Innovation and Obsolescence. Repairer’s Perspective on Innovation as A Barrier to Repair

In the current context of the environmental crisis, innovation can play a key role in both reproducing current unsustainable and linear production-consumption systems, but also in promoting sustainability and the circular economy. This paper explores the contribution of innovation to current patterns of obsolescence and also the innovative tools that repairers come up with in order to bypass or overcome those types of barriers. We employ a multimethod approach, using literature review, semi-structured interviews and data collected from original questionnaires sent to independent repairers. The results of this research point towards interconnectivity as a main driver for obsolescence. Repairers have been shown to employ collaborative and cooperative arrangements, similarly to other knowledge-intensive industries, to acquire the necessary know-how to overcome some of the barriers posed by obsolescence dynamics.