Events

Professor Karen Page Winterich
Gerald I. Susman Professor in Sustainability and Professor of Marketing
Smeal College of Business
The Pennsylvania State University

ABSTRACT

Just a few decades ago, we celebrated the invention of disposables, but today we recognize our disposable lifestyle is not sustainable. Though some consumers may want to consume more sustainably, they need interventions to overcome current unsustainable behavior. This research presents several tactics companies can implement to increase repair and reuse behavior as part of a circular economy. To increase repair, companies offer brand repair services that signal unused utility in broken products. In take-back programs, companies can increase repeat participation in recycling and reuse programs through acknowledgment. Not only can such initiatives increase sustainable behavior to benefit society at large, but they also benefit the brand, decreasing switching behavior and increasing company sustainability perceptions.