Ownership is so last year! An investigation of the relationship between consumer characteristics and attitude towards rental of second-hand clothing

Sammanfattning: Thesis purpose: This research investigates the effect of six specific consumers’ characteristics, i.e. fashion leadership, shopping enjoyment, instrumental and terminal materialism, green selfidentity, and social influence susceptibility, on consumers’ attitude towards a product-service system (a use-PSS) in the form of second-hand clothing rental. The relationship between attitude and consumers’ intention to adopt the use-PSS is also investigated. Methodology: The relationship between the six consumer characteristics and attitude was assessed through a quantitative study to assess. Four multiple linear regression models were run, along with additional analyses where users and non-users of the use-PSS were compared. Theoretical perspective: The Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1991) was employed as a conceptual framework. Additionally, studies from the sustainable consumption, product-service systems, and fashion literature streams were thoroughly examined and served as a backdrop for the formulation of the hypotheses guiding the analysis. Empirical data: Cross-sectional data from 655 Swedish females was collected through an online survey. Findings/conclusions: The analyses revealed that fashion leadership and green self-identity both exert a positive influence on attitude towards the use-PSS; social influence susceptibility also displayed a positive effect, although with a borderline significance level. Moreover, attitude showed a strong positive effect on adoption intention. Last, users scored higher on fashion leadership and held a more positive attitude towards the PSS compared to non-users. Practical implications: Results showed that two consumer characteristics are especially relevant for attitude towards a use-PSS for second-hand clothing, which suggests the existence of two segments. This can assist marketers and business developers in determining what kind of consumers may be potential adopters of PSS, as well as the best strategies to target them,which may support organizations in unleashing the full potential of PSS to reduce resource use and waste thereby contributing to mitigating the environmental impact of fast fashion.