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Consumers’ Perspective on Product Care: An Exploratory Study of Motivators, Ability Factors, and Triggers
Abstract
Product care is defined as all activities initiated by the consumer that lead to the extension of a product's lifetime. This research contributes to the literature by taking a consumer's perspective on product care, which is essential to postpone product replacement. We used Fogg's behaviour model as a theoretical framework to understand consumers' motivation, ability and triggers related to product care. Based on this, 15 in-depth interviews were conducted to explore consumers' current product care behaviour. Our findings show that many consumers are generally motivated to take care of their products, for example because they appreciate the product's functionality or because they are generally keen to consume in a sustainable way. They even have the right knowledge and tools or are at least motivated to get them. What is often missing are triggers that push people to take care of their products. Triggers can increase consumers' motivation or ability, for example by giving necessary tools to the consumer or by a helpful service offer. We also give suggestions for the practical implementation of our findings to support companies interested in a shift towards the Circular Economy.
... The second most-cited circular consumer behaviour in our SLR is caring for and maintaining products. According to Ackermann et al. (2018), this behaviour is related to prolonging a product's lifetime through preventive measures (e.g. using a smartphone cover), performing maintenance (i.e. maintaining a product in a sound state), and repairing (i.e. ...
... In our SLR, motivation was found to influence product care and the recovery of electrical and electronic waste (Botelho et al., 2016). Additionally, consumers' ability to engage in circular behaviour, related to the knowledge, skills, tools, time, and effort needed to perform the behaviour, has only been addressed by two articles concerning product care (Ackermann, 2018;Ackermann et al., 2018). Consumers' perceived ability to perform product care was positively associated with this behaviour. ...
... Triggers affect circular consumption behaviour, as they positively influence consumer engagement, for example, consumers' assumption leads them to be challenged to perform a behaviour (Ackermann, 2018;Ackermann et al., 2018). Triggers can also negatively influence circular behaviour, for instance, when they suddenly dislike a product's appearance or functionality (Ackermann, 2018;Ackermann et al., 2018). ...
The transition to a circular economy presents new ways to create and offer value by proposing changes to current production and consumption systems. This study focuses on the challenges concerning consumers' acceptance of circular offerings and their engagement with the circular economy. Through a systematic literature review, we investigated consumers' mindsets, behaviour, and influencing factors, and positioned them in circular consumption systems. This review was conducted using two databases, Scopus and Web of Science, in January 2020 and updated in September 2020. A total of 107 articles were screened, and 53 were included in the analysis. We mapped 6 circular mindsets, 14 circular behaviours, and 54 factors that influenced them. Our results show that broad interpretations and generalisations concerning these elements should be carried out carefully, as they are highly contextually driven. However, their role in consumption systems is clear. Consumers' mindsets are the starting point of circular consumption systems, as they present pre-dispositions in engaging with circular offerings. These mindsets are expressed by consumer behaviour, which allows product flow in these systems; they, in turn, are affected by influencing factors. We suggest that continued updates on this systematic literature review should be conducted, along with the development of a structured tool to help organisations engage their consumers by developing circular mindsets and encouraging circular behaviour, using the influencing factors.
... Product care is defined as activities initiated by consumers that prevent shortening of products' lifetimes or even extend products' lifetimes (Ackermann et al., 2018). It includes activities such as repair and maintenance, but also careful handling, and the use of adequate accessories. ...
... However, prior research has shown that the ability alone does not lead to product care. Instead, a value-action gap can be observed; consumers realise the necessity to take care of their products, yet they fail to include these activities in their daily lives (Ackermann et al., 2018). Due to this observation, the design strategies for product care include approaches that focus on increasing consumers' motivation. ...
... It includes frugality, environmental concern, long-term orientation and use innovativeness, which describes the tendency to use and alter products in a creative way. As previous research (Ackermann et al., 2018) has shown, people vary greatly in their product care behaviour, and these individual traits seem to play a crucial role. However, we assume that these personrelated variables might not only affect product care directly, but might also influence the decision to buy a product new or second-hand or to select a long-term access model. ...
Product-service systems are circular business models that can potentially extend product lifetimes and reduce resource consumption. However, consumer product care is crucial in these business models. We explore consumer product care of newly bought, second-hand, and accessed bicycles and washing machines through an online survey (n = 212). Our analysis shows lower consumer product care of accessed products compared to ownership. Three strategies could address this; design for care, design to reduce the need for care, contractual conditions to stimulate care or penalise the lack thereof.
... Furthermore, user perceptions may influence their decision to repair (Nazlı, 2021). Users who have doubts whether a product can be repaired are more likely to refrain from self-repair and choose repair service instead (Ackermann et al., 2018;Wieser and Tröger, 2017). This is because they could fear they are incapable of repairing the device, they could do more harm than good in the process or they could need too much time. ...
... Repair instructions and repair services have both been proposed as approaches to create positive user experience, which would translate into higher satisfaction and loyalty (Zomerdijk and Voss, 2010). User satisfaction resulting from a positive experience would promote product lifetime extension (Ackermann et al., 2018;Sabbaghi et al., 2016). An appropriate technological design may benefit both user experience with repair instructions as well as with repair services. ...
... Positive experience with repair instructions for modular products can be further increased by other factors, such as time, appearance, social norms, or previous care experiences (Ackermann et al., 2018). While CE attitudes reflect previous care experiences, this study found they reduce the positive effect of SMPD on experience with repair instructions. ...
Innovation through modular product design is a promising strategy for product lifetime extension and material recyclability. Yet, sustainability benefits of the design do not automatically come into effect, but require additional process innovation through service activities that have to be attractive and made use of by users. This study investigates to what extent sustainability-focused modular product design in the smartphone sector promotes (1) self-repair versus use of repair service and (2) a positive user experience with repair instructions and services. It further analyzes how circular economy attitudes and perceived self-repairability moderate these effects. The quantitative analysis finds that, strengthened by higher perceived self-repairability, users of modular smartphones are more likely to use repair instructions. Also, modular smartphone design increases positive experience with repair instructions. Consequently, successful implementation and management of complementary product and service innovation are key to promoting product lifetime extension in the smartphone industry.
... Whether a consumer chooses to repair a broken product or not depends on a number of factors, including the price of the repair, the price of a new product, and the costin time and money required to get a good repair service (Ackermann et al., 2018;laws (Svensson-Hoglund et al., 2021). Consumers are also likely to be influenced by various cultural and social factors that affect the choice to repair or not (Ackermann et al., 2018;Jaeger-Erben et al., 2021). ...
... Whether a consumer chooses to repair a broken product or not depends on a number of factors, including the price of the repair, the price of a new product, and the costin time and money required to get a good repair service (Ackermann et al., 2018;laws (Svensson-Hoglund et al., 2021). Consumers are also likely to be influenced by various cultural and social factors that affect the choice to repair or not (Ackermann et al., 2018;Jaeger-Erben et al., 2021). ...
... This is especially relevant for products with short innovation cycles like computers and cell phones, as consumers tend to a have high expectations related to performance and aesthetics (Jaeger-Erben et al, 2021; Maitre-Ekern & Dalhammar, 2016). Low prices for many products lead to less "economic and emotional" investment in products, which inhibits the incentives for repairs (Ackermann et al., 2018;Cooper & Salvia, 2018;Hernandez et al., 2020). Further, the cost in terms of money, time and energy for performing repairs is often considered to be high, whereas the repair service is not always of high quality (Jaeger-Erben et al., 2021). ...
Extending the lifetime of products is seen as a key objective for realising the vision of a Circular Economy. One way to increase the lifespan of products is to enable more repair activities. However, consumers encounter a variety of barriers for repairs, prompting public authorities in Europe and the US to adopt or propose policies in support of consumer repairs. Sweden has recently adopted a circular economy action plan, where increasing the number of consumer repairs is a stated objective. However, Sweden has so far only adopted a few repair policies, most notably through the tax reliefs for the repair sector that were implemented in 2017. The aim of this contribution is to research how Sweden could develop a more comprehensive policy mix for promoting consumer repairs, also by taking into consideration initiatives from other countries and regions. The research is based on a literature review and semistructured interviews with policymakers and other relevant actors in Sweden, Europe and the US. The study shows that a lot of interesting initiatives aiming at increasing repairs are currently being proposed. The new requirements related to repairs, developed within the European Union’s (EU) Ecodesign Directive, have been positively received but the process is cumbersome and it will take time before their full effect becomes evident. Initiatives, such as the French repairability index and the French repair fund will create incentives for the producers to design more repairable products and make it easier for consumers to repair. On the same track, the Repair Network of Vienna with its repair vouchers makes repairs cheaper and more trustworthy. Also, the US policy proposals on right-to-repair laws would help to create an open market for repairs for a lot of products. Sweden has the possibility to gain knowledge through the implementation of similar policies, and by considering new policies suggested in literature and by the interviewees. Thus there is potential for Sweden to be a frontrunner in creating a more resource efficient society through increased repair activity. Concluding, some preliminary proposals for a future policy mix are presented.
... They classify explanatory factors into four categories 1 : The product itself, the relationship between the consumer and the product, the consumer, and the context. Factors in the first category concern product properties such as comfort or esthetic appearance (Ackermann et al., 2018;Cooper & Evans, 2010;Van Nes, 2010). According to design research, objects can have characteristics that encourage owners to keep them (Page, 2014). ...
... The second category of factors concerns the relationship between the object and its owner. Individuals make their objects last longer when they feel attached to them (Ackermann et al., 2018;Belk, 1991;Okada, 2001;Van Nes, 2010). Attachment is defined as an emotional bond (Chapman, 2015;Mugge et al., 2006) that makes the object noninterchangeable (Belk, 1992;Kleine & Baker, 2004). ...
