From systematic literature review to a conceptual framework for consumer disposal behavior towards personal communication devices

Abstract

Personal communication devices have made their way into each and every household. The complex nature of e‐waste, and its generation at an amplified pace calls for serious attention of policy makers, managers, educators and researchers. The paper presents a structured literature review of peer‐reviewed journal publications in the research area of disposal behavior of consumers with respect to their personal electronics. Also, it discusses the concepts and theoretical underpinnings to understand consumer disposal behavior based on extensive literature review. These theoretical foundations further help in framing the hypothesis and proposing the conceptual model. The proposed model is based on Theory of Planned Behavior. It studies the relationship between the core constructs: attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control, and includes awareness of consequences derived from the Value‐Belief‐Norm Theory. The model will also prove useful in understanding the impact of environmentally responsible disposal intention of personal electronics and its relationship with actual behavior. The role of external influences in the form of moderators is also taken into consideration while developing the model. It is expected that the research will help provide useful insights to literature on environmentally responsible disposal.

Disposal of obsolete mobile phones: A review on replacement, disposal methods, in-use lifespan, reuse and recycling

“…++++Users/consumers usually are in favour of the concept ‘beneficiary pays’ as they consider that by returning their obsolete electronic devices they are providing something valuable to the manufacturer. They also prefer to receive incentives for undertaking responsible disposal behaviour ( Phulwani et al, 2021 ). The incentives can be of various forms like offering a discount at the store at the time of purchase of new mobile phones while exchanging them with old ones ( Maragkos et al, 2013 ; Rathore et al, 2011 ; Tan et al., 2018 ), monetary rewards ( Botelho et al, 2016 ; Mishima and Nishimura, 2015 ; Silveira and Chang, 2010 ; Welfens et al, 2016 ; Zufall et al, 2020 ), providing coupons or reward points for recycling, which can be redeemed in the future ( Botelho et al, 2016 ; Silveira and Chang, 2010 ; Tan et al., 2018 ), etc.…”

“…The study even focused on the lifespan of various electronic devices, various factors affecting consumers’ e-waste disposal decision and factors affecting e-waste recycling behaviour. Phulwani et al (2021) conducted a comprehensive evaluation regarding consumer disposal behaviour towards personal communication devices such as mobile phones, laptops and tablets.…”

The finitude of life—How mortality salience affects consumer behavior: A review

“…Then, we verified this search by including operational terms or synonyms frequently used within this literature stream (e.g., “death anxiety,” “existential insecurity,” or “future time perspective”). During this process, we screened the title, abstract, and keywords of all listed articles and their relevance to our research question (Paul & Criado, 2020; Phulwani et al, 2021).…”

The Gap between Willingness and Behavior: The Use of Recycled Water for Toilet Flushing in Beijing, China

“…Attitude refers to whether an individual believes the consequences of behavior are positive or negative, social norms refer to the influence of the supportive behaviors of other important people, and perceived behavioral control refers to the evaluation of various factors that promote or inhibit behaviors [48]. Instead of focusing only on the influence of attitudes on behavior, as in the past, TPB incorporates the influence of the social external context and extends to the actual factors that prevent people from behaving in a certain way [49]. Few studies have used the TPB to explain the factors influencing the acceptance of recycled water use and explored in depth the practical factors that prevent people from using recycled water.…”