Consumer Groups Research Articles

Are agrochemical‐free and biodiversity‐friendly attributes substitutes or complements? Evidence from a coffee choice experiment

AbstractEco‐labels inform consumers about the sustainable attributes of a product, but consumer face challenges to differentiate and select for specific attributes. Certification programs are similarly challenged to incentivize adoption of sustainable practices in product supply chains when consumer ability to differentiate sustainable attributes is low. This study investigates consumers' Willingness to Pay (WTP) for different environmental attributes of coffee production, and whether attributes that conserve biodiversity and limit agrochemical usage are substitutes or complements. We designed and implemented a hypothetical coffee choice experiment combining coffee farm vegetation management attributes that impact biodiversity (conventional monoculture, shade‐grown, or “Bird Friendly” systems that conserve wildlife habitat) and chemical input (conventional, pesticide‐free, or organic) attributes. We found that consumers think of biodiversity and agrochemical management attributes as sustainability substitutes and have the highest WTP for pesticide‐free and organic attributes. Consumer groups with strong concern about the future of the environment had high WTP for all environmental attributes, but still considered the attributes to be substitutes. Our results suggest that eco‐label programs with biodiversity and agrochemical attributes, such as the Smithsonian Bird Friendly® coffee certification, could increase market participation by simplifying environmental sustainability messaging, simplifying farm‐level certification requirements, and targeting environmentally concerned consumers. [EconLit Citations: D12, Q01, Q13, L66].

The Circular Economy and Elements of Consumer Behaviour using the SPSS Method

Consumer behaviour encompasses a myriad of factors that influence individuals, groups or companies their requirements and fulfilment of preferences materials, services or acquisition of experiences, using and relating to disposal how decisions are made. This multifaceted phenomenon is shaped by various elements, including psychological factors like perception, motivation, and attitudes. Additionally, socio-economic factors, Income, Education and Social status etc. purchasing power and in determining options play a significant role. Cultural influences, including values, norms, and traditions, further impact consumer choices. Moreover, technological advancements and the rise of digital platforms have transformed how consumers gather information and interact with products. Understanding these elements is crucial for businesses aiming to tailor their marketing strategies effectively and create products or services that resonate with their target audience. Research on consumer behaviours is of paramount significance in both academia and practical business applications. This understanding is instrumental for businesses in crafting effective marketing strategies, developing products that resonate with their target audience, and maintaining competitive advantages. The market involves categorizing and dividing consumers based on various criteria. This process helps businesses comprehend consumer behaviours, enabling them to efficiently target specific groups distinct groups with similar preferences and behaviours, companies can tailor their products, services, and marketing strategies to target specific segments, thereby increasing the likelihood of success. Product Development and Innovation Consumer behaviour research assists in determining optimal Pricing strategies. Consumers how they perceive value and price and between quality how to trade that they undertake understanding, consumers as per expectations Set prices allowing businesses. Consumer behaviour research market segment niche plays a role, businesses Specific consumer groups Identify and target Allows you to keep tailored offerings. Moreover, it provides insights into consumer preferences, enabling businesses to adapt to changing market trends and consumer demands. This research is invaluable for mitigating risks associated with consumer reactions to changes in products, pricing, or marketing tactics. Ultimately, a deep understanding of consumer behaviour is an essential tool for businesses seeking to thrive and innovate in today's dynamic and competitive business landscape. Emotions and Mood, Time and Convenience, Technology and Digital Influence, Social Media and Online Communities, Cultural Shifts and Trends, Privacy Concerns and Data Security and Crisis and External Events. the Cronbach's Alpha Reliability result. The overall Cronbach's Alpha value for the model is .744 which indicates 74% reliability. From the literature review, the above 50% Cronbach's Alpha value model can be considered for analysis.

Analysis of Product Characteristics and Marketing Strategies of Blind Box Based on the Study of Consumer Propensity Take Pop Mart as an Example

A blind box is a kind of pop toy that is like a small sculpture, people dont know what is inside the box until they open it. Because of the rapid change in the consumption trend and the rise of a new generation of consumer groups, blind boxes, especially the Pop Mart blind box series have become one of the most popular products among young people. However, the product itself doesnt have many practical uses, So what makes the toy so welcome among their target groups, and what attracts the people to buy those useless toys? The articles use Pop Mart (Representative of the blind box industry) as an example, trying to figure out which kinds of people are the aim group for the blind box and what people gain when they buy the blind box. According to the analysis for both internal and external reasons, some suggestions are provided in the conclusion part, to help the blind box industry grow to a better future, and achieve sustainable success.