... The third category of factors concerns the characteristics of the consumers. Design and marketing research explains that consumer values may make them care about products' lifespan (Ackermann et al., 2018;Cooper & Evans, 2010;Van Nes, 2010) and identify psychological motivations such as aversion to waste (Brough & Isaac, 2010). However, we do not know where these values come from. ...
Social science research suggests that in our current affluent societies, individuals are accustomed to frequently replacing their household goods. However, some still try to keep their objects for a long time. How do they come to be concerned about products’ lifespan? This paper draws on a powerful method already explored in the literature on consumption: the diachronic approach through individual life trajectories. Analyzing interviews conducted with 60 individuals seeking to make their objects last, this biographical approach allows identifying some factors that explain people's propensity to make objects last. This paper shows that the tendency to keep objects for a long time can come from the familial milieu, just as it can happen later, in connection with personal events—advancement in the life cycle, bifurcations in the personal course, or interactions with public discourses and objects’ breakdowns. Finally, it demonstrates that biographical events can also have a one-time influence on products’ careers in the households, without changing the individual's relationship to objects’ lifespan—these can be personal or more historical and exceptional events, such as lockdown during the COVID-19 crisis.
... O Cuidado do produto é definido como todas as atividades iniciadas pelo consumidor que levam à extensão da vida útil de um produto. Nesse sentido, o cuidado do produto vai além da adoção de reparos e manutenções necessárias, sendo levada em consideração todas as medidas preventivas que o consumidor toma para cuidar de seus produtos, por exemplo, o uso de capas de proteção de smartphones (Ackermann et al., 2018). ...
... Nessa perspectiva, Ackermann et al. (2018) estudaram diferentes categorias de produtos e desenvolveram o estudo baseando-se no Modelo Comportamental de Fogg (2009), as categorias de produtos escolhidas cobriram diferentes fins de escolha, como produtos de alta complexidade (por exemplo, dispositivos de comunicação) e baixa (por exemplo, roupas) ou utilidade (por exemplo, ferramentas) e produtos hedônicos (por exemplo, sapatos), além desses, foram utilizados produtos que geralmente precisam de reparos frequentes (por exemplo, carros). A partir das análises, os autores identificaram diferentes graus de intensidade entre os participantes em relação ao cuidado dos produtos (baixo, médio e alto). ...
... On-line -4 -8 de out de 2021 -2177-2576 versão online Ackermann et al. (2018), observaram também que as principais habilidades necessárias são relacionadas ao conhecimento (consumidor sabe como cuidar do produto), tempo e esforço (disponibilidade de tempo), disponibilidade de ferramentas (o consumidor pode não ter acesso a ferramentas adequadas) e falta de reparo (suposição de que um produto não pode ser reparado). Por fim, os principais gatilhos são relacionados a aparência (condições físicas do produto), frequência (atividades de cuidado, independente do estado do produto), sociais (influência do ambiente social), experiências anteriores de atividade de cuidado e desafios (até que ponto os consumidores podem realizar os reparos autonomamente). ...
Agradecimentos O presente trabalho foi realizado com apoio da Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior-Brasil (CAPES)-Código de Financiamento 001 Resumo A economia circular emerge como uma alternativa do modelo linear de produção, uso e descarte. Para que essa transição ocorra, será necessária uma mudança comportamental não só dos produtores, mas também dos consumidores. Contudo, a literatura da economia circular e comportamento do consumidor precisa de mais estudos para compreender e facilitar essa transição. Portanto, este estudo tem como objetivo analisar o estado da arte do campo de estudo da economia circular relacionado ao comportamento do consumidor. Para isso, foi realizada uma Revisão Sistemática de Literatura, a qual permitiu identificar as principais abordagens que vêm sendo utilizadas nessa linha de pesquisa, contribuindo para a proposição de um modelo teórico baseado na Teoria do Comportamento Planejado e Modelo Comportamental de Fogg, o qual poderá nortear pesquisas futuras relacionadas à economia circular e comportamento do consumidor. Os resultados mostraram que existe uma intenção dos consumidores em participar de modelos circulares, mas faltam gatilhos para a efetivação da mudança comportamental necessária.
... Researchers have mainly explored ways of prolonging the use-life of products through repair and reuse (Ackermann et al., 2018;Bakker et al., 2014;Cooper, 2013;Mashhadi et al., 2016). Repair is also included in the circular business models as a strategy for closing the material loops (WRAP, 2014). ...
... The comparison between the existing research and the findings of this study reveals more similarities than differences. For instance, Ackermann et al. (2018) identified 9 motivation and 4 abilities in their research about product care activities including repair and maintenance. 8 of the motivation factors they found were also identified in this research except for the shared ownership factor, which was defined as the decreased responsibility to take care of the shared products. ...
This paper explores user perspectives about product repair to prolong product lifespan towards the circular economy. Product longevity can be effectively achieved by repair and reuse, where no virgin materials are required. Nevertheless, the decision of whether to repair something is initiated by users. Their motivations and choices are vital to postpone product replacement. Therefore, users’ motivations and barriers related to product repair were explored in this research with cultural probes, research through design, and workshops. Fogg’s behaviour model was utilised to get a deeper understanding of the subject. The results were further developed and tested through the workshops with users. Including reversibility, endurance, and aesthetic value nineteen factors were identified that suggest opportunities to understand and change users’ repair behaviour. A relationship among these factors was observed that led to the theoretical construction of the repair motivation and barriers model. This paper makes an original contribution to knowledge with the development of the repair motivation and barriers model based on the identified nineteen factors that affect users’ repair behaviour.
... Certain consumer characteristics will influence product use behavior. For example, consumers with environmental concern, thrift/product care habits or intention to rebel against unsustainable brand policies tend to use a product carefully until the end of its life (Ertz et al., 2017;Cruz-Cárdenas and Arévalo-Chávez, 2018;Ackermann et al., 2018). In contrast, materialistic consumers who are affected by the social acquisitive and profligate expectations are likely to dispose of products before they break down (Podoshen and Andrzejewski, 2012;Joung, 2013). ...
... Shared ownership refers to the situation when the product is owned by more than one consumer. With shared ownership, functional value and hence responsibility of caring for the product is shared (Ackermann et al., 2018), which might reduce the consumer motivation to take good care of the product, thus speeding its wear out and disposal. ...
Extending product lifespan has recently been recognized as an important strategy to achieve sustainable development. A substantial corpus of literature explores product lifespan from the perspective of product design or manufacturing practices, but the perspective of consumer has been largely overlooked. Addressing this void, this study systematically reviewed the literature on how consumer product use behavior influences the product lifespan. Insights gained from the review process guided our analysis on how product lifespan relates to consumer perceived value (comprising functional value, social value, and emotional value). We developed a five-stage framework to delineate the relationship between consumer perceived value and product use behavior across five-stages; namely, pre-acquisition, early use, middle use, late use, and pre-disposal. Furthermore, we identify promising directions for future scholarly work.
... Circular practices allow companies to actively influence consumer acceptance for their circular business models, as they affect how consumers perceive factors. Ackermann et al. (2018) refer to triggers that increase consumer ability or motivation, stimulating consumers to behave in a desired fashion. Mugge et al. (2017, 3) use the term incentives, referring to them as "strategic choices that companies can make concerning the product definition, choice for services, and marketing activities […] to persuade consumers to purchase" a product or a service. ...
... For example, Nudie Jeans offer their customers free repairs (Stål et al. 2017;Cordova-Pizarro et al. 2020) while iFixit.com offers repair guides (Ackermann et al. 2018;Haines-Gadd et al. 2018), both addressing the factor repairability. 59 are suggestions from the literature that do not explicitly refer to implemented examples in the industry. Still, concrete applications of those practices may exist even though not emphasised in the literature. ...
The circular economy aims to decouple economic growth from resource input and waste and emission output. For the dissemination of this economic model, the lack of consumer acceptance for circular business models has been identified as a critical barrier. Despite its importance, this issue remains underexplored in academic research. To address this research gap, this study applies a semi-structured literature review approach leading to four contributions: 1) it proposes novel definitions for key terminology in the consumer acceptance context, 2) it develops a theoretical framework that conceptualises consumer acceptance in the circular economy, 3) it creates the most comprehensive overview of consumer acceptance factors to date, and 4) it provides the first comprehensive overview of practices that companies can deploy to foster consumer acceptance for circular business models. Consequently, the study expands existing circular economy, consumer behaviour and innovation theory by conceptualising consumer acceptance in the circular economy. In addition, the study provides practical guidance on consumer acceptance practices to innovation practitioners concerned with circular business models. Therefore, this study can facilitate more sustainable consumer behaviour, accelerating the transition to the circular economy.
... Also, companies can actively influence how factors are perceived by consumers. Ackermann et al. (2018) refer to triggers, which are stimuli that provoke consumers to act in a desired way, by increasing consumer motivation or ability. Mugge et al. (2017, p. 3) refer to this concept as incentives, which are "strategic choices that companies can make concerning the product definition, choice for services, and marketing activities […] to persuade consumers to purchase" a product or a service. ...
... For instance, iFixit.com provides repair guides (Ackermann et al., 2018;Haines-Gadd et al., 2018) while Nudie Jeans offers free repairs (Cordova-Pizarro et al., 2020;Stål and Jansson, 2017), addressing the factor repairability. ...
