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Consumer acceptance and value in use-oriented product-service systems : Lessons from Swedish consumer goods companies

Borg, Daniel ; Mont, Oksana LU and Schoonover, Heather LU (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.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; and
organization
publishing date
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
2025-10-14 11:10:24
@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}},
}