Study on the Factors Influencing the Purchase Intention of Celebrity Endorsements

In tandem with market evolution, advertising strategies within enterprises are progressively gaining ubiquity, and the phenomenon of celebrity product representation is becoming increasingly pervasive. Instances of celebrities endorsing products are commonplace in daily life, with around 50% of the top 100 global brands adopting endorsement strategies. In the contemporary era, under the influence of the “fan economy”, the distinct characteristics of renowned endorsers and their fan base exert a direct influence on consumers, particularly within the general consumer demographic’s proclivity towards products endorsed by celebrities.This research employed the SPSS tool to empirically validate hypotheses, probing into the multifaceted impact of various factors associated with renowned endorsers on the purchase intentions of consumer groups within the backdrop of the “fan economy”. Commencing with three dimensions of celebrity endorser allure, expertise, and reliability, and three dimensions involving consumer congruence with renowned products, familiarity, and peer opinions, this study meticulously constructed a comprehensive relationship model delineating the nexus between celebrity endorsements and consumer purchase intentions. The research endeavors to deepen insights into the market strategies entwined with celebrity-endorsed products. From the vantage point of the seller, it furnishes nuanced recommendations tailored to brands, aspiring to equip enterprises with effective means to leverage celebrity advertising for heightened market share and sales.

Creating a healthy and sustainable food environment to promote plant-based food consumption: clear barriers and a gradual transition

BackgroundA shift away from diets high in animal-based foods towards diets high in plant-based foods is desirable considering human health, environmental sustainability, and animal welfare. As the food environment plays a crucial role in shaping consumption patterns, understanding of how changes in the food environment can facilitate plant-based consumption is crucial for the so-called protein transition. The current study aims to garner insight into barriers and facilitators for food outlet managers to take action to stimulate plant-based consumption within a local food environment.MethodsUsing a maximum-variation sample approach, we examined possible barriers and facilitators to promote plant-based consumption across different types of food outlets located within a geographically shared food environment (a city in the Netherlands). We conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews among food outlet managers and applied multi-stage thematic analysis to the interview transcripts.ResultsMost managers underscored the urgency of shifting towards more plant-based diets, and perceived a growing demand for plant-based products. However, three barriers hindered most of them from taking decisive action: Managers’ perception of low consumer demand for plant-based food options; fear of consumer resistance when stimulating plant-based food options; and limited behavioral agency to offer attractive plant-based food options. The few managers who made changes, or intend to make changes, are individuals with high intrinsic motivation, knowledge and skills.ConclusionsThe present work suggests the key for change towards a food environment stimulating plant-based consumption lies in addressing three (perceived) barriers shared among diverse outlets. These are partly different from barriers for stimulating healthy consumption in general. Furthermore, current changes appear to be driven incidentally by individuals who are motivated and able to stimulate more plant-based purchases among a small targeted group of consumers.

The Evolving Landscape of Spanish Language Representation in U.S. Media: From Overt to Covert Discrimination

Despite the continuously expanding presence of Spanish-speaking communities in the United States, media representation of the Spanish language and that of its speakers has remained relatively scarce. At present, however, a growing interest in reaching and cashing in on this influential consumer group is forcing significant changes in the mass media communication landscape. Not only are an increasing number of movies and TV shows working with more diverse casts (ethnically, culturally, linguistically, etc.), but there also seems to be a heightened presence of Latinx characters in leading or supporting roles. This tendency, however, does not necessarily mean that mainstream media is becoming more inclusive and less anglocentric. In fact, a careful look at the storylines of individuals who are perceived to be Spanish speakers will reveal that they mostly portray stereotypical roles and behaviors. When their stories are told, they are all too often infused with unwarranted messages that portray Latinxs as lazy, unskilled, unintelligible in speech, hypersexual, or simply too ‘foreign’ to fit in. Whether overtly or covertly expressed, the negative impact of these persistent transgressions has the potential to shape real-world ideologies, attitudes, and prejudices. This paper adopts a critical raciolinguistic perspective, which underscores the co-naturalization of language and race, to highlight the role of media in reinforcing discrimination against the Spanish language and its speakers. In our analysis of six recently popularized TV shows (i.e., East Los High, Family Guy, Gentefied, Jane the Virgin, One Day at a Time, and That ‘70s Show), we examine the perpetuation of racialized stereotypes toward Latinx characters’ linguistic practices with regard to (i) the environment in which they exist, (ii) their mannerisms, (iii) speech patterns, and (iv) interactions with other characters. We demonstrate how these shows’ blending of seemingly harmless linguistic ideologies with stereotypical and sensationalized representations grounded in colonial hierarchies reproduces hegemonic interests, perpetuates social inequalities, and places racialized Spanish speakers at a disadvantage.