The circular economy aims to decouple growth from resource input. While significant scholarly attention has been put on technical solutions behind circular business models, the lack of consumer acceptance for these offers was recognised as a significant barrier in the transition towards the circular economy. Still, this topic remains underexplored. This paper aims to address this gap through a semi-systematic literature review. It conceptualises consumer behaviour in the circular economy in a framework and suggests definitions for the relevant terms. Further, it develops comprehensive frameworks for factors of consumer acceptance and for practices that companies can deploy to foster consumer acceptance. Thereby, the paper contributes to the theoretical conceptualisation of consumer acceptance in the circular economy. Moreover, it equips companies with knowledge to innovate their circular business models, increase sustainable consumption, and accelerate the transition towards the circular economy.
... In academia, repair gained attention along with the concept of the CE, with the first publication appearing in 2010 and a boom that started in 2018 with over 50 publications (Niskanen et al., 2021). However, despite the increased interest in repair demonstrated by the surge in both policies and publications on the subject, existing research has not paid sufficient attention to how attitudes, social factors, affective appraisal, and habits influence an individual's decision to repair electronic devices (Ackermann et al., 2018;Cerulli-Harms et al., 2018;Raihanian Mashhadi et al., 2016;Scott & Weaver, 2014;Wieser & Tröger, 2018). Moreover, very little is known about the Swedish case. ...
... Behaviour theories have been widely applied to explain and predict environmental behaviours such as upcycling (Sung et al., 2019;Terzioğlu, 2021), product care (Ackermann et al., 2018), sustainable food consumption (Shin & Hancer, 2016;Vermeir & Verbeke, 2008), waste recycling (Chan, 1998;Chan & Bishop, 2013), and travel mode choice (Bamberg & Schmidt, 2003;Domarchi et al., 2008). To understand the complexity of environmental behaviours, many of these researchers have proposed modifications to existing behaviour models such as Ajzen and Fishbein's theory of planned behaviour (TPB) or Schwartz's value-belief-norm. ...
Sweden is actively seeking to scale up repair activities as part of its strategy to reduce waste, transition to a circular economy, and achieve zero net emissions by 2045. In the last couple of years, several new policies to promote consumer repairs have been adopted or proposed in Sweden. However, very little is known about the socio-cultural factors that shape people's decision to repair their personal electronics. This study addresses this gap by applying consumer behaviour theory to study the factors shaping and influencing people's decision to repair their personal electronics. A mixed-method research approach was used, involving 19 semi-structured interviews and an online questionnaire answered by 190 participants. The interviews and questionnaire targeted Swedish residents and were based on Triandis' theory of interpersonal behaviour. The study revealed that intention and habits determined repair behaviour and that social norms, attitudes, and feelings about repair determined participants' intention to repair. Moreover, the interviews and the questionnaire uncovered that, in general, attitudes and social norms about repair do not encourage repair behaviour and that the physical environment is filled with barriers that discourage people from repairing their broken electronics. Therefore, the study concluded that to scale up repair activities, it is essential to improve the perceived individual benefits of repair, strengthen social norms to make repair the expected solution for broken personal electronics, shape repair habits, and lower contextual barriers. Based on these findings implications and specific policy recommendations are discussed.
... To prevent a potential loss in the functional value of the owned product, it is important that the consumer takes good care of the product. Product care is defined as all activities initiated by the consumer that lead to the extension of a product's lifetime [57 ]. Product care thus includes maintenance and repair activities. ...
... This may be especially true for specific care activities and materials (e.g. oil for wood and polish for leather) [67]. While cherished products are more likely to be well taken care of [43], executing repair activities may also enhance emotional value that resides in this product [57 ] if these repair activities evoke positive emotions [68]. ...
Many products are disposed of before they have reached the end of their functional life. New technological developments and trends in fashion seem to accelerate consumers’ replacement of products. From an environmental perspective, such early replacement is undesirable. In this paper, we emphasize that product replacement is not only based on rational decision making. Emotional, functional, social, epistemic and conditional values can influence the value trade-offs that consumers make during the decision to either retain an owned product or replace it with a new one. Several strategies are discussed that can increase the owned product’s values and stimulate retention via product attachment, sustaining aesthetic value, stimulating product care and maintenance, and enabling upgradeability.
... Certain consumer characteristics will influence product use behavior. For example, consumers with environmental concern, thrift/product care habits or intention to rebel against unsustainable brand policies tend to use a product carefully until the end of its life (Ertz et al., 2017;Cruz-Cárdenas and Arévalo-Chávez, 2018;Ackermann et al., 2018). In contrast, materialistic consumers who are affected by the social acquisitive and profligate expectations are likely to dispose of products before they break down (Podoshen and Andrzejewski, 2012;Joung, 2013). ...
... Shared ownership refers to the situation when the product is owned by more than one consumer. With shared ownership, functional value and hence responsibility of caring for the product is shared (Ackermann et al., 2018), which might reduce the consumer motivation to take good care of the product, thus speeding its wear out and disposal. ...
Extending product lifespan has recently been recognized as an important strategy to achieve sustainable development. A substantial corpus of literature explores product lifespan from the perspective of product design or manufacturing practices, but the perspective of consumer has been largely overlooked. Addressing this void, this study systematically reviewed the literature on how consumer product use behavior influences the product lifespan. Insights gained from the review process guided our analysis on how product lifespan relates to consumer perceived value (comprising functional value, social value, and emotional value). We developed a five-stage framework to delineate the relationship between consumer perceived value and product use behavior across five-stages; namely, pre-acquisition, early use, middle use, late use, and pre-disposal. Furthermore, we identify promising directions for future scholarly work.
... A recent study corroborates these findings, making clear that taking care requires consumers' time, effort, and competences and that these factors prevented some interview participants in taking care of products, but also highlighting that some people like to do repairs on their own, considering it as a challenge and perceiving it as fun. For some it is also a form of rebellion against companies that make products difficult to repair (Ackermann, Mugge, & Schoormans, 2018). Twigger Holroyd (2016) discusses in some detail the time invested in various clothing-related activities such as shopping, mending, and knitting and to what extent these are perceived as leisure or chore. ...
... The importance of repair and mending skills is a common theme in the literature (e.g. Ackermann et al., 2018;Fisher, Cooper, Woodward, Hiller, & Goworek, 4 See also the study on domestic repair practices by Durrani (2018) 2008; Norum, 2013). But acquiring these skills requires work too. ...
The 'Circular Economy' (CE) and the 'Sharing Economy' (SE) are two imaginaries of a more sustainable future that gained significant prominence in policy discourse and academic literature in recent years. A central promise and assumption, especially of the latter, is that they deliver more convenient solutions to consumers, relieving them from various household chores and providing hassle-free access to services. However, the positive implications in terms of the work consumers need to do are more frequently assumed than studied. Adopting the lens of 'consumption work', this report reviews existing literature on the circulation and sharing of goods and services to examine this proposition. To this end, a parsimonious framework and taxonomy is introduced to make sense of the interconnections and differences between modes of provision in the CE and SE. A key finding of this report is that many modes of provision based on principles of circulation and sharing, including the ones most strongly associated with convenience, involve significant work for consumers. Furthermore, there are considerable gaps in the literature, especially in relation to the consumption work involved in co-ownership, pooling, repeat exchanges, and avoidance of packaging. The observations are discussed in relation to four key themes emerging from the literature review: convenience, skill and creativity, care and value, and divisions of labour.
For download available at: https://www.sci.manchester.ac.uk/research/projects/consumption-work/
... A degree of reciprocity has been observed between the bicycle repairer and end-users, with service provider and service user sometimes literally working together on repair and maintenance activities to create a better and more sustainable service, which closes resource loops. This is in line with the study by Ackermann et al. [36], who regard repair & maintenance activities as a performance of both the consumer and the service provider [36]. The psychological ownership tool under study in its current form pays little or no attention to the role of the provider and the interplay between users and provider. ...
... A degree of reciprocity has been observed between the bicycle repairer and end-users, with service provider and service user sometimes literally working together on repair and maintenance activities to create a better and more sustainable service, which closes resource loops. This is in line with the study by Ackermann et al. [36], who regard repair & maintenance activities as a performance of both the consumer and the service provider [36]. The psychological ownership tool under study in its current form pays little or no attention to the role of the provider and the interplay between users and provider. ...
Closing the loop of products and materials in Product Service Systems (PSS) can be approached by designers in several ways. One promising strategy is to invoke a greater sense of ownership of the products and materials that are used within a PSS. To develop and evaluate a design tool in the context of PSS, our case study focused on a bicycle sharing service. The central question was whether and how designers can be supported with a design tool, based on psychological ownership, to involve users in closing the loop activities. We developed a PSS design tool based on psychological ownership literature and implemented it in a range of design iterations. This resulted in ten design proposals and two implemented design interventions. To evaluate the design tool, 42 project members were interviewed about their design process. The design interventions were evaluated through site visits, an interview with the bicycle repairer responsible, and nine users of the bicycle service. We conclude that a psychological ownership-based design tool shows potential to contribute to closing the resource loop by allowing end users and service provider of PSS to collaborate on repair and maintenance activities. Our evaluation resulted in suggestions for revising the psychological ownership design tool, including adding ‘Giving Feedback’ to the list of affordances, prioritizing ‘Enabling’ and ‘Simplification’ over others and recognize a reciprocal relationship between service provider and service user when closing the loop activities.
