Hand-me-downs: the wallflower of pre-ownership and a special case for psychological ownership

Susanne Ruckelshausen and Bernadette Kamleitner

Chapter 9 in Understanding Collaborative Consumption, 2024, pp 111-123 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Handing down things that one no longer needs to family and friends might be one of the oldest forms of collaborative consumption (CC). Even though the practice of passing on possessions is highly prevalent, scholars have devoted little attention to it. This chapter contrasts second-hand purchases and hand-me-downs and zooms in on this understudied form of CC through the lens of psychological ownership. This theoretical lens explains how we appropriate and let go of things and how we behave and feel toward them. We unearth factors that are specific to the practice of hand-me-downs and theorize how the elements that distinguish hand-me-downs from second-hand items (i.e., relation to the prior owner, compensation, initiation, and choice) affect the experience of psychological ownership. The chapter serves as a springboard for future research on hand-me-downs and establishes their potential contribution to a circular economy.

Keywords: Business and Management; Economics and Finance; Innovations and Technology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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