Bioaccumulation of trace metals in edible terrestrial snails, Theba pisana and Otala spp., in a dumpsite area in Morocco and assessment of human health risks for consumers.

This study assessed the bioaccumulation patterns of five trace metals (Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, and Zn) in two edible snail species, Theba pisana and Otala spp., collected from a dumpsite in Safi City, Morocco. The results indicated that bioaccumulation might be species-specific, as metal concentration profiles varied between the two snail species. Additionally, higher metal levels in the dumpsite snails confirmed their potential as bioindicators of trace metal pollution in terrestrial environments. However, the distribution of trace elements within the edible parts of the snails showed marked unevenness, with the viscera accumulating more metals than the foot. The study also evaluated the potential human health risks associated with consuming these snails. Trace metal levels in the edible parts exceeded most international safety thresholds. The estimated daily intakes (EDIs) of trace metals through snail consumption were below the provisional tolerable daily intakes (PTDIs) for both children and adults, suggesting that daily consumption is generally safe. Nonetheless, the hazard index (HI) indicated that children might face health risks from long-term consumption of contaminated snails (HI > 1), while adults are less likely to experience such complications (HI < 1). The total target carcinogenic risk (TTCR) was below 1E-04 for both children and adults, indicating negligible to acceptable carcinogenic risks for all consumer groups.

Investigating Electricity Usage Profile for Residential Consumers in India

Electricity has become one of the essential needs in modern society. The demand and necessity for electricity have increased with population, trade, and industry, which has resulted in increased stress on the grid. As the development of an electricity storage system is costly, utilities are working on customer segmentation to classify the consumers according to their usage patterns to understand their demand and further develop resources accordingly. In this work, the K-Means clustering algorithm has been applied to a two-year monthly consumption data set (January 2019 to December 2020) of 100 residential consumers from Kutheda village Hamirpur (Himachal Pradesh, India) to visualize the diverse consumption behaviour. It resulted in four different clusters of consumers. It also showed that there is a group having a large number of consumers whose consumption is low and consumption pattern is very less flexible in different seasons. Another group of consumers with high consumption also shows high flexibility in consumption patterns, but their number is less. Also, the winter season shows the highest consumption of electricity and the monsoon season shows the lowest consumption of electricity in this particular region. This analysis will certainly help the electricity provider to make production planning for a different group of consumers in a specific season based on electricity consumption patterns.

Factors influencing the willingness to purchase and consume microalgae-based foods: An exploratory consumer study

The aim of this study was to identify factors that influence consumers' willingness to purchase and consume microalgae-based foods. Data from an online survey (n = 583) conducted in Switzerland were analysed using multiple linear regression. The model revealed that the consumers interested in purchasing and consuming microalgae-based foods had low scepticism towards new food technologies, believed that high meat production and consumption negatively impact sustainability and were interested in protecting the environment. The results contribute to the existing literature and assist the food industry and the gastronomy sector in reaching target consumer groups.

Empowering tomorrow: Unleashing the power of e-wallets with adoption readiness, personal innovativeness, and perceived risk to client’s intention

This research delves into the factors influencing the adoption of e-wallets among users in Vietnam through quantitative analysis utilizing SmartPLS software. Although one hypothesis received only partial support, the remaining three out of four hypotheses were fully supported. The research focuses on individuals utilizing e-wallets in Vietnam, providing novel insights into factors shaping usage behavior. The findings contribute to our understanding of e-wallet adoption dynamics and offer empirical evidence for model consistency across different consumer groups. Moreover, the study clarifies the impacts on the behavior of current e-wallet users and provides valuable insights for potential adopters, addressing their concerns and usage purposes comprehensively. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance for businesses to understand consumer needs and concerns, facilitating a clear understanding for users as they navigate e-wallet usage. Overall, the research aims to foster development and ensure safety in the digital transformation era, benefiting users and businesses in Vietnam and globally.

