Tools- of Changes

Barriers and Motivators for Consumer Circular Economy Behaviors

This paper introduces eight categories of barriers and motivators influencing consumer adoption of Circular Economy behaviors.

Adoption of Circular Economy (CE) behaviors, such as repair and sharing, remains slow. To speed up adoption, product users must experience these behaviors as predominantly positive. This paper introduces the Product User’s Experience of CE Behaviors (PUxCEB) Model, developed for durable consumer goods (e.g., clothing and electronics). It was validated through an interdisciplinary Delphi study with two expert groups in CE and Sufficiency, and Consumer Studies and Macromarketing. The Model identifies eight experiential areas: effort, financial, functional, task immersion, aesthetics, social interaction, social status, and moral alignment. Within these areas, the Model captures potential barriers (e.g., costs) and rewards (e.g., gains). It further classifies contextual variables within the experience into four types: mediators (i.e., directly causing effects, such as social status rewards), moderators (i.e., amplifying or reducing effects), determinants (i.e., generating variables), and qualifiers (i.e., determining the salience of variables, based on socio-cultural meanings).