The Appeal of Upcycled Products: The Role of Perceived Creativity

Autor(en)

Sara Caprioli, Christoph Fuchs, Bram Van den Bergh

Abstrakt

Upcycled products are the result of the transformation of old, used, or unwanted products into new ones; for example, using old snowboards to make a bench. Although upcycling is becoming increasingly popular, our understanding about why consumers find upcycling products appealing is limited. Initial research suggests that the primary benefit that consumers seek when purchasing an upcycled product is sustainability (Wilson 2016). Upcycling is considered even more sustainable than recycling, because it reuses waste without decomposing it to the raw material, which involves considerably lower energy and resources consumption (Braungart et al. 2007; Zink et al. 2014). In this paper, we propose an alternative mechanism that can help explain the appeal of upcycled products - creativity. In particular, we suggest that the appeal of upcycled products lies in the distance between the functions of the old product (i.e. input) and the new product (i.e. output). We hypothesize that the more distant the functions between input and output are, the more creative consumers should perceive an upcycled product. This increased sense of creativity should, in turn, explain the increased appeal of upcycled products. For example, consumers would perceive a bench made out of old snowboards (high distance input/output) more creative and appealing than a bench made out of old chairs (low distance input/output), since they would have less likely thought of a snowboard as a solid support to sit down as they would have of a chair. Our theorizing resonates with extant research on creativity, which suggests that the combination of concepts that belong to different domains can generate novel and original ideas (Dahl and Moreau 2002; Ward 2004). We tested our idea in six studies. In Study 1, we first tested whether the appeal of upcycled products lies in higher creativity perceptions. We coded 2,008 consumers' reviews of upcycled and comparable non-upcycled products in terms of product associations, including creativity and sustainability. A chi-square test revealed that, compared to non-upcycled products, consumers associated upcycled products more often with creativity (X2(1, Ncodes=4,026) = 66.968, p = .000). In addition, creativity was mentioned in 76% of the reviews of upcycled products, whereas sustainability only in 16%. These results suggest that it is mainly creativity that distinguishes upcycled products from non-upcycled ones in the eyes of consumers. In Study 2 (N=532), we aimed at better understanding why consumers associate upcycled products with higher perceived creativity. We asked half of the participants to rate 130 upcycled products in terms of their appeal on a five star rating scale, and the other half to evaluate the same products in terms of distance between input and output functions and creativity. A linear regression analysis on the 130 products showed that upcycled products were perceived as more appealing when the distance was greater (t(128) = 2.411, p = .017). A mediation analysis showed that the effect of distance on appeal was driven by the perceived product creativity (b = .119; SE = .055; CI95%[.024, .240]). In Study 3, we randomly assigned participants (N=363) to one of three between-subjects conditions where we experimentally manipulated distance between input and output. In the high distance condition, the function of the input was different from that of the output (e.g., table made with pieces of wood from a whiskey barrel); in the low distance condition, the functions were very similar (e.g., table made with pieces of wood from another table); in the control condition, the product was non-upcycled (e.g., table made with pieces of wood). Next, participants rated appeal and creativity of three product replicates. An ANO VA revealed that participants evaluated products in the high distance condition as more appealing than products in the low distance (t(362) = .308, p = .002) and control (t(362) = .233, p = .018) conditions. A mediation analysis showed that perceived creativity mediated the effect of distance on appeal (b = .182, SE = .041, CI95% [.103, .262]). In Study 4 (N=120), we aimed to show that distance between input and output functionalities also affects the actual demand for upcycled products. We set up a small stand with the aim to sell upcycled key chains. Potential buyers had the possibility to buy a key chain made repurposing the fabric of parachutes (high distance) or a similar keychain made repurposing the fabric of other keychains (low distance). Consumers purchased more keychains when the distance between input and output was greater (68.3% vs. 31.7%; z = 4.016, p = .000). In Study 5a and 5b, we provided further process evidence using moderation. If creativity underlies the observed effect on product appeal, we would expect that consumers low in openness to experience should less appreciate the creativity and therefore the appeal of upcycled products. Openness to experience is indeed conceptually related to the appreciation of creative ideas, such as art, music or literature (John and Srivastava 1999). In Study 5a, participants (N=224) rated the appeal of products randomly taken from a high distance, low distance or control condition and self-reported their level of openness to experience (John and Srivastava 1999). A moderation analysis showed that the effect of distance on product appeal was reduced when participants were less open to experience (b = .288, SE = .067, CI95% [0.156, 0.420]). In Study 5b, we tested the same moderating effect by manipulating openness to experience. This research makes several contributions. First, this paper offers a novel account for why consumers like upcycled products. Whereas extant literature suggests that the appeal of upcycled products is rooted in sustainability, our studies identify perceived creativity as a main driver of their appeal. Second, our paper contributes to a better understanding of how creativity perceptions are formed. While extant research has focused on explaining what makes ideas creative, research has paid little attention what drives creativity perceptions (Anderson et al. 2014; Zhou et al. 2019). Understanding how consumers perceive creativity is relevant, as it predicts their behavioral intentions. Finally, this research offers useful practical insights to marketers to enhance the appeal of upcycled products and therefore promote sustainable products.

Organisation(en)

Externe Organisation(en)

Technische Universität München, Erasmus University Rotterdam

Journal

Advances in Consumer Research

Band

47

Seiten

487-488

Anzahl der Seiten

2

ISSN

0098-9258

Publikationsdatum

2019

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ÖFOS 2012

502019 Marketing

Schlagwörter

Link zum Portal

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/4eefeb24-75fc-452f-bedc-48dea710c8c0