The antimycotic potential of Debaryomyces hansenii LRC2 on Iberian Pork Loins with low concentration preservatives

The use of preservatives such as nitrite and salt is a widespread practice in meat industry. For many years it has resulted in benefits like extending the shelf life of cured meat products. The EU has published new regulations to reduce the content of preservatives in foods as recent investigations have concluded that its excessive usage is related to health issues, so new alternatives are needed. Debaryomyces hansenii is a non-conventional yeast with known biocontrol possibilities. It can be found in many of environments and is the most frequent yeast isolated from sausages and dry meat products. The LRC2 strain used in this work is an isolate from Iberian Pork Loin, characterized biochemically and molecularly. The potential of D. hansenii LRC2 strain was evaluated following a volatile compounds inhibition assay. Then a scale-up trial was performed by inoculating a battery of Iberian Pork loins followed by a quality study of the final product. This was carried out through physical and microbial analysis as the identification of volatile compound profiles with GC-IMS. Finally, sensory tests were performed by a group of trained panellists and regular consumers. Results in our research show that the production of volatile compounds from LRC2 inhibited the activity of unwanted molds in all the conditions studied. The inhibition rates surpassed 75% in all cases, strengthening the hypothesis of its potential preservative effect in cured meat products. When testing the yeast inoculation effect and the reduction of preservatives in Iberian Pork Loins, a loss of sensory quality is observed when preservatives are drastically reduced reducing the panellists’ grades by more than 3 points on a 1–9 scale in overall quality. In all conditions, the LRC2 inoculated loins showed significant fewer mold populations than the non-inoculated ones, improving the safety food level of the final product. This study confirms that the application of natural yeast-based alternatives is a feasible option for the new meat industry needs.

“False advertising, fact-checked” examining how social identification affects fact-checking of false advertisements

This study examines the effectiveness of fact-checking technology in combating false advertising on social media. Focusing on two understudied consumer groups: vegans and vegetarians (Study 1) and mothers (Study 2), the study employs a social identity framework to explore the impact of fact-checking tools on consumer perceptions. The findings indicate that such tools can be beneficial for consumers, leading them to have a heightened sense of deception towards false advertising. However, the study also highlights the potential for fact-checking features to backfire when persuasive content emphasizes the consumer’s social identity in-group characteristics. Despite consumers recognizing attempts at deception in the advertisement, they find its persuasive message more credible when it aligns with their identity group’s distinctive traits. Overall, this research contributes to the literature on social identity theory, targeted advertising, message credibility, cognitive dissonance, and false information. Furthermore, the findings guide managerial decisions regarding the implementation of fact-checking features in social media advertising.

The Role of e-Cigarette Packaging as a Health Communications Tool: A Focus Group Study With Adolescents and Adults in England and Scotland.

In the United Kingdom, e-cigarette and refill packaging must display a nicotine addiction warning. This study explored how this message is perceived, responses to alternative on-pack messages, and other options for using e-cigarette packaging to discourage youth and people who neither smoke nor use e-cigarettes while encouraging smokers to switch. Between August and September 2022, 16 focus groups (n = 70) were conducted to explore these topics with adolescents (n = 31, aged 11-17 years) and adults (n = 39, nonsmokers, smokers that use e-cigarettes, smokers that do not use e-cigarettes) in England and Scotland. While several participants thought the current nicotine addiction warning could help increase awareness of nicotine addiction, most reported that it failed to capture attention and was not a deterrent. Alternative messages shown on packs (about harm, toxicity, wellness, litter, or relative risk) received mixed responses. Relative risk messages were perceived as most beneficial for smokers switching but also thought to potentially encourage uptake among nonsmokers. Some participants considered certain harm and toxicity messages to potentially dissuade uptake. Participants proposed several ideas to reduce the appeal of e-cigarette packaging and devices to deter youth uptake, including more prominent warnings, standardized packaging, and devices that are plain or include health messages. Packaging can play a crucial role in communicating product and health messages to different consumer groups. Further consideration of how packaging and labeling can meet the needs of non-nicotine users while simultaneously reaching those who may benefit from using e-cigarettes to stop smoking is warranted. While some viewed the nicotine addiction warning required on e-cigarettes and refill packaging in the United Kingdom as helpful in raising awareness of nicotine addiction, it did not resonate with most of our sample of adolescents and adults. The findings suggest that e-cigarette packaging could be better used to encourage smokers to switch to a less harmful alternative, with relative risk messages showing promise. Furthermore, strengthening on-pack messaging (eg increasing salience and rotating messages) and reducing the appeal of packaging (eg drab colors) and devices (eg including warnings) may help increase awareness of e-cigarette harms while deterring use among adolescents and nonsmokers.

