Remanufactured Products in Closed‐Loop Supply Chains for Consumer Goods

TLDR

The study empirically examines how consumers perceive remanufactured products within closed‑loop supply chains. Using a multi‑study design that refined measurement tools and culminated in an experimental survey of a national consumer panel, the authors tested how price discounts and brand equity affect perceptions of remanufactured products. Results show that price discounts consistently increase attractiveness, brand equity matters less, green‑oriented consumers find remanufactured items more appealing, and negative attributes such as disgust significantly reduce attractiveness.

Abstract

This study empirically investigates consumer perceptions of remanufactured consumer products in closed‐loop supply chains. A multi‐study approach led to increasing levels of measure refinement and facilitated examination of various assumptions researchers have made about the consumer market for remanufactured products. Based in part on the measure building studies, an experimental study examined remanufactured product perceptions from a national panel of consumers. The consumers responded to remanufactured product descriptions that manipulated price discount and brand equity. The results indicate that discounting had a consistently positive, linear effect on remanufactured product attractiveness. Curiously, the brand equity manipulation proved less important to consumers than specific remanufactured product quality perceptions. The results also show that green consumers and consumers who consider remanufactured products green typically found remanufactured products significantly more attractive. Finally, the findings introduce the concept of negative attribute perceptions, such as disgust, that had a significantly detrimental effect on remanufactured product attractiveness.