What uncertainty?

Abstract

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.

Consumption in the Circular Economy: A Literature Review

“…The social characteristics of consumers are important when it comes to influencing their perception [68,77,97,120,160]. Emotional and affective aspects such as enjoyment and excitement are included here, as well as ease of use and convenience [54]. In addition to these, some authors also found that privacy [120] and interaction [98,100] are relevant for consumers.…”

“…In this category, we included aspects such as trust, risks, disgust, and newness, as well as concerns about lack of ownership. Trust refers to the ability to be confident that the provider is offering a quality solution, and that in case of damage, they will solve any problem [54,55,72,97,126]. It also refers to trust in other customers, as some of the solutions require interaction between customers [95,120,130].…”

The Role of Human Resource Management (HRM) for the Implementation of Sustainable Product-Service Systems (PSS)—An Analysis of Fashion Retailers

“…This is especially important since consumers generally lack knowledge on PSS [67,235,236]. The solution-based idea behind PSS contradicts the well-established societal norm of possessing physical goods, which is often perceived as a determinant for one's individual success within a society [36,237,238]. Particularly in fashion, individuals use clothes to express their personality, highlight their affiliation to a certain peer group or seek uniqueness [239].…”

“…Fashion consumers are, therefore, hardly receptive to fashion PSS models. They mistrust the motivation of the provider, are afraid of hidden financial costs and demonstrate concerns about cleanliness and hygiene since clothes are worn next to the skin [35,238,[240][241][242][243]. This makes a clear communication of the value proposition to one of the most critical determinants for PSS adoption of the consumer [67,244,245].…”

Creativity and sustainable apparel retail models: does consumers’ tendency for creative choice counter-conformity matter in sustainability?

“…PSS utilizes the concepts such as product renting or leasing, redesigning, maintaining, or sharing to reduce reliance on natural resources as well as increasing product longevity (Heiskanen and Jalas 2003;Tukker 2004). PSS offers a variety of benefits, such as reducing the material flows in production and consumption by creating product-service combinations that provide consumers with the same level of performance, but with a lower impact on the environment (Catulli 2012;Mont 2002).…”