How the Dead Storage of Consumer Electronics Creates Consumer Value

Mikkel Nøjgaard, Cristiano Smaniotto, Søren Askegaard, Ciprian Cimpan, Dmitry Zhilyaev and Henrik Wenzel
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Mikkel Nøjgaard: Department of Marketing & Management, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense, Denmark
Cristiano Smaniotto: Department of Business Development and Technology, Aarhus University, Birk Centerpark 15, 7400 Herning, Denmark
Søren Askegaard: Department of Marketing & Management, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense, Denmark
Ciprian Cimpan: Department of Chemical Engineering, Biotechnology and Environmental Technology, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense, Denmark
Dmitry Zhilyaev: Department of Chemical Engineering, Biotechnology and Environmental Technology, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense, Denmark
Henrik Wenzel: Department of Chemical Engineering, Biotechnology and Environmental Technology, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense, Denmark

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 14, 1-16

Abstract: Consumers across the globe tend to store their small electronic devices when they reach their end of life instead of disposing of them. This is a problem because if end-of-life devices are not recovered from consumers’ homes, the devices cannot be re-used or recycled, leading to increased production. We study what motivates consumers to store their end-of-life devices by looking at how storage creates consumer value. Applying a practice-based understanding of value, we find that storage is a social practice that generates value by protecting consumers from four different kinds of risk: practical risks, existential risks, environmental risks, and moral risks. Storage gives consumers a sense of security in their everyday lives and thus generates what we call ‘security value’. This notion implies that even though end-of-life devices sit idle in consumers’ homes, their value generating capacity remains active. The findings have implications for the role of consumers in reverse logistics strategies for sustainable systems.

Keywords: circular economy; storage; consumer electronics; consumer value (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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