who have been implementing circularity, zero waste and sustainable consumption principles to examine whether and how digital platforms have facilitated their circularity in everyday life. Our study is based on a set of 40 semi-structured interviews, analysing the circular experiences of eco-activists and eco-influencers from Finland and the city of St Petersburg (Russia) and their use of digital platforms for circularity. Our results show that despite the flourishing app market, the circular citizens from our data often relied on ad-hoc solutions developed through social media platforms and messenger apps to facilitate their circular consumption in local communities with shared values regarding circularity. While these solutions might lack the sophistication and technical flexibility for convenient search and filtering, they still remain attractive due to their capacity to embed circular consumption locally and among preferred social circles.
Julkaisussa olevat rahoitustiedot:
This work was funded by Kone Foundation (grant number [202006996]), we are grateful for the financial support and practical assistance we received.