... Based on previous literature on circular economy, five products were initially chosen that have been analyzed for their significant impact on the environment: household appliances and mobile devices, whose waste is estimated to increase between 3 and 5% annually, being the ones that grow the fastest compared to the other products [69][70][71][72]; private means of transportation, given that the automotive industry plays an outsized role in generating environmental damage [70]; furniture, since the consequences derived from deforestation (e.g., the extinction of species) are considered one of the most critical aspects of ecological deterioration on a global scale [70]; and, finally, clothing, as the excessive consumption and rotation of clothes, a phenomenon known as "fast-fashion," has had adverse effects on the environment, including the impact on natural resources, the capacity to absorb greenhouse gas emissions, the discharge of hazardous chemicals into water sources, the increase in water use, and billions of tons of fashion waste entering landfills [20,70]. ...
... This research has examined some representative behaviors from each consumption stage based on previous literature to identify pro-circular consumer profiles [22,69]. Nevertheless, the analysis of other product categories might lead to a range of possibilities that allow expanding the profiles determined in this research. ...
Circular economies have focused on managing organizations and changes in production and consumption models that lead to the better use of resources, generating the least waste. These changes toward new circular models will only be possible if consumers become involved through their behavior. In this sense, the first step is to understand who pro-circular consumers are and what characterizes them. Thus, this exploratory study aims to profile pro-circular consumers based on their behaviors and to characterize them based on the components of the value-belief-norm (VBN) theory. Using survey data of a representative sample of 417 participants in the city of Medellín (Colombia), as well as cluster and multiple correspondence analyses, this study identified some pro-circular consumer profiles, mainly characterized by factors like moral norms and perceived consumer effectiveness. Our results suggest that even when consumers without habitual behaviors toward circularity exist, those who engage in them do so because they consider it the right thing to do and because they believe that their pro-circular action is effective for solving environmental problems. On the contrary, green consumption values, beliefs about awareness and responsibility toward the environment, and sociodemographic factors do not seem to be associated with and characterize this type of consumer.
... It is the familiarity of continuous use that nurtures the responsibility and care for the garments we own [6]. Shared ownership tends to decrease this sense of responsibility [40], whereas lack of ownership may cause unease for fear of damaging something one does not own [41]. This detachment from material ownership may lead wearers further away from the respect and love "that are a fundamental part of emotional ownership, together with the desire to make things last" [11] (p. 20). ...
... However, this paper draws attention to the reality of conflict in wearerclothing relationships, which are unavoidable regardless of garment quality. Therefore, designers and brands should also focus their attention on users, namely on the motivations, skills, and stimulus that drive care for their products [40]. Moreover, and because conflict can also originate from context or the wearers themselves, further research should seek to understand if and how the will and ability of wearers to deal with conflict can be encouraged and nurtured and what role design can have in that task. ...
The reasons why people use their clothes for longer are complex, but essential to understand how to promote longer clothing lifetimes. We conducted an online survey with open-ended questions, asking 170 female participants to write about one of their oldest garments still in use. When analysing our qualitative data, we found that many participants reported going through some mishaps with their item, a situation which is identified in existing literature as a reason for garment disposal. Following ongoing research which compares wearer-clothing relationships with human relationships, we analysed our qualitative data in the light of theory on interpersonal relationships to understand why conflict did not lead participants to dispose of their garments. The findings suggest that the way people manage conflict with their clothes is more critical for garment longevity than the conflict per se, which is bound to happen at some point in time. This paper presents different approaches to conflict in wearer-clothing relationships and illustrates them with testimonies from our survey. We discuss our findings through relevant literature and their implications to specific strategies for garment longevity.
... For example, healthy adults would put moderate to high on the exercise ability scale. Although there are obstacles such as lack of time, lack of money (to join a gym or take up a sport), or the weather, most people might find some time to do some kind of physical activity during their day if they wanted to [29]. More sophisticated features could add more data, such as heart rate and blood pressure to monitor changes in the measured values. ...
In the new healthcare transformations, individuals are encourage to maintain healthy life based on their food diet and physical activity routine to avoid risk of serious disease. One of the recent healthcare technologies to support self health monitoring is wearable device that allow individual play active role on their own healthcare. However, there is still questions in terms of the accuracy of wearable data for recommending physical activity due to enormous fitness data generated by wearable devices. In this study, we conducted a literature review on machine learning techniques to predict suitable physical activities based on personal context and fitness data. We categorize and structure the research evidence that has been publish in the area of machine learning techniques for predicting physical activities using fitness data. We found 10 different models in Behavior Change Technique (BCT) and we selected two suitable models which are Fogg Behavior Model (FBM) and Trans-theoretical Behavior Model (TTM) for predicting physical activity using fitness data. We proposed a conceptual framework which consists of personal fitness data, combination of TTM and FBM to predict the suitable physical activity based on personal context. This study will provide new insights in software development of healthcare technologies to support personalization of individuals in managing their own health.
... Leino et al., 2016;Sauerwein et al., 2019), without ever questioning the purpose or desirability of repair. Some papers focus more closely on consumers (Mugge, 2017;Ackermann et al., 2018;Wieser and Troger, 2018;Cherry and Pidgeon, 2018;Diddi and Yan, 2019) exploring their emotional attachment to products, their willingness to repair, or their reactions to product-service systems, through focus groups, surveys or interviews. These analyses remain largely instrumental in the sense that consumer involvement in repair is taken as an assumed good, motivated by the economic savings from extended product life. ...
The treatment of ideas of repair in circular economy literature is critically reviewed, revealing instrumental understandings of repair as a tool to extend product life-spans and reduce waste. These framings are interpreted as an expression of the dominant technocratic and post-political discourses of circular economy as an intervention to sustain industrial capitalism in the face of sustainability constraints. The review contrasts these understandings of repair derived from a review of circular economy literature with richer and contested interpretations found in sociological, ethnographic and political literatures examining material repair in practice. Drawing on the emerging sociology of repair and applying more distinct concepts of restoration, remediation, reconfiguration and reconciliation derived from these literatures, the paper argues that the understandings of repair in circular economy literature are limited and restrictive, generally supporting a view of repair as sustaining, consumerist and nostalgic; and thereby overlooking potentially transformative, political and future-oriented roles for repair in a circular economy. In the restorative and remedial modes most commonly understood in the circular economy, repair is seen to enable new forms of capitalist commodification, notably of waste and domestic labour. Learning from contestation in other arenas of repair by contrast, understanding repair as encompassing ideas for reconciliation and reconfiguration, and adopting values of integrity, care and legibility, opens up repair in the circular economy to constructive critical discussion and reflection and offers new insights for policy makers.
... In addition to actual premature and planned obsolescence, discussed below in section 2.5, consumers live in the context of the current throwaway culture, which is fuelled by perceived obsolescence [70], [71]. On an individual level, consumers have different perceptions, motivations, levels of affinity, triggers and other motivating factors related to self-identity, which can positively or negatively influence their decisions for repair [72]. Fast product cycles, technological obsolescence, and peer effects also influence decisions to repair [73]; and repair can be made less attractive due to the perception of the current product as being obsolete [74]. ...
Many strategies have been proposed to support the transition to a Circular Economy (CE). In most cases, circular design and product life-extension practices specify repair as an essential element. In both the EU and the U.S., policymakers are attempting to increase the amount of repairs made, through the introduction of recent EU Ecodesign regulation changes and proposed US Right to Repair legislation. This review explores the current policy landscape for repair services by first outlining legal and market barriers to stakeholder participation in repair activities, and which stakeholders are affected. The review reveals a wide range of fundamental obstacles to both supply and demand of repair, including Intellectual Property, Consumer, Contract, Tax and Chemical laws, along with issues of design, consumer perceptions and markets. Subsequently, the current and proposed policy solutions to address barriers and increase repair activities are reviewed. A comparative assessment of the EU and the U.S. is followed by a discussion on the current repair market governance structure, which is found to be primarily centralized (i.e. repair services concentrated with manufacturers), with possible implications for upscaling repair. New policy proposals challenge this governance. Introducing the concept of a Repair Society Framework as a market transformation tool, we comprehensively discuss the current state of repair and provide an outlook for research and policy in this area.
... Fogg's (2009) model shows that behaviour results from the convergence of motivation (physical, emotional and social), ability (time, cost, physical effort, mental effort and routine) and prompts (a behavioural cue). The model has been used in qualitative research to structure interview questions and as a basis for coding data (Ackermann et al., 2018). However, like the other models, there is still a lack of information on how to effectively apply it to gather data or how to pinpoint problems in need of analysis. ...
Consumer goods industries are increasingly incorporating circular practices (e.g. recycling and reuse) into their offerings to reduce environmental impact and combat the issue of waste. The success of these offerings depends on consumers significantly changing their behaviour across the journey of purchase, use and disposal. There are a number of unique features that demarcate circular behaviour from other types of consumer behaviour, such as the fact that consumers must operate within a system of interconnected elements to enable resources to flow continuously. However, research to date has applied methodological approaches and behaviour models in a way that only addresses a fraction of the picture. In moving beyond this reductive framing of circular behaviour, a systems thinking framework is introduced, integrating circular behaviour research. The framework is applied to a case example and preliminary findings are presented, which highlight the capability of the proposed framework to explain broad and deep data on circular consumer behaviour. This can be used to pinpoint specific problems in an interconnected chain of behaviours, understand how system elements can cause unintended behavioural consequences, highlight barriers and opportunities to circularity and develop more informed intervention strategies.
... At the same time, product scalability promotes the widespread use of recycling economy (Bridgens, Lilley, 2017), PSS and remanufacturing (Moreno et al, 2017). However, the existing research is still in the theoretical aspect, and more case studies and empirical studies are needed to determine the concept of upgradable PSS (Ackermann et al, 2018). In terms of system development, some scholars believe that it is necessary to plan products and services at the design stage (De Los Rios et al, 2017). ...
