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When Online Recycling Enables Givers to Escape the Tensions of the Gift Economy

Author

Listed:
  • Valérie Guillard
  • Céline del Bucchia

    (Audencia Recherche - Audencia Business School)

Abstract

The present article explores a relatively new way for consumers to dispose of items they no longer use, namely free recycling websites. Online recycling is based on an encounter with an unknown recipient to give something away 'in person'. A phenomenological approach was used to understand the meaning of giving through free recycling websites. Placing the focus on the donor's perspective, we analysed Internet postings and conducted 27 in-depth interviews. Our research shows that (1) when the object is given, the online giver is less concerned about the risk of refusal, since the recipient has deliberately made the choice to take the item; (2) when the item is received, the encounter with the recipient removes the anonymity of charities and (3) in return, the encounter with the recipient offers the giver acknowledgement for the gesture without committing them to a relationship with the recipient in the way a gift to kith or kin might do. While former literature has highlighted certain tensions in the gift economy, this study shows how free recycling websites can help to alleviate such tensions. The research highlights how this system of object disposition enhances social interactions between two strangers that share an interest in the same object. The article shows how this new form of gift-giving relationship is both rewarding and liberating: it is rewarding thanks to the interaction with the recipient (unlike donations to charities) without necessarily creating a bond of dependence (unlike giving to someone you know).

Suggested Citation

  • Valérie Guillard & Céline del Bucchia, 2012. "When Online Recycling Enables Givers to Escape the Tensions of the Gift Economy," Post-Print hal-00956942, HAL.
  • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00956942
    DOI: 10.1108/S0885-2111(2012)0000014007
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    Cited by:

    1. Cerio, Eva & Debenedetti, Alain, 2021. "“Should I give it away or sell it?” A strategic perspective on consumers’ redistribution of their unused objects," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 581-591.
    2. Guillard, Valérie & Le Nagard, Emmanuelle, 2018. "L'impact de l'obsolescence perçue des biens durables sur la décision de remplacement et la destinée de l'objet remplacé," ESSEC Working Papers WP1801, ESSEC Research Center, ESSEC Business School.
    3. Valérie Guillard & Emmanuelle Le Nagard, 2018. "L'impact de l'obsolescence perçue des biens durables sur la décision de remplacement et la destinée de l'objet remplacé," Working Papers hal-01718752, HAL.
    4. Simon Borel & Valérie Guillard & Dominique Roux, 2016. "Ce qui circule entre nous en ligne," Post-Print hal-02022173, HAL.
    5. Bénédicte de Peyrelongue & Olivier Masclef & Valérie Guillard, 2017. "The Need to Give Gratuitously: A Relevant Concept Anchored in Catholic Social Teaching to Envision the Consumer Behavior," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 145(4), pages 739-755, November.

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