College Students Online Love to Participate in the Promotion Activities

With the rapid development of big data, there are more and more consumption ways of online shopping online. As China's e-commerce platforms continue to expand, various e-commerce shopping festivals also emerge. At the same time, the competition among online businesses has become increasingly fierce, and different promotion means emerge in endlessly. Therefore, businesses should seize the opportunity, seize the opportunity, and study the vast consumer group of college students. College students are an emerging consumer group of online shopping software. Many college students will buy on impulse under the stimulation of various promotional activities. For example, after swiping discounts on TikTok, Kuaishou and other video software, they are easy to have the desire for impulse consumption. In addition, college students mainly show the continuity of purchase when buying goods. If they have a good experience in the process of buying goods, they may continue to buy products of the same brand, and will recommend the products to their friends and relatives. College students stand at the front of the consumption concept, easy to contact, but also easy to accept new things, consumption concept ahead and change relatively fast. Secondly, college students should pursue the practical ability brought by commodities more often. College students have now become one of the main forces of consumption. This paper takes the domestic online consumption environment as the research background, and through the review of questionnaires and literature, studies the influence of product promotion mode on the impulsive purchase of product promotion. his paper explores which kind of promotion method that college students love to participate in in online shopping in China. The consumption phenomenon of college students is expected to provide reference for merchants to carry out online shopping promotion.

Consumers’ Perception of Social Media Influencers: A Study of Skincare Brands in Nigeria

In the highly competitive consumer market, brand owners are working tirelessly towards retaining their ‘loyal’ customers, and ensuring that the consumers of other brands make a switch to their products; all these are geared towards remaining relevant in the business world. Hence, social media has become a viable medium to pass these messages as a result of the increasing impact of modern technology and “know-how.” The engagement of well-known personalities for social media brand influencing has become a viable tool employed by brand owners to give maximum visibility to their products. They are influential because online users, in most cases, adopt their personalities as role models while many others idolize them. Hence, their promotion of brands and products on social media is usually widely accepted by these groups of consumers. In recent times, there have been reports and cases of influenced skincare brands and products that have fallen short of efficacy and quality as purported by the influencers of the brands in question. Consumers have expressed dissatisfaction, frustration, and waste of money regarding the purchase and usage of some skincare brands that were purchased as a result of the content created around the products by their social media influencers. Therefore, this study seeks to examine consumers’ perception of the engagement of social media influencers of skin-care products using Focus Group Discussion and a survey of female respondents who are known to use skincare products. Results show that the use of influencers does not necessarily inform their purchase or usage of certain skin care products. This is because, first, skin care products are sensitive and could damage customers’ skin, which makes them purchase through referrals rather than depending on influencers’ reports about the product. Second, the social media platform is commonly known as a medium that online users can easily manipulate for deception. The study suggests that Influencers should adopt credible means of creating awareness for their brand.

A Personalized Framework for Consumer and Producer Group Fairness Optimization in Recommender Systems

In recent years, there has been an increasing recognition that when machine learning (ML) algorithms are used to automate decisions, they may mistreat individuals or groups, with legal, ethical, or economic implications. Recommender systems are prominent examples of these ML systems that aid users in making decisions. The majority of past literature research on recommender systems fairness treats user and item fairness concerns independently, ignoring the fact that recommender systems function in a two-sided marketplace. In this article, we propose CP-FairRank , an optimization-based re-ranking algorithm that seamlessly integrates fairness constraints from both the consumer and producer side in a joint objective framework. The framework is generalizable and may take into account varied fairness settings based on group segmentation, recommendation model selection, and domain, which is one of its key characteristics. For instance, we demonstrate that the system may jointly increase consumer and producer fairness when (un)protected consumer groups are defined on the basis of their activity level and main-streamness , while producer groups are defined according to their popularity level. For empirical validation, through large-scale on eight datasets and four mainstream collaborative filtering recommendation models, we demonstrate that our proposed strategy is able to improve both consumer and producer fairness without compromising or very little overall recommendation quality, demonstrating the role algorithms may play in avoiding data biases. Our results on different group segmentation also indicate that the amount of improvement can vary and is dependent on group segmentation, indicating that the amount of bias produced and how much the algorithm can improve it depend on the protected group definition, a factor that, to our knowledge, has not been examined in great depth in previous studies but rather is highlighted by the results discovered in this study.

