Consumer Valuation of Remanufactured Products: A Comparative Study of Product Categories and Business Models

Understanding consumer valuation of remanufactured products is vital to the success of the remanufacturing business. However, whether and how product categories and business models influence the consumer valuation have not been investigated in detail. To test the effects of product categories and business models on the consumer valuation and acceptance of remanufactured products empirically, this study presents a survey on the relative value of remanufactured products perceived by the consumers. Six product categories (low-end laptops, high-end laptops, smartphones, gaming consoles, printers, and water purifiers) and two business models (the buying model and the rental model) were selected as the factors. Negative perception (NP), purchase intention (PI), and acceptable prices (APs) were used as measures of the perceived value. A group of 95 students from a Korean university participated in the survey. Statistical hypothesis testing shows that both the product categories and the business models cause significant differences in the relative value of remanufactured products. Especially, the results indicate that certain product categories are more advantageous for remanufacturing from a consumer-demand viewpoint. The results also show that the suitability of the rental model varies across the product categories; for certain categories, the rental model can be a better option for remanufacturing.