Consumer acceptance and value in use-oriented product-service systems : Lessons from Swedish consumer goods companies
(2020) In Sustainability (Switzerland) 12(19).- Abstract
In order to make our production and consumption systems more sustainable, there is a need to further explore and support novel business models with higher sustainability potential. Use-oriented product-service systems (u-PSS) are considered a promising alternative to traditional ownership-based business models, as they may result in lower environmental impacts. The presence of u-PSS in consumer goods markets, however, is still small. This is due in part to the nature of the products and lack of consumer acceptance of u-PSS. Lately, however, companies in Sweden have begun offering u-PSS for consumer goods, thereby challenging earlier findings. Understanding about how companies encourage consumers to select u-PSS over ownership-based... (More)
In order to make our production and consumption systems more sustainable, there is a need to further explore and support novel business models with higher sustainability potential. Use-oriented product-service systems (u-PSS) are considered a promising alternative to traditional ownership-based business models, as they may result in lower environmental impacts. The presence of u-PSS in consumer goods markets, however, is still small. This is due in part to the nature of the products and lack of consumer acceptance of u-PSS. Lately, however, companies in Sweden have begun offering u-PSS for consumer goods, thereby challenging earlier findings. Understanding about how companies encourage consumers to select u-PSS over ownership-based options is still lacking. We investigate this question by conducting interviews with and analysing websites and publicly available company reports of seven Swedish companies from three consumer goods sectors: clothing, eyewear and furniture. We found that, while consumer barriers to u-PSS found in previous studies—uncertainty and trust, economics and costs and desire to own—persist, tailoring elements of u-PSS business models to different markets, sectors and consumer segments can help address these barriers and ensure u-PSS resonate with consumers. The study also applies the concept of consumer perceived value to show how emphasising different dimensions of value—financial, functional, emotional and social—provided by u-PSS may help increase their acceptance and adoption.
(Less)
- author
- Borg, Daniel ; Mont, Oksana LU and Schoonover, Heather LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2020-10-01
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Consumer acceptance, Consumer goods, Consumer perceived value, Sweden, Use-oriented product-service systems
- in
- Sustainability (Switzerland)
- volume
- 12
- issue
- 19
- article number
- 8079
- pages
- 19 pages
- publisher
- MDPI AG
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85092909664
- ISSN
- 2071-1050
- DOI
- 10.3390/su12198079
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 5d75c4e1-e61d-41c8-b10e-632afff734af
- date added to LUP
- 2020-11-09 10:01:42
- date last changed
- 2022-08-19 00:15:45
@article{5d75c4e1-e61d-41c8-b10e-632afff734af,
abstract = {{<p>In order to make our production and consumption systems more sustainable, there is a need to further explore and support novel business models with higher sustainability potential. Use-oriented product-service systems (u-PSS) are considered a promising alternative to traditional ownership-based business models, as they may result in lower environmental impacts. The presence of u-PSS in consumer goods markets, however, is still small. This is due in part to the nature of the products and lack of consumer acceptance of u-PSS. Lately, however, companies in Sweden have begun offering u-PSS for consumer goods, thereby challenging earlier findings. Understanding about how companies encourage consumers to select u-PSS over ownership-based options is still lacking. We investigate this question by conducting interviews with and analysing websites and publicly available company reports of seven Swedish companies from three consumer goods sectors: clothing, eyewear and furniture. We found that, while consumer barriers to u-PSS found in previous studies—uncertainty and trust, economics and costs and desire to own—persist, tailoring elements of u-PSS business models to different markets, sectors and consumer segments can help address these barriers and ensure u-PSS resonate with consumers. The study also applies the concept of consumer perceived value to show how emphasising different dimensions of value—financial, functional, emotional and social—provided by u-PSS may help increase their acceptance and adoption.</p>}},
author = {{Borg, Daniel and Mont, Oksana and Schoonover, Heather}},
issn = {{2071-1050}},
keywords = {{Consumer acceptance; Consumer goods; Consumer perceived value; Sweden; Use-oriented product-service systems}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{10}},
number = {{19}},
publisher = {{MDPI AG}},
series = {{Sustainability (Switzerland)}},
title = {{Consumer acceptance and value in use-oriented product-service systems : Lessons from Swedish consumer goods companies}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su12198079}},
doi = {{10.3390/su12198079}},
volume = {{12}},
year = {{2020}},
}