At present, the enormous environmental pressure caused by the manufacturing industry has promoted the development of the recycling industry. The recycling industry is pivotal for sustainable utilization of regional resources, pollution reduction and environmental protection. LCA (Life Cycle Assessment), as a comprehensive analytical tool, plays an important role in the analysis of the cyclical industry from different levels, including regional level, industry level, enterprise level and product/service levels. The product service system, a new production system with high integration and overall optimization of products and services, is conducive to obtaining complete product/service information and management. The LCA based product service systems in the field of circular economy is not only crucial in the life cycle management of the product/service for the enterprise, but also contributes to the comprehensive assessment of the environmental benefits of the recycling enterprise. This paper summarizes and systematic reviews the applications of the LCA and PSS (Product Service System) integration in circular economy from a micro perspective. Based on that, the study identifies the challenges for current researches and propose future research directions to promote the development of LCA in circular economy from the perspective of enterprises.
... For this study (Ackermann, Mugge, and Schoormans 2018), I visited 15 participants at their home. I talked with them about a product they take care of and one they do not take care of for each product category. ...
The aim of this PhD project is to understand and enhance consumers’ repair and maintenance activities. We define this behaviour, aimed at prolonging products’ lifetimes, as product care. For designers, it is important to understand consumers’ perspective on product care and to identify reasons why consumers either do or do not take care of their products. Only by doing so, can appropriate products and services be designed in the future. This PhD project first explores current product care behaviour and the individual tendency of persons to take care of their products. Afterwards, suitable design directions to enhance product care are developed and evaluated for multiple product categories. Based on the insights from this PhD project, designers can adjust their design in such a way that care activities are more likely to be executed.
... Some people also show a kind of rebellion against brand policies that try to prohibit consumers from repairing their products, leading to enhanced effort spent on product care (Ackermann et al., 2018). The relationship between consumer and product refers to the perceived pleasure, functionality and aesthetics of the product (see also Ackermann et al., 2017). In general, a positive experience with the product increases the probability of product care. ...
Product care is defined as all activities initiated by consumers that encourage an extension of product lifetimes, such as repair, maintenance, and/or careful handling. A product care scale was developed and validated in a set of four related studies. In study 1, we asked experts to examine the face validity of a set of 35 items. In study 2, we reduced the initial set of items to 10 items using exploratory factor analysis. A subsequent confirmatory factor analysis supported a three-factor solution. Study 3, a nomological network study, demonstrated that the construct measured by our scale is related but still distinguishable from existing concepts, such as frugality, use innovativeness and attachment towards the product. Study 4 was a known-groups test with participants from two different countries and with various previous experiences in repairing. The final 10-item product care scale includes three factors: relevance, easiness and positive experience.
... However initial research shows that product failure can be caused by multiple design principles, and it is difficult to reliably assess the robustness of products by considering design features alone. Table 3. Overview of scoring systems compared to the literature [17,18,23,[29][30][31][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42]. Red rows = missing or partially addressed design elements in the scoring system. ...
The Circular Economy Action Plan adopted by the European Commission aims to keep value in products as long as possible through developing product-specific requirements for durability and repairability. In this context, various scoring systems have been developed for scoring product repairability. This study assessed the objectivity and completeness of six major repair scoring systems, to see what further development may be required to make them policy instruments for testing product repairability. Completeness of the scoring systems was assessed by comparing them to the latest literature on what design features and principles drive product repairability. Objectivity was determined by assessing whether the scoring levels in each criterion were clearly defined with a quantifiable and operator-independent testing method. Results showed that most of the criteria in the scoring systems were acceptably objective and complete. However, improvements are recommended: The health and safety criterion lacked objectivity and has not yet been fully addressed. Further research is required to expand the eDiM database, and to identify whether the additional accuracy provided by eDiM compared to disassembly step compensates for the increased difficulty in testing. Finally, assessment of reassembly and diagnosis should be expanded. Addressing these gaps will lead to the development of a scoring system that could be better used in policymaking, and for assessment by consumer organizations, market surveillance authorities, and other interested stakeholders, to promote the repairability of products.
... One strategy towards longevity is to increase the durability of the relationship between user and product: designing things to last longer or extending product lifespan by encouraging repair activities (e.g. Ackermann, Mugge, and Schoormans 2018;Chapman 2005Chapman , 2010Evans and Cooper 2010). The other main approach is to decouple the ownership and attachment between the users and products by exploring ways to possess less (e.g. ...
Designing for object detachment offers potential for extending an object’s lifespan and reducing environmental impact. The philosophy and theory of care-giving in nursing practice may be usefully adapted and applied to the care of possessions. Care-giving behaviour towards objects includes maintaining and repairing them, but also letting them go gracefully, and has potential implications for sustainable design. Little research has explored applying the concept of ‘carative factors’ (love and charity, and the motive of all caring) to the design process. This study introduces a toolkit based on four motive caring factors and influential factors, and reports on an exploratory workshop, in which participants use the toolkit to generate design concepts. The results suggest that the concept of carative factors has value in the design processes for extending the lifespan of objects, and the toolkit provides better understanding for designers of ownership, disposal and reuse.
... Through transparency, consumers can observe the situations of internal product components, which allows consumers to detect problems more quickly and repair products timely. As found in the prior research, the changes in product appearances can remind consumers how long they have used a product and trigger consumers to take product care activities (Ackermann, Mugge, and Schoormans 2018). Consequently, consumers may postpone product replacement plans and use the products for a longer time. ...
... not excessive adhesives), effort to repair, cost to repair, risk of injury, ease of identification of the problem, no damage to other components and time to repair a component. Similarly, Ackermann et al., (2018) indicate that users' ability, motivation, and triggers are influential for repair; For factors during self-repair, the following ability related factors are found to be relevant: users perceived knowledge and skill for repair, time and effort, lack of tools, and general reparability of products. Additionally, Victoria et al., (2017) indicate that a major barrier towards repair repairs being too expensive relative to buying a new product. ...
Understanding the extent of common users' capabilities to repair products themselves, and the barriers during the repair could help legislators and manufacturers improve the design of products. This paper investigates users' capacity for using various common repair tools, their experience in repairing different household appliances, and the degree to which greater repair experience enables them to overcome related barriers to repair. Data was collected through questionnaires by 276 participants. Most respondents said they were able to use basic mechanical tools, but less than half stated proficiency in using soldering irons or multi-meters for repair. This indicates that more users may be able to perform diagnosis and repair of mechanical problems than electrical problems. However, 74% have repaired an electronic household appliance at least once in their lifetime (even if the repairs were mechanical). This suggests that repair could be a widespread activity. Users with no repair experience listed significantly more design-related barriers to repair than users with repair experience. These design-related barriers mostly concerned diagnosis and disassembly. Thus, designing products with features facilitating ease of diagnosis and disassembly with basic tools could remove some of the major barriers towards repair, and stimulate more users to repair their products.
... In turn, research into specific consumer practices of product care (including repair and maintenance) show that these require time, effort and competences, which can limit the involvement of some individuals. For others however, new forms of CW encourage participation, particularly when it is framed and felt as challenge and/or fun (Ackermann et al., 2018: see also Holmes, 2019). As such, assuming longer-lasting products equate with less CW overall is unproven and requires further scrutiny if it is to be a pillar of the CE. ...
Circular Economy frameworks have become central to debates and interventions that aim to reduce global resource use and environmental despoilment. As pathways to both systemic and micro-scale transformations, there remain many challenges to making Circular Economy actionable. One such challenge is facilitating the emergence of the ‘circular consumer’. Here, we are all encouraged to shift everyday practices to consume new products and services and/or participate in the ‘Sharing Economy’: all of which are claimed, in some prominent debates, to automatically offer more ‘convenience’ for the consumer. In response, this paper argues that viewing such debates through the lens of Consumption Work offers a different picture of what it takes to be, and what we need to know about, the circular consumer. Consumption Work refers to the labour integral to the purchase, use, re-use and disposal of goods and services. This paper argues that the nature and scope of such work has been underplayed in Circular Economy debates to date, and that becoming a circular consumer requires varied and unevenly distributed forms of Consumption Work, which in turn, has significant implications for the success of Circular Economy. This paper thus proposes a research agenda into this topic, outlining five, inter-related, critical issues that a Circular Economy research agenda must address, including questions of who undertakes Consumption Work; to what ends; and how its multiple forms are coordinated within and beyond the household.
... Currently, society seldom encourages the proper maintenance and repair of products after they are purchased. Low product prices increase the likelihood of substitution rather than repair [12,30,31], and many modern families are unqualified to maintain even simple products [32][33][34], which is reflected in increased consumption [29,35]. However, consumers play a major role in determining product longevity. ...
Product longevity is a key to improving the sustainability of production and consumption patterns. However, at many companies, extending product longevity requires overcoming several complex barriers. Identifying how to begin this process can be difficult; moreover, the available solutions may seem too complex or radical and, therefore, may be ignored as viable options. The purpose of this paper is to study the approaches and decision patterns that enable best-practice companies to produce high-longevity products. We aim to map approaches to implementing product longevity through a multiple-case study of 18 best-practice companies that systematically work to ensure product longevity. Through interviews with developers, CFOs and CEOs at companies that strive to design and produce long-lasting products, we identify three key types of approaches to implementing product longevity: performance-driven, behavioural change-driven and vision-driven approaches. This study reveals several types of approaches to implementing product longevity successfully. This contribution advances our understanding of how companies can engage with and foster product longevity at different stages of the development process.
