To reduce waste, have it repaired! The quality signaling effect of product repairability

Abstract

By encouraging product repair, companies might increase product durability and minimize waste. However, the effectiveness of such strategies ultimately depends on consumers’ perceptions of the companies’ communications. The current research seeks to determine whether and when product repairability communications can signal product quality. Three quantitative studies and their meta-analysis affirm that repairability communications function as a signal of firms’ CSR orientation and the product’s durability; consumers rate brands that communicate about product repairability more favorably, and this effect grows stronger if they sense that product reliability is decreasing. According to the qualitative study, these effects further depend on factors such as consumers’ attributions of firms’ motives, and the presence of signal endorsers. These results contribute to quality signaling literature by uncovering the role of product repairability communication as a signal of product durability; and highlight the effects of CSR beliefs on consumers’ evaluations in a repair context.