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In this paper, a circular-economy framework is applied to the prefabricated building sector to explore the environmental advantages of prefabrication in terms of reduction, reusability, adaptability, and recyclability of its components. A qualitative approach is used to revisit the design, construction, and demolition stages of prefabricated buildings; in so doing, the circular-economy framework is applied to foster circular prefabricated modi operandi. Prefabrication of buildings can be divided into four entities: elements and components, panels (or non-volumetric elements), volumetric, and entire modules. Through an analysis of published research on how the circular economy can be applied to different industry sectors and production processes, seven strategies emerged, each of which revealed the potential of improving the circular economy of buildings. The first strategy is reduction of waste through a lean production chain. By reusing the waste, the second strategy investigates the use of by-products in the production of new components. The third strategy focuses on the reuse of replacement parts and components. The fourth strategy is based on design toward adaptability, respectively focusing on reusability of components and adapting components for a second use with a different purpose. Similarly, the fifth strategy considers the implications of designing for disassembly with Building Information Modeling so as to improve the end-of-life deconstruction phase. The sixth strategy focuses on design with attention to recyclability of used material. Finally, the seventh strategy considers the use of tracking technologies with embedded information on components’ geometric and mechanic characteristics as well as their location and life cycle to enable second use after deconstruction. It is demonstrated that prefabricated buildings are key to material savings, waste reduction, reuse of components, and various other forms of optimization for the construction sector. By adopting the identified strategies in prefabricated buildings, a circular economy could be implemented within the construction industry. Finally, seven guidelines were distilled from the review and linked to the identified strategies. Owing to their degree of adaptability and capacity of being disassembled, prefabricated buildings would allow waste reduction and facilitate a second life of components.

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Materialism is often blamed for consumers' unsustainable consumption behaviors and its contribution to a growing "throwaway culture." Conversely, frugal consumers are regarded as both restrained in their acquisition, and resourceful in their use and disposal of products. In this paper, the authors challenge and empirically test these prevailing beliefs. The authors focus on a much-neglected aspect of the consumption continuum: the disposal of products at the end-use of consumption, and how key consumer traits (i.e., materialism and frugality) influence behaviors at this stage. Specifically, the authors examined three creative end-use consumption behaviors with a sample of 398 US consumers. Results support the counter-intuitive notion that materialism, alongside frugality, has a positive impact on consumers' sustainable consumption behaviors. The data suggest that materialistic consumers are prone to finding new and different uses for products and alternative methods of product disposal. The study's results also support the notion that frugality interacts with materialism to increase intentions to find alternative methods of product disposal. The authors discuss the implications pertaining to their findings and pave the way for future research in sustainable consumption. K E Y W O R D Screative end-use consumption behavior, frugality, materialism, PLS-SEM

The question of how important firms’ investments in digital communication formats are for the commercial success of new products remains unexplored in the product innovation management literature. Drawing on reactance theory, the authors examine the extent to which investments in social media communication and online advertising are related to the sales volume and profits of new products within six months of being launched. Using dyadic survey data, an analysis of new products launched by 122 consumer durable goods firms reveals that sales volume and profits of new products are associated with (1) social media communication in a positive but diminishing shape, and (2) online advertising in an inverted U‐shape. Further analyses show that those curvilinear relationships are steeper for social media communication and flatter for online advertising at respective (1) higher levels of customer product involvement and (2) lower levels of product superiority. The results imply that there is an optimal level of investment in social media communication and online advertising, with the optimum dependent on a new product’s consumer involvement and superiority levels.

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Purpose Social media communications on platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn can allow managers to interact cost effectively with trading partners. However, although most firms have an online presence on multiple social media platforms, the question remains as to whether marketers’ widespread social media investments are beneficial for firms. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach This paper presents competing hypotheses to explore how firms’ investment in one form of social media impacts activity on another form of social media. To do so, the authors draw on a data set of 208 large Australian organizations using objective social media activity metrics that measure business-to-business (B2B) audience engagement. Findings The findings suggest that widespread social media activity on LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube negatively affects a firm’s marketing activity on Facebook. The results indicate that having a social media preference whereby firms focus on a specific social media platform is more effective in forming successful inter-organizational relationships than a multiplatform approach. Originality/value The study contributes to the sparse research that seeks to leverage social media for audience engagement beyond a business-to-consumer context. The study’s findings provide insights into the key mechanisms that underlie firms’ B2B social media strategies, and in so doing, offer a fresh perspective on the importance of interactive marketing communication.

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