... As the concept of CE no longer concentrates on profit maximization or achieving cost efficiencies, organizations may maintain the ownership of their products and offer Etikonomi Volume 21 (1), 2022: 153 -176 product-service systems (PSS). These systems represent an integrated mix of products and services, like repair and maintenance (Ackermann et al., 2018). According to Schallehn et al. (2019), PSS constitutes a well-established concept in sustainability research given its criticality for the sustainable shift from consumption-based markets toward CE-based offerings. ...
The focus on the circular economy (CE) is currently gaining momentum. In this paper, we examine how the objectives of the CE significantly overlap with those of the new generation of marketing, which emphasizes customer involvement in product design and responsible consumption. While the marketing function is essential for realizing the CE, there is still a lack of studies examining the intersection of these two critical concepts. Methodically, this paper aims to bridge this knowledge gap by conducting a systematic literature review that explains the CE-marketing nexus. In total, 45 studies were thoroughly analyzed, and findings indicate that the intersection between the CE and marketing spans four main research themes; (1) contribution of green marketing to the CE, (2) remanufacturing marketing, (3) product-service systems, and (4) neuromarketing tools. An agenda for future investigation of the CE and marketing concepts is suggested, followed by a brief conclusion. This review is valuable for scholars and managers, including those striving to have an increased understanding of the relationship between the CE and marketing.How to Cite:Rejeb, A., Rejeb, K., Keogh, J. G. (2022). The Circular Economy and Marketing: A Literature Review. Etikonomi, 21(1), 153-176. https://doi.org/10.15408/etk.v21i1.22216.
The purpose of this study was to investigate how consumers’ meaningful experiences with an apparel brand’s quality products can result in a strong consumer–brand relationship, fostering product longevity and sustainable consumption behaviours. Consumer–brand relationship theory was used as a theoretical lens to examine consumer–brand relationships developed via the use of a brand’s quality products. In this analysis, an outdoor apparel brand, Patagonia, was selected as a representative brand because of its effort to deliver quality products and initiatives to foster meaningful consumer–brand relationships and sustainable consumption. Netnography, an interpretive analysis of online textual discourse, was used to collect the consumers’ essays from Patagonia’s website. These essays were about the consumers’ experiences with Patagonia products. The essays were analysed using a theory-driven content analysis based on the consumer–brand relationship theory. Results revealed six types of consumer–brand relationships with three dominant relationships, including ‘partner quality’, ‘love and passion’ and ‘interdependence’. It was also found that a strong relationship with the brand positively affects consumers’ emotional attachment with the brand’s products, reducing the disposal of garments and resulting in product longevity. Theoretically, this study furthers our understanding of the relationship that consumers develop with a sustainable apparel brand by providing empirical evidence about the formation of product attachment in the context of the consumer–brand relationship. The findings also offer managerial suggestions to apparel brands by providing insights into how to develop a meaningful, persistent consumer–brand relationship in a sustainability context.
At a local level, community repair organisations (CROs) aim to help people to fix their broken items instead of prematurely disposing of them. Repairing items extends the product lifetime and slows the need for new products (and embedded materials) on the market. Community repair not only provides open access to repair, but also represents a challenge to the status quo of a of a “throwaway” society.
This report provides insights on the fate of electronic devices after use, the challenges of open repair, and an investigation into typologies, lessons and institutional structure of the emerging community repair organisation movement.
Prolonging the lifetime of consumer electronics, particularly the duration of use (DOU), is essential for realizing a more circular economy and reducing e-waste. In this study, we identified the consumer psychological factors that influence the actual DOU of personal computers (PCs) through a self-administered questionnaire survey and quantitative analysis. Our results revealed that the intention and positive attitude toward longer product use (LPU) have a statistically significant influence on prolonging the actual DOU, and were also positively correlated with the notion that LPU is economically and environmentally beneficial. Having a more positive attitude toward LPU demonstrated a potential actual DOU prolongation of about 10 %. However, consumers who tend to replace their still-functional devices were also more likely to replace their devices early—particularly shortly after the start of use—which implies that using devices for as long as they are functional is effective for prolonging the actual DOU. It was found that the intended DOU (how long consumers intend to use their devices) had a strong positive correlation with the actual DOU. 42.2 % of devices had longer intended than actual DOU, and the gap between the actual and intended DOU was larger for devices with a long intended DOU. Our results provide useful suggestions for manufacturers and policymakers seeking to prolong the product lifetime.
Product longevity is an important part of the circular economy discussion, contributing to global sustainable development. However, practicing and adopting product longevity remain challenging. Currently, the literature primarily focuses on various proposals and strategies that could lead to an increase in the longevity of products. However, adopting product longevity in practice demands an overview of barriers that must be accounted for before appropriate strategies and proposals can be selected and implemented. Until now, such an overview of the barriers for longevity is largely undefined.
This paper contributes by identifying 14 distinct barriers that are likely to obstruct companies from introducing long-lasting products, to challenge their product development or to make it difficult for consumers to keep or maintain their products for a long time. In this paper, a comprehensive review provides a list of barriers that have been identified through the existing literature across three perspectives: 1) companies and manufacturers, 2) designers, engineers and developers and 3) customers/consumers and users. A systematic search revealed 4204 academic papers that relate to the topic. After reviewing the titles, abstracts and keywords of these papers, a total of 143 papers combined with additional 62 articles identified through snowballing and post-identification were identified as eligible to constitute the foundation of this review. From these, a list of 14 product longevity barriers was created.
The result is a unique identification and overview of barriers to product longevity as well as a categorisation of these barriers with respect to stakeholders.
Automatic battery swap stations have been recently set widely in Taiwan while the system operators have found significant differences among the battery utilization rates of the stations. To reduce the battery idle time in the less visited stations, this study looks for effective persuasive design strategies that persuade users to choose the less visited stations. After useful persuasive strategies were collected from the related literature, eighteen feasible design strategies were proposed by considering the problem characteristics. A questionnaire survey was conducted to estimate the persuasion effects of the eighteen design strategies by using the storyboard method. The persuasive design strategies with higher persuasion effect are identified and recommended for reducing the gap of battery utilization rates. Furthermore, by using the statistical analysis like ANOVA to analyze the persuasion effect with respect to demographical variables such as gender and age, the results could help choose effective persuasive strategies for different target customer groups.
This paper summarises recent legislative initiatives concerning repair and aims to identify the potential implications for future policies with reference to the Right to Repair and the EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan. In order to achieve this aim, it offers evidence from 21 interviews with business practitioners. These practitioners comprise experts from companies that manufacture or sell products or provide after-sales services in three product sectors – clothing, furniture, and electrical and electronic equipment. Findings from analysis of the interviews are explored to identify value creation opportunities for and challenges to business innovation through product repairability. The research also addresses the importance of contributions from and collaboration between business stakeholders (e.g. manufacturers, retailers, brands and repair service providers) and customers in achieving successful business innovation. Business support needs from government are then addressed, followed by proposals for future legislation – including a reconsideration of product standards and the introduction of financial incentives.
Environmental sustainability in sport management is emerging as a topic of concern. The current paper reports on a study that address the desirability and feasibility of repair solutions in the domain of sport equipment with a short lifespan. A badminton shuttle is taken as a case study. By means of video observations (n = 8), a survey among badminton players (n = 404) and an expert interview, the desirability issue was addressed. A research by design approach was used to gain insights in the feasibility of repairing feathered badminton shuttles taking into consideration three important elements: disassembly, reassembly and quality control. Feathered badminton shuttles do have an impact on the environment as they are on averaged bought and used at an amount of 133 shuttles per player per season and discarded in more than 97% of the cases after use. Users of shuttles are triggered by cost savings and by environmental consequences of repair, but still prefer recycling above repairing as a sustainable strategy. They have a slightly preference for a full service option for repairable shuttles, but consider possible alternatives to get access to repairable product as too abstract. The repair process of the feathered shuttle is technical feasible, convenient, time efficient and cost efficient and results in good quality products. Though, the research was conducted using a mix of methods and approached diverse topics of concern when considering repair of consumable sport equipment, researchers ask for further investigation as well to deepen insights in adoption processes of repairable products, to strengthen insights in design processes for repair as to conceive appropriate business models for this emerging product-service category.
This article explores consumers’ replacement of electronic products. A survey with 617 participants from Western Europe who had recently replaced their smartphones, vacuum cleaners, televisions or washing machines gives us insights on the age and state of products when replaced, repair considerations and the extent to which 19 reasons for replacement influenced the replacement decision. Overall, the results show that lifetimes were relatively short. Most products were replaced while they were still performing their main function, but showing a loss in performance. A majority of respondents (60%) replacing their defective product did not even consider repairing it. Interestingly, more of the respondents considered repairing a broken product (58.6%) than a partly malfunctioning one (30%). Washing machines were replaced for functional reasons while televisions were replaced because the consumers were attracted by the new features. Satiation was consistently one of the most important reasons to replace smartphones, vacuum cleaners and televisions.
The notion of a circular economy is often presented in discourses on a more sustainable future. A circular economy proposes more efficient material flows in growth-based economy and in support of sustainable development. Repair is presented as one of the phases in a circular economy and supports product lifetime extension. The paper brings a particular form of repair, community repair, into discourses on a circular economy. Data from a world-wide initiative in community repair and from participant observation in a Repair Café provide new insights in the possible roles and challenges of repair in a circular economy. Notions of efficiency and economic growth are contested in community repair; repair contributes to product lifetime extension and product attachment through acts of tinkering, sharing, and care. The analysis points to an inseparability of the material and social in community repair, contributing to a non-reductionist understanding of a circular economy. Community repair is a sociomaterial entanglement of people and things. This enables a different perspective on the role of repair, from merely a phase in the material flows in a circular economy to a sustainable way of living with things in a circular economy.
