Chapter 1: Understanding Consumer Product Disposition: Scope and Rationale

This research study presents an integrated approach to expound product disposition behavior by identifying factors influencing disposition, disposer typology and disposition tendency. The importance of understanding consumer disposal behaviour for durable and semi-durable goods has grown sharply in recent years, especially with the increased focus on sustainable consumption and circular economy models.  In addition, an attempt has been made to extend the theoretical and empirical evidence of the structural relationships among the constructs of 1) Value Seeking Tendency, 2) Innovation Seeking Tendency, 3) Tendency to De-clutter, 4) Lifestyle Factors, 5) Storage Factors, 6) Product Working Condition and 7) Disposition Channel, 8) Disposition Behavior and 9) Impulse disposition behavior. It brings into focus the moderating effects of gender, age, income, family structure, job transferability and work status on relationships of these constructs. Thus, the findings from this research study will provide a more comprehensive perspective of a vital stage in the consumer behavior cycle. The basic purpose of the study is to further unravel the factors influencing the disposition process and thus serve as a useful contrast and value addition to the fixation with acquisition and consumption that has predominated consumer behavior studies. The scope of this study is to develop a disposer typology by recognizing different disposer segments and also to understand the individual differences in tendency to dispose of goods that fall out of use.