Assessing consumers’ propensity towards product-service systems in the fashion industry: A cross-national comparison between Russia and Italy

Abstract

To assess the propensity of Russian and Italian fashion consumers to use Product-Service Systems (PSSs), the study identifies the drivers and barriers for their adoption to improve decision-making and targeting of consumers when launching PSSs in markets with different socio-cultural and economic characteristics. After providing a comprehensive list of the services that are currently implemented in the fashion industry, the study also compares the level of interest in PSSs for Russian and Italian consumers, as well as their willingness to recommend, actual usage of, and attitude towards PSSs. The methodology relies on an exploratory empirical study between Russian and Italian consumers, using a survey leading to a final sample of 328 participants. From the findings, it emerges that the national context plays a pivotal role in determining the propensity of fashion consumers to adopt PSSs. We find that Italian consumers are more inclined to adopt PSSs vis-a-vis their counterparts. Further, by identifying the key drivers and barriers, we also highlight potential opportunities and threats for the adoption of PSSs in the future. Given that the widespread adoption at an international level of PSSs is strictly related to their potential in terms of scalability, the findings have highly significant implications for both theory and practice.