What factors influence consumers’ repair and replacement propensities in the Belgian smartphone sector?

Details

Supervisors

Belleflamme, Paul

Faculty

Louvain School of Management

Degree label

Master [120] : ingénieur de gestion, à finalité spécialisée

Abstract

This master's thesis explores the different factors that consumers face when they want to repair a product in order to extend its lifecycle. Typically, when your smartphone breaks, you have two options: repair it or replace it by buying a new device. When faced with this decision, there are many factors to consider, such as the price difference, the time and effort involved, and the environmental concerns associated with the production of this small device. The total pollution generated by a smartphone is huge, and the production phase alone accounts for 80% of its ecological footprint. It is in this context, and with a desire to strengthen the Circular Economy, that the Right to Repair movement has emerged. It aims to increase consumers' autonomy in the marketplace by enabling them to decide what they want to do with their products. Consumers are responsible for repairing a product or buying a new one, but they are independent of how the product is designed by manufacturers. In 2019, the European Union adopted the "Right to Repair Directive", which enables consumers to make better decisions about their defective products. Through a literature review, we developed a theoretical framework comprising 19 theoretical factors influencing consumers' decision between repair and replacement, and classified them into four categories. Qualitative and quantitative studies were conducted on Belgian smartphone owners to assess the significance of these factors. The results of the study have revealed that economic attachment, consumer's age, repair time and efforts, and factors related to repair services are the most important factors affecting consumers' decision to repair or replace their smartphone. The findings have also shown that the factor related to environmental concerns is slightly significant. On this basis, seven solutions are proposed to promote the Circular Economy through increasing the number of repair actions. This master's thesis and its theoretical framework can serve as a basis for future research aimed at testing consumer attitudes to repair.