Assessing the Electric and Electronic Devices Acquisition in Romania within the Context of Circular Economy Requirements A Poisson Regression Approach

Abstract

In this paper, we analyse the factors influencing the purchase frequency of three types of electronic devices and home appliances (mobile phone, TV set, laptop) by Romanian consumers and identifies the stimuli for a consumer behaviour aimed at a responsible getting out of use of electronic equipment and home appliances. Using survey data and a Poisson regression approach, we show that there is a negative relation between the gender of a respondent and the frequency of acquisition of home appliances during the last 5 years – despite that, only in the case of acquiring mobile phones the coefficient is statistically significant. Furthermore compared to individuals that have post-graduate studies (master’s degree or PhD), the high-school graduates present a greater inclination towards the more frequent purchase of mobile phones; as for age, the number of acquisitions of a new electronic device or home appliance, regardless of its nature, this decreases as age increases; referring to the acquisition manner, the persons who buy exclusively from specialized stores purchase less phones, PC-s and TV sets as compared to a person that adopts both manners (physical store and online). Concerning the stimuli for collecting, the research results show that these do not influence the purchase decision of a new equipment, regardless of its type, the results of Poisson regression being statistically insignificant for the analysed sample. The results of our paper show that there is no strong binding between the purchase determinants of new equipment and responsible recycling of old equipment.