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The Effect of Product Size and Form Distortion on Consumer Recycling Behavior

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  • Remi Trudel
  • Jennifer J. Argo

Abstract

The present research examines conditions under which consumers dispose of recyclable products in the garbage. Results from a field study and four laboratory studies demonstrate that a consumer's decision to recycle a product or throw it in the trash can be determined by the extent to which the product has been distorted during the consumption process. Specifically, if the consumption process distorts a product sufficiently from its original form (i.e., changes in size or form), consumers perceive it as less useful and in turn are more likely to throw it in the garbage (as opposed to recycle it). These findings point to important outcomes of the consumption process that have largely been ignored and provide initial insight into the psychological processes influencing recycling behavior.

Suggested Citation

  • Remi Trudel & Jennifer J. Argo, 2013. "The Effect of Product Size and Form Distortion on Consumer Recycling Behavior," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 40(4), pages 632-643.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jconrs:doi:10.1086/671475
    DOI: 10.1086/671475
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    Cited by:

    1. Remi Trudel & Jennifer J. Argo & Matthew D. Meng, 2016. "The Recycled Self: Consumers’ Disposal Decisions of Identity-Linked Products," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 43(2), pages 246-264.
    2. Babak Nemat & Mohammad Razzaghi & Kim Bolton & Kamran Rousta, 2020. "The Potential of Food Packaging Attributes to Influence Consumers’ Decisions to Sort Waste," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-22, March.
    3. Wiecek, Annika & Wentzel, Daniel & Landwehr, Jan R., 2019. "The aesthetic fidelity effect," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 542-557.
    4. Babak Nemat & Mohammad Razzaghi & Kim Bolton & Kamran Rousta, 2019. "The Role of Food Packaging Design in Consumer Recycling Behavior—A Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-23, August.
    5. Hemonnet-Goujot, Aurélie & Kessous, Aurélie & Magnoni, Fanny, 2022. "The effect of sustainable product innovation on the consumer–luxury brand relationship: The role of past identity salience," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 1513-1524.
    6. Lembregts, Christophe & Cadario, Romain, 2024. "Consumer-Driven Climate Mitigation: Exploring Barriers and Solutions in Studying Higher Mitigation Potential Behaviors," OSF Preprints ywus6, Center for Open Science.
    7. Mihai Dinu & Simona Roxana Pătărlăgeanu & Radu Petrariu & Marius Constantin & Ana-Mădălina Potcovaru, 2020. "Empowering Sustainable Consumer Behavior in the EU by Consolidating the Roles of Waste Recycling and Energy Productivity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-24, November.
    8. Aurélie Hemonnet-Goujot & Aurélie Kessous & Fanny Magnoni, 2022. "The effect of sustainable product innovation on the consumer–luxury brand relationship: The role of past identity salience," Post-Print hal-03511454, HAL.
    9. Adıgüzel, Feray & Donato, Carmela, 2021. "Proud to be sustainable: Upcycled versus recycled luxury products," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 137-146.
    10. Ioannis Rizomyliotis & Athanasios Poulis & Kleopatra Konstantoulaki & Apostolos Giovanis, 2021. "Sustaining brand loyalty: The moderating role of green consumption values," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(7), pages 3025-3039, November.
    11. Rudawska Edyta & Frąckiewicz Ewa & Wiścicka-Fernando Małgorzata, 2018. "Socio-Ecological Innovations in Marketing Strategy – A Comparative Analysis Of Companies Operating in Western European Countries and Central-Eastern European Countries," Economics and Business Review, Sciendo, vol. 4(3), pages 51-68, July.
    12. Kevin L. Sample & Henrik Hagtvedt & S. Adam Brasel, 2020. "Components of visual perception in marketing contexts: a conceptual framework and review," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 405-421, May.
    13. Grant E. Donnelly & Cait Lamberton & Rebecca Walker Reczek & Michael I. Norton, 2017. "Social Recycling Transforms Unwanted Goods into Happiness," Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, University of Chicago Press, vol. 2(1), pages 48-63.
    14. Zhang, Xiadan & Gong, Xiushuang & Jiang, Jing, 2021. "Dump or recycle? Nostalgia and consumer recycling behavior," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 594-603.

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