Perceived obsolescence, replacement decision and destiny of cell phones[Obsolescence perçue, décision de renouveler et destinée des produits : le cas du téléphone portable]

Decreasing product life spans is becoming a major social and environmental issue. It is partly related to brand actions to make their former models seem obsolete. Consumers also tend to discard their still functional technological products to get new models. The objective of this research is to identify and to get some insight into the journeys of old cell phones from the replacement decision to their final outcome. Qualitative data were collected from 64 respondents. Four kind of perceived obsolescence were identified : technological, economical, psychological and social. Most respondents kept their old cell phone, depriving it of a possible second life through circulation or recycling, without even considering these possibilities. Whether absolute or relative, perceived obsolescence did not influence the decision to keep the old cell phone or not, but did influence its destiny in case of disposal. But when they decide to separate from their former phone, the types of perceived obsolescence may impact the choice of destiny. Our results show that replacement induces a shift in the nature of the perceived value of the product, from value in use to value in disposition or residual value.