A dominant narrative surrounding smartphone lifespans suggests that their objective functional capabilities deteriorate rapidly and that if only devices were more repairable consumers would use them longer thereby reducing demand for new production and e-waste generation. Here we use a big-data approach to help unpack this narrative and examine two related yet distinct aspects: smartphone performance and obsolescence, and consumers interest in repair. Examining over 3.5 million iPhone benchmarking test scores we reveal that the objective performance of devices remains very constant over time and does not deteriorate as common wisdom might suggest. In contrast, testing frequency varies substantially. This discrepancy suggests that factors other than objective performance meaningfully influence consumers’ perceptions of smartphone functionality and obsolescence. Relatedly, our analysis of 22 million visits to a website offering free repair manuals revels that interest in repair declines exponentially over time and that repairability does not necessarily prolong consumer’s interest in repair. Taken together, our results indicate that non-technical aspects, such as mental depreciation and perceived obsolescence play a critical role in determining smartphone lifespans, and suggest that focus on technical aspects of repairability as currently discussed by policy makers is unlikely to yield the desired extension in smartphone lifespan. We propose that sustainability advocates highlight how well devices perform over time and try to avoid narratives of planned obsolescence which might have counterproductive impacts on perceived obsolescence and consumer’s’ interest in repair. more broadly, this work demonstrates the potential of using novel datasets to directly observe consumer behavior in natural settings and improve our general understanding of issues such as planned obsolescence and repair.
This research explores a new pathway to improve consumer acceptance of refurbished products that is inspired by the positive evocations of other used products, such as antique products. Currently, the prior use and age of refurbished products make them a less desirable option because they are perceived to be of lower quality, to have a reduced performance and to be out of fashion more quickly than new products. In contrast, antiques are associated with durability, uniqueness and timelessness despite their prior use and considerable age. In 21 in-depth interviews with consumers, we compared refurbished products with antiques and explored whether refurbished products with a design style evoking the past-the neo-retro style-can lead to more positive associations than refurbished products with a prototypical design style. Our findings provided preliminary support for the value of a neo-retro design style for improving consumers' evaluations of refurbished products. Refurbished products and antiques differ in age, technology and the purpose of having them. Antiques have an emotional value and are kept because of the story and historic values, the appearance and/or durability; refurbished products are kept for purely functional reasons. Similar to antiques, refurbished products following a neo-retro design style do not only evoke more positive associations with old products, such as feelings of nostalgia but can also decrease risks associated with refurbished products as they are perceived to be of higher quality and more durable than refurbished products following a prototypical design style.
Academic literature on circular economy describes repair as an important strategy to prolong the lifetime of products. However, repair is often analyzed in terms of business models or product designs and tend to underestimate the role of consumer practices and routines. The paper adds to the growing body of consumer research on repair with a particular focus on the relation between past repair behavior, product usetimes and different product types. Based on previous research and a conceptual perspective on repair as a social practice, the paper describes a survey-based, quantitative analysis of the role of social and material settings, meanings and competences for the likelihood of repairing an object (either DIY or by repair services). We further explore the pertinence of repair for prolonging product usetimes compared to other product related practices like replacements. A model is proposed that predicts patterns of 1) how agency- and setting-related aspects are predicting repair and 2) how product related practices predict product usetimes for two different consumer goods (washing machines and smartphones). Both models were implemented and tested by structural equation modelling (SEM) with latent variables, using R lavaan. The tests revealed among others that the behavioural and financial costs for repair are perceived as high and social and material settings are more likely to impede than to enable repair. We also found that novelty seeking is an important predictor for non-repair and short product usetimes, but that there are significant differences between smartphones and washing machines. Based on our results we discuss further research and policy strategies to understand and change the current culture of non-repair.
Repair is a way to extend the life of a product. In a circular economy where resource loops are closed to a maximum extent, repair belongs to the ‘inner loops’. Repairing a product is a way to preserve value by slowing down the product's economic devaluation. The aim of the paper is the development of a reparability indicator: a measure to determine the ease of repair of a product. The indicator is developed for self-repair: repair done in a noncommercial context, by laypersons who lack access to a specialized workshop. Given the large diversity of products on the market, it was decided to focus on consumer electronic products. The paper consists of two parts. The first part is a review of the literature on (design for) reparability of electronic products, and on the development of repair indicators. A commonly used reparability indicator was empirically tested with 25 Dutch participants. This part concludes that the currently available guidelines, criteria and indicators provide a valuable starting point, but tend to lack structure, clarity and organization. The second part of the paper highlights the development of an improved reparability indicator. The first step for this was to ‘crowdsource’ repair criteria from the MOOC Circular Economy: an Introduction, which ran from October – December on the edX platform. One of the assignments in the MOOC was the development of repair criteria. Almost 2000 discrete entries were analysed, grouped and structured into 26 repair criteria. These have been tested for consistency with a group of 46 students of TU Delft in March 2016. The paper will present the results of this test as well as the improved reparability indicator.
The transition within business from a linear to a circular economy brings with it a range of practical challenges for companies. The following question is addressed: What are the product design and business model strategies for companies that want to move to a circular economy model? This paper develops a framework of strategies to guide designers and business strategists in the move from a linear to a circular economy. Building on Stahel, the terminology of slowing, closing, and narrowing resource loops is introduced. A list of product design strategies, business model strategies, and examples for key decision-makers in businesses is introduced, to facilitate the move to a circular economy. This framework also opens up a future research agenda for the circular economy.
The transition to more sustainable production and consumption patterns and levels requires changes in mainstream business models. These are typically based on linear production processes and the throwaway mentality. Alternative business models are often based on ideas of circular flows of products and materials, in both production and consumption phases. Alternative modes of consumption include models for extending the lives of products (e.g. through reselling of second-hand goods), access-based consumption (e.g. renting and leasing), and collaborative consumption (e.g. sharing platforms). Consumers are crucial in the success of these models. However, knowledge about consumer attitudes towards alternative consumption models is scarce, particularly for furniture and home products. Therefore, the goal of this study was to examine consumer attitudes, motivations and barriers relating to the three models, with particular emphasis on furnishing products. Data was collected through interviews with experts and an online survey of consumers, and the study was conducted in collaboration with IKEA, furniture retailer. The results demonstrate that consumer attitudes vary greatly to the consumption models and depending on the product group. Attitudes towards buying second-hand furniture and short-term renting are largely positive, while attitudes to long-term renting are negative. Collaborative consumption has higher acceptance for seldom-used products.
In this paper we report on an exploration of how to apply the theory of Slow Design to mass produced products to establish more mindful usage of products; the intention behind this is to promote product attachment and the associated sustainable benefits of long term use. Slow Design is a design philosophy that focuses on promoting well-being for individuals, society, and the natural environment. It encourages people to do things at the right time and at the right speed which helps them to understand and reflect on their actions. Several authors have proposed Slow Design principles and cases have been reported in which these principles were applied in cultural design projects. These applications indicated that Slow Design can indeed have a positive impact on wellbeing. Although promising, this philosophy has not yet been used in the design of mass consumer products. In this paper we present a design case study in which we explored how the Slow Design principles can be applied in the design of an electric fruit juicer. Two studies are reported on where the conditions for implementing Slow Design are explored. The results led to a revision of the principles for use by product designers. The main finding from the case study is that the Slow Design principles can be used to create more 'mindful' interactions that stimulate positive user involvement. This is not from designing interactions that require more time per se, but by stimulating the user to use more time for those parts of the interaction that are meaningful and less for those that are not meaningful.
Guidelines for determining nonprobabilistic sample sizes are virtually nonexistent. Purposive samples are the most commonly used form of nonprobabilistic sampling, and their size typically relies on the concept of “saturation,” or the point at which no new information or themes are observed in the data. Although the idea of saturation is helpful at the conceptual level, it provides little practical guidance for estimating sample sizes, prior to data collection, necessary for conducting quality research. Using data from a study involving sixty in-depth interviews with women in two West African countries, the authors systematically document the degree of data saturation and variability over the course of thematic analysis. They operationalize saturation and make evidence-based recommendations regarding nonprobabilistic sample sizes for interviews. Based on the data set, they found that saturation occurred within the first twelve interviews, although basic elements for metathemes were present as early as six interviews. Variability within the data followed similar patterns.
Waste to Wealth proves that ‘green’ and ‘growth’ need not be binary alternatives. The book examines five new business models that provide circular growth from deploying sustainable resources to the sharing economy before setting out what business leaders need to do to implement the models successfully. © 2015 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s). All rights reserved.
This research investigated a number of main areas of attachment in order to determine how consumer-product relationships are formed and to identify whether these feelings influence replacement decisions. Primary research comprised of interviews with consumers to discuss the topic area in relation to three possessions selected for their attachment qualities. The research highlighted how attachment is determined by multiple themes, many of which are circumstantial to consumers' experiences and therefore difficult for designers to control. Findings showed that memories were the most prominent theme of participants' attachment, closely followed by pleasure and usability. Enjoyment and pleasure were found to be the primary reason for attachment to newly purchased items, whereas nostalgia was highest for older possessions. Appearance and reliability were found to have considerable influence on participants' attitudes towards replacement.
