Environmentally-conscious behaviours in the circular economy. An analysis of consumers' green purchase intentions for refurbished smartphones

Abstract

The management of waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is a hot issue for both the scientific community and practitioners. Among the strategies that lead a system to circularity, that of reconditioning (or refurbishing) appears to be very suitable and profitable for WEEE management. According to it, this paper aims to contribute to the existing literature on consumer behavior and Circular Economy by studying what determines the green purchase intention of a refurbished smartphone. By applying a Discriminant Analysis it was found that psychological factors, such as green perceived value and environmental knowledge, are the most powerful predictors of green purchase intention of refurbished smartphones, while social and emotional ones, i.e. collectivism, subjective norms and environmental concern, do not influence it. Our results can be useful to both remanufacturers and retailers of refurbished products to identify more effective marketing strategies, as well as to policymakers to define specific measures and policies able to improve the environmental concern of the end consumers.