Understanding the impact of artificial intelligence on the justice of charitable giving: The moderating role of trust and regulatory orientation

AbstractThe issue of distributive justice in charitable donations has become increasingly prominent. It not only weakens people's confidence in philanthropy but also their enthusiasm for participation. With the widespread use of artificial intelligence technology in donations, a key question arises: Can artificial intelligence inspire people to be more willing to donate by improving their perception of justice in donation distribution? This question is vital for charities but has yet to be answered. To address this gap, this research conducted five comprehensive studies to investigate the impact of AI decision‐makers on consumers' willingness to donate. The findings of Studies 1 and 2 consistently revealed that consumers perceive higher distributive justice in AI decision‐makers compared with humans, motivating increased participation in charitable donations. Study 3 examined two different experimental scenarios and found that this effect only occurs among consumers with lower trust in nonprofit organizations. Study 4 further explored the effect that is only present among prevention‐oriented consumers. These findings reveal how perceptions of distributive justice toward AI decision‐makers can facilitate public charitable giving and highlight the significance of this effect across different groups of consumers, providing invaluable insights for charitable organizations. This research not only fills the theoretical gap in the philanthropic field about the impact of artificial intelligence decision‐makers on donation distribution justice but also provides charitable organizations with artificial intelligence‐based donation promotion strategies.

Facilitating most population engagement with the circular economy: Challenges for academics and (as) social media influencers

The lack of consumer engagement with the Circular Economy (CE) hinders the use of recycled materials in products manufactured by the B2B companies (e.g., recycled pet bottles in industrial adhesives). Such an institutional void gives space to the rise of a type of network activity: knowledge brokerage, which is a process of knowledge exchange facilitation.This multiple case study contributes with a practical description of brokerage activities in this context. It investigated how companies could interact with academics through knowledge exchange translated into campaigns to engage most consumers with CE. The network approach, under the knowledge brokerage perspective, was the main theoretical foundation of this work.Findings indicate doubts that prevent companies from developing better green marketing campaigns. Academics could help to fill these gaps. Regarding campaign management, academics could identify the different groups of consumers, the delivery channels, campaign duration, and disclosure days/times that most engage each consumer group.Campaigns require educational materials. Academics could identify the amount of information and the presentation format in printed materials. However, engaging most of the population requires a better use of social media. Academics must investigate the posts that could change each group of people's behaviors (including consumers with a lower educational level and less purchasing power).Companies plan to financially support academics who elucidate these doubts or those who succeed in using social media to induce consumers to review their postures. Such support could increase the research funds for the projects managed by the researchers we have named “academic influencers.”

Sources of the European Union's regulatory influence on digital platform firms: Lessons from three Google antitrust cases

AbstractVarious studies have highlighted the considerable regulatory influence of the European Union (EU) on digital platform (DP) firms. However, the role of stakeholders in individual competition cases remains underexplored. To fill this gap, this article draws on the conceptual framework of Market Power Europe and contends that the main sources of the European Commission's influence in this field are not only the EU's market size and regulatory capacity but also relevant market information provided by stakeholders such as consumer groups, business associations, and the target firm's competitors. Market information helps the Commission alleviate the problem of information asymmetry and effectively regulate complex and fast‐moving areas such as DP markets. A close analysis of three Google antitrust cases concluded between 2017 and 2019 provides initial empirical evidence supporting this conclusion. Overall, this study contributes to the literature on EU competition policy and greater understanding of the global political economy in relation to DP firms.

Clothing disposal in Ethiopia: methods and motives

PurposeThis study explores clothing disposal in a developing economy. It focuses on how consumers dispose of clothing and what motives influence them to use a specific disposal method.Design/methodology/approachSemi-structured interviews, a qualitative research method, were conducted with a purposive sample of 27 participants from diverse demographic backgrounds within the developing economy of Ethiopia. The interviews were coded and analysed using thematic analysis to identify categories and themes.FindingsThe findings reveal various clothing disposal methods, such as bartering, donating, gifting, repurposing and reusing, and discarding. Different motives drive consumers to use these methods, including economic benefits, altruism, and convenience.Originality/valueThe study bridges an important knowledge gap in literature mainly on three aspects, as highlighted by previous research. Theoretically, in addition to proposing a different perspective of bartering as a disposal method, the study investigates the motives behind clothing disposal methods from diverse consumer groups and proposes a conceptual framework to illustrate the link between clothing disposal methods and motives. Methodologically, the study addresses the call for a more inclusive and diverse sample, considering gender and varied socio-economic groups. Contextually, while previous research has focused on developed economies, this study explains clothing disposal methods and motives from a developing economy context, specifically Ethiopia.