Design for Environmental Sustainability is a technical and operative contribution to the United Nations "Decade on Education for Sustainable Development" (2005-2014), aiding the development of a new generation of designers, responsible and able in the task of designing environmentally sustainable products. Design for Environmental Sustainability provides a comprehensive framework and a practical tool to support the design process. The book offers an organic vision of methodologies, tools and strategies for the integration of environmental requirements into product development. Possible strategies and design guidelines are highlighted, accompanied by a large selection of high-quality environmentally-aware product design case studies. Divided into four parts, the first part covers environmental sustainability and presents the general guidelines that can be followed to reach it. The second part examines the Life Cycle Design approach and the strategies to minimise consumption of resources, select low environmental impact resources, optimise product life span, extend the life of materials, and design for disassembly. The third part presents methods and tools to evaluate the environmental impact of products (e.g., Life Cycle Assessment) and other support tools for the integration of environmental requirements into real design processes. The fourth and final part describes the historical evolution of sustainability, both in design practice and research. Design for Environmental Sustainability is an important text for all students, designers and design engineers interested in product development processes.
In today's unsustainable world of goods, where products are desired, purchased, briefly used and then promptly landfilled to make way for more, consumption and waste are rapidly spiralling out of control with truly devastating ecological consequences. Why do we, as a consumer society, have such short-lived and under-stimulating relationships with the objects that we invest such time, thought and money in acquiring, but that will soon be thoughtlessly discarded? Emotionally Durable Design is a call to arms for professionals, students and academic creatives; proposing the emergence of a new genre of sustainable design that reduces consumption and waste by increasing the durability of relationships established between users and products. In this provocative text, Jonathan Chapman pioneers a radical design about-face to reduce the impact of modern consumption without compromising commercial viability or creative edge. The author explores the essential question, why do users discard products that still work? It transports the reader beyond symptom-focused approaches to sustainable design such as design for recycling, biodegradeability and disassembly, to address the actual causes that underpin the environmental crisis we face. The result is a revealing exploration of consumer psychology and the deep motivations that fuel the human condition, and a rich resource of creative strategies and practical tools that will enable designers from a range of disciplines to explore new ways of thinking and of designing objects capable of supporting deeper and more meaningful relationships with their users. This is fresh thinking for a brave new world of creative, durable and sustainable products, buildings, spaces and designed experiences.
Since the 1990s, Product Service Systems (PSS) have been heralded as one of the most effective instruments for moving society towards a resource-efficient, circular economy and creating a much-needed ‘resource revolution’. This paper reviews the literature on PSS in the last decade and compares the findings with those from an earlier review in this journal in 2006. Close to 300 relevant papers were identified, over 140 of which have been referenced in this review. Research in the field of PSS has become more prolific, with the output of refereed papers quadrupling since 2000, while on average scientific output has only doubled. PSS has also become embedded in a wider range of science fields (such as manufacturing, ICT, business management, and design) and geographical regions (Asia now produces more papers than Europe). The literature of the last seven years has refined insights with regard to the design of PSS, as well as their business and environmental benefits, and confirmed the definitions and PSS concepts already available in 2006. A major contribution of the recent literature is research into how firms have implemented PSS in their organization and what the key success factors and issues that require special attention are (such as a focus on product availability for clients; an emphasis on diversity in terms of services provided rather than the range of products; and the need for staff to possess both knowledge of the product and relationship management skills). The reasons why PSS have nonetheless still not been widely implemented, particularly in the B2C context, seem to have already been explained fairly well in the literature available in 2006. For consumers, having control over things, artifacts, and life itself is one of the most valued attributes. PSS are often less accessible, or have less intangible value, than the competing product, in part because PSS usually do not allow consumers as much behavioral freedom or even leave them with the impression that the PSS provider could prescribe how they should behave.
Product lifespans of electric and electronic products are in decline, with detrimental environmental consequences. This research maps the environmental impacts of refrigerators and laptops against their increasing energy efficiency over time, and finds that product life extension is the preferred strategy in both cases: refrigerators bought in 2011 should be used for 20 years instead of 14, and laptops for at least 7 years instead of 4. Designers however lack expertise to design for product life extension (through longer product life, refurbishment, remanufacturing) and product recycling. The paper explores a range of product life extension strategies and concludes that tailored approaches are needed. One of the main research challenges is to determine when to apply which product life extension strategy.
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to follow a paper by Rexfelt and Hiort af Ornäs published in JMTM in 2009, which dealt with consumer acceptance of product service systems (PSS). This topic is important as it is a sustainable business model. It is proposed that the uncertainty consumers have towards the suitability of PSS to their needs can be further explored using existing management tools such as SERVQUAL, a tool to measure customer satisfaction and perceived quality. Design/methodology/approach – This study, supported by the British Academy, utilized qualitative research on two types of respondents: businesses that can be classified eco-efficient PSS providers; and consumers. The providers were administered structured in-depth interviews, and the respondents are Mr Chas Ball, Director of Policy at Car Plus, a trade association representing car clubs, and Mr Jonathan Hampson, Director of Streetcar, the largest car club company. Car clubs may be considered a type of eco-efficient PSS. Consumers were involved in four focus groups (20 participants in total). The questioning route used in the two focus groups focused the attention of the participants on two types of eco-efficient PSS provision: one represented by car-sharing services, such as the ones provided by City Car Club and Street Car, mentioned in section 2; the other was an hypothetical provision of a bundle of maternity equipment and services, such as baby prams, baby car seats, travel cots and similar. The inclusion of this “hypothetical” provision was inspired by a study conducted in Sweden by Mont et al. Findings – Consumers are favourable to PSS provisions in principle; however they have concerns on whether this type of provision will live up to their expectations. These concerns are that the PSS might not perform satisfactorily in terms of its assurance, reliability, responsiveness, empathy and tangible components. The attractive aspect of PSS to consumers is as a “bundle” or products and services where the product can be replaced to accommodate consumers' needs. Business managers and policy makers will need to devise communications to reassure consumers that PSS provision meets the requirements set out by the SERVQUAL scale. Originality/value – This paper identifies the applicability of a service quality measurement tool, SERVQUAL, to product service systems (PSS) and it extends the knowledge on consumers' acceptance of PSS.
From an environmental perspective, the early replacement of durables is generally detrimental. This article examines 'ensuring a strong person-product relationship' as a design strategy to postpone product replacement. If a person experiences a strong relationship with his/her product, this can result in more protective behaviours towards this product and in product longevity. A crucial precondition for a long-lasting relationship is that consumers feel the product is irreplaceable. Such a condition is obtained only when a product's meaning is deeply anchored in a specific product and the product and its meaning are inseparable. Designers can encourage the product's irreplaceability by stimulating the formation of memories associated with a product or by creating unique and personal products. Several examples of design strategies are discussed.
The financial and environmental consequences of disassembly and recycling at the end of a product's life are studied. Analyses of a small coffee maker and some large domestic appliances are presented. It is shown that redesign proposals resulting from Design for Assembly analysis are compatible with Design for Disassembly and that significant improvements are achievable. It is also shown that optimization of the disassembly sequence is important in order to maximize any financial benefits, but that to minimize environmental impact considerations additional to Design for Disassembly should be taken into account. Criteria to determine the point at which disassembly should cease are discussed
A review is made of design for assembly (DFA) methods developed over the last fifteen years. It is found that implementation of DFA at the early conceptual stage of design has led to enormous benefits including simplification of products, lower assembly and manufacturing costs, reduced overheads, improved quality and reduced time to market. DFA is now being broadened to include consideration of the difficulty of manufacture of the individual parts to be assembled and is providing the necessary basis for teamwork and simultaneous engineering.More recently, environmental concerns are requiring that disassembly for service and recycling be considered during product design - in fact, total life cycle costs for a product are becoming an essential part of simultaneous engineering. This keynote paper concludes with a discussion of current developments of design for disassembly (DFD).
The paper presents the main results of a recent study on sustainable use of products. It reveals that strategies of use intensification and useful life extension are environmentally beneficial. Moreover, analysis of household washing and winter sports illustrated that successful implementation of sustainable use patterns occurs as a shift of use regimes. Such regimes are the result of a complex interplay of supply and demand side factors, relationship among actors, technical trajectories, organisational structures etc. One decisive factor is the presence of strategic players, so called “change agents”. In addition, four user types have been identified in a representative survey (“ownership-oriented”, “open-minded”, “consumption-oriented”, “low interest”) to which use intensification and useful life extension can be targeted.
This paper presents a new model for understanding human behavior. In this model (FBM), behavior is a product of three factors: motivation, ability, and triggers, each of which has subcomponents. The FBM asserts that for a person to perform a target behavior, he or she must (1) be sufficiently motivated, (2) have the ability to perform the behavior, and (3) be triggered to perform the behavior. These three factors must occur at the same moment, else the behavior will not happen. The FBM is useful in analysis and design of persuasive technologies. The FBM also helps teams work together efficiently because this model gives people a shared way of thinking about behavior change.
This article investigates the possibility of influencing product lifetime through product design. First, the results of a literature study on consumer behavior are presented. These show that surprisingly few researchers have focused specifically on the arousal of the need to replace a product. Therefore, empirical data about motives for product replacement were acquired through a combination of qualitative investigation and a quantitative survey. This resulted in a model of factors influencing the replacement decision and in a replacement typology. Finally, possible design directions for longer lasting products were explored. It was concluded that despite the variety of replacement motivations people basically want a well functioning and up to date product that meets their altering needs. This requires the development of dynamic and flexible products, which implies designing for variability and product attachment and preparing the product for future repair or upgrading. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.
The topic of this doctoral research is the concept of product attachment for ordinary consumer durables. Product attachment is defined as the strength of the emotional bond a consumer experiences with a specific product. Specifically, the research investigated how this bond develops over time and the relationship between product attachment and product lifetime. In addition, we studied which determinants may affect the strength of the emotional bond with products and uncovered the role of the product and its design for bringing about these determinants of product attachment. Based on this knowledge, several design strategies are proposed that designers may use for stimulating the degree of attachment to a product.
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