Consumer reluctance to dispose of objects they do not use anymore

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Consumer reluctance to dispose of objects they do
not use anymore

• Valérie GUILLARD
• PhD student

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Research context

• Charitable organizations
• Firms which work on the replacement market

• Consumers who are reluctant to dispose of
  objects

What do consumers do with objects they do not use
anymore?
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Research context

• Little attention in marketing on the question
  what do consumers do with objects they do not use
  anymore?
• Exploratory researches (Jacoby and al, 1977
  Hanson, 1982 McConocha and al, 1992).
• Conceptual model of major disposition behaviors
• Keep the product.
• Permanently dispose of it
• Give it,
• Trade it,
• Throw it away,
• Exchange it.
• Temporarily dispose of it
• Loan it,
• Rent it.

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Research context (continued)

• Choise of an option depends on
• Product intrinsic factors.

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Research context (continued)

• Situational factors.

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Research context (continued)

• Psychological characteristics of the decision
  maker.

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Research area

• In this research, we are focused on objects
• For which consumer do not have any use anymore,
• Still usable by others,
• That are not worth being sold.
• Perceived cost gt perceived benefit.
• Objects that nobody wants to buy.
• Decision to know what to do with these objects is
  costly and complex
• Keeping ? clutter,
• Giving, exchanging ? information search,
  transportation costs,
• Throwing away ? environmental costs.
• Before this decision
• Some consumers have no difficulty to dispose of
  objects,
• Others are always reluctant to do so.

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Research questions

• Why do some consumers have reluctance to dispose
  of objects they do not use anymore, still usable
  by others, that are not being sold?

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Importance of the subject

• A lot of people seem to be concerned with the
  problem
• Exploratory study.
• New job in France Home organizer.
• What is known on the subject
• Literature on how people get rid of  sacred 
  objects, inalienable objects.
• (Sherry, 1990 Herrmann, 1997 Belk and
  Sherry, 1999).
• No literature on the causes of their behavior.
• No literature on knowing which consumers are
  reluctant to dispose of objects.
• Research aims at characterizing the consumer
  reluctance to dispose of objects as a personal
  determinant.

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Research objectives

• Knowing the nature of the Reluctance to Dispose
  of Objects (RDO).
• Study 1.
• Measuring this phenomenon.
• Study 2.
• Identifying consumers who are reluctant to get
  rid of objects.
• Study 3.

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Study 1 Knowing the nature of the Reluctance to
Dispose of Objects (RDO)

• Psychological blockage which leads people to keep
  objects.
• (Frost and al, 1999 2003).
• What is the nature of this psychological
  blockage?
• Literature on psychological possession and on
  relationships with objects
• (Pierce and al, 2003 Belk, 1988, 1991
  Tisseron, 1999 Beaudrillard, 1968 Richins,
  1994).
• Objects may have sense when they enable people
  to
• Control their environment,
• Recall past, memories, interpersonal links,
• Have a social context.

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Study 2 Measuring this phenomenon

• Objective of a scale to identify people who are
  reluctant to dispose of objects.
• Definition consumers stable and recurrent
  reluctance to dispose of objects that do not have
  any use for them anymore, that are still usable
  by others but that are not worth being sold.
• First step
• Exploratory studies.
• Do you keep objects you do not use anymore?
  Why?
• You replace a furniture, what do you do of the
  former?
• Second step
• First data collection (N180).
• Third step
• Second data collection (N150).

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Study 2 Measuring this phenomenon (continued)

• Guilt (? 0,8), I will feel guilty if I dispose
  of it ,  I feel I do a fault if I do not keep
  it , I keep it because I offend someone if I
  throw it away, I feel some remorse for getting
  rid of objects
• Indecision (? 0,79) I never know if I have to
  dispose of it or not,  I can not make the
  decision to get rid of objects ,  It is always
  the fear of making mistakes which prevents me to
  dispose them
• Environmental concern (? 0,810) To built
  them, we need materials and it causes damage in
  environment  I keep them until that I find an
  industry to recycle them   I feel guilty when
  I threat environment,
• Fear of emptiness (? 0,70) I abhor a vacuum
  I feel anxious if I part with my objects
• Felt responsibility vis a vis future generation
  (? 0,76) I keep them books because I will
  show them to my children I would like to
  pass on future generation.

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Study 2 Measuring this phenomenon (continued)
You certainly have to make a decision concerning
objects you do not use anymore, still usable and
that are not being sold. When you have to make
this decision, what do you tell yourself?
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Study 2 Measuring this phenomenon (continued)

• 2 dimensions
• Sentimental
• Instrumental
• 75 of variance explained.
• Retest (same people, N90, 3 weeks later)
• Correlation 0,87.
• This scale measures a stable and recurrent
  reluctance to dispose of objects.

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Study 2 Measuring this phenomenon (continued)

• Fourth step
• Confirmatory analysis (N420).
• RMSEA 0,06 SRMR 0,1 AGFI 0,923
  Chi2/ddl 2,50
• Rhô de Joreskog and main indicators show a good
  fit between data and model.
• Fifth step
• Nomological and predictive validity
• Two behaviors which logically come from RDO
• Not throwing away objects.
• Keeping.

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Study 2 Measuring this phenomenon (continued)
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Study 2 Measuring this phenomenon (continued)
Nomological validity
H1a The more a consumer is reluctant to dispose
of objects, the less he has a tendency to throw
them away.
H1b The more a consumer is reluctant to dispose
of objects, the more he has a tendency to keep
them.
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Study 3 Identifying consumers reluctant to
dispose of objects

• Test with personality scales.
• N330
• 100 adults (means of age 41 30 male 70
  female)
• 230 students (means of age 21 43 male 57
  female)

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Conclusion

• Some people are reluctant to get rid of objects
  they do not use anymore.
• These people do not throw away objects and have
  the tendency to keep them.
• No significant correlation with demographics.
• No significant correlation with materialism.
• Some people want to identify the future owner of
  their objects when they want to give them
  (Lastovicka and Fernandez, 2005 Price, Arnould
  and Curasi, 2000). Are they RDO?
• Thank you !