This report has been established within the Flexiheat project. Flexiheat has focused on increasing flexibility in district heating systems. The intelligent district heating network is a dynamic network: an open network where different waste heat and renewable energy sources are connected, that has multiple producers and groups of consumers and facilitates the connection between different energy infrastructures (gas, heat and electricity). Eventually this will lead to an optimal deployment of the available heat sources and an increased cost-efficiency of district heating. Flexiheat aims to develop new concepts for these intelligent, flexible district heating networks. One of the strategies is to allow third party access to the network. A smart control system is developed to manage the heat flows across the network. This system makes use of dynamic pricing. In this exploration the concept of third party access in relation to the Flexiheat project will be discussed. The development of new business and price models based on the Flexiheat approach has led to an analysis of possible alternative price models for consumers.
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This paper describes a study into consumers' reasons for buying socially responsible (SR) products, such as Fair Trade products and organic meat. As opposed to other studies, we use a qualitative approach based on 25 in-depth interviews and include several different products in the research. This leads to several new results, such as: (1) buying SR products is perceived as an imperfect moral duty; (2) low quality of SR products is a dissatisfier, but high quality not a satisfier; (3) the attitude towards SR products is related to the reputation of charitable funds; (4) the demand for SR products is negatively related to the frequency of purchasing SR products; (5) reflection on SR products raises the demand for SR products; (6) consumers that have witnessed the social problems that SR products aim to alleviate purchase more SR products. Finally, we find that the demand for different SR products is correlated: if a consumer buys one SR product, it is more likely that (s)he purchases other SR products as well.
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Abstract: Electronic and electrical waste (e-waste) is growing fast. The purpose of this study is to examine young consumers’ purchase intention of refurbished electronic devices (REDs) such as laptop, tablet, mobile phone and game console. From literature review the factors that influence young consumers’ purchase intention were identified as ‘environmental awareness’, ‘social acceptance’, ‘seller/brand reputation and availability’, and ‘affordability and value’. For each factor a few statements were developed and used as independent variables in a questionnaire. One statement was added about purchase intention as dependent variable. A Pearson correlation coefficient test us showed a clear positive correlation of ‘environmental awareness’ and ‘affordability and value’ with the intention to purchase REDs, but not for the other two factors. This analysis contributes to knowledge on young consumers’ perceptions of refurbished electronic devices and can inform the design of innovative value propositions and new business models for REDs that contribute to a circular economy
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Despite policy efforts, consumers' well-informed healthful choice is a challenge. Due to increasing number of benefit claims advertising taste or health front of pack (FOP), consumers face the dilemma to trade taste for health. To understand the mechanisms underlying food evaluation, this study investigates the health-pleasure trade-off and its effect on consumers' choice. 240 EU consumers took part in a taste experiment, after being presented with the product FOP. Half of the products carried a nutrition label FOP, respectively, reduced fat for potato chips, reduced sugar for cereal bars. Further, one third of the products carried health benefit claim, one third taste benefit claim, and one third no additional claim FOP. Attention to information and its effect on experienced taste, health perception and the buying intention were measured. The results show that the message displayed FOP altered consumers evaluation and choice. The effectiveness of the FOP message further depended on consumers' health motivation and the healthfulness perception of carrier products. The outcomes are summarized in a framework of health-pleasure trade-off. Current findings call for the establishment of standards to avoid the use of misleading information FOP.
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This study explores the relationship between second-hand fashion retailers’ marketing tactics and the purchasing drivers of Generation Z (GenZ) consumers, defined as individuals born between the mid-1990s and early 2010s, in the Netherlands. This study aims to identify areas of alignment and misalignment between retailer marketing tactics and GenZ motivations. The study identifies five key gaps between retailers’ perspectives and those of GenZ consumers: (1) a misalignment of focus on rational and emotional drivers, (2) a convenience – expectations gap for offline retailers, (3) a trust gap for inexperienced consumers, (4) a digital disconnect for thrift stores and (5) a market segmentation perception gap. By offering a nuanced understanding of retailers’ marketing tactics and GenZ’s drivers to purchase second-hand fashion, this study offers a unique perspective while applying the SHIFT framework to the second-hand fashion context. The findings provide actionable insights for retailers aiming to better align.
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Excessive alcohol consumers are in need for effective and targeted thiamine interventions to prevent the development of Korsakoff’s syndrome. Coercive home health care might be a solution to reach excessive alcohol consumers. In many parts of the world, an expansion is seen of more coercive community practices. Due to new legislation in the Netherlands, preventive coercive home health care is permitted. The objective of this article is twofold. Firstly, to describe this new Dutch legislation and secondly, to explore literature to identify themes that might contribute to less-intrusive coercive interventions at the excessive alcohol consumer’s home. Four articles have been identified which concentrate on experiences regarding coercive home health care. Preventive coercive home health care might benefit from a stable and trusting relationship. For healthcare organizations, this means that they need to pay attention to the health and safety of their employees to prevent outflow.
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'Lock-in of corporate customers and consumers', zo beoordeelde Zhou (2006) het businessmodel van Microsoft dat ten grondslag ligt aan de verkoop van het webserviceplatform .NET.
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Efforts to involve consumers in the transition towards sustainable diets often presume a degree of reflexivity on the concepts of health and sustainability in the minds of consumers ‘doing healthy and sustainable food’. Departing from the hypothesis that people with type 2 diabetes have been confronted with a physical health issue which has spurred some reflexivity around food consumption, we study how this reflexivity subsequently relates to sustainability in food practices, through the process of de- and reroutinization of mundane food practices. We take a practice-theoretical approach to compare and contrast reflexivity and performance in food practices, combining in-depth interviews with observations during food shopping and cooking. Our findings illustrate a diversity in the extent to which food practices are disrupted after being diagnosed with diabetes. We conclude that reflexivity is not necessarily inspired only by being diagnosed with a major health issue, but that there are more factors determining whether or not lifestyle changes actually take place, such as experiencing bodily discomforts and broader societal attention to lifestyle change. In terms of sustainability, positive environmental effects could be identified ‘piggybacking’ onto changes in practices that were performed towards a healthier diet, such as diversifying protein intake and eating less processed foods.
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Retailers play an important role in persuading consumers to purchase sustainable fashion (SF), but little is known about how, and why, SF retailers persuade consumers. This research aims to understand their choices for marketing and communication tactics. We interviewed 25 SF retailers about the drivers that they presume motivate consumers’ purchases, and about the drivers they actually target in their marketing practices. Our findings show that retailers do not base their marketing tactics on what they presume drives SF purchases: most retailers presumed that personal benefits and advantages motivate SF purchases, however, they targeted cognition-related drivers in marketing communications. Retailers’ current marketing communication endeavors show a disproportionate focus on persuading consumers to choose SF as a category, instead of persuading consumers to purchase their specific products. Based on this study, we recommend researchers and marketeers to support SF retailers with knowledge of effective marketing and communication tactics to address SF purchase behavior change, and the industry and public authorities to provide an effective SF information campaign for consumers.
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Local online retail platforms (LORPs) are gaining popularity as digital channels that can increase physical retail agglomerations’ attractiveness and viability by stimulating online sales and consumer footfall. However, insights are needed to enrich academic understanding and guide practitioners in their decision-making process regarding use and optimization of these platforms for boosting retail agglomeration vitality. Drawing on uses and gratifications theory, an online survey of 442 Dutch consumers revealed that positive attitudes toward browsing LORPs induced both online purchase and offline visit intentions. Interestingly, despite LORPs' local focus, non-place-specific motives more substantially impacted positive browsing-related attitudes toward LORPs than place-specific ones.
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