CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN AMERICA / JB Suaverdez (ePub)

Consumer hesitancy is the main barrier to normalizing circular consumption. While numerous books and articles are written on how companies should pivot to the circular business model, there are limited works of literature available on changing the consumer mindset toward circularity. This study "measures" the consumer response to various circular economy (CE) practices using the Theory of Perceived Behavior (TPB) framework. The qualitative part of the research identifies the government, the leading technology companies, and the electronic reuse industry's CE initiatives. The first part of the study shows how tech companies use their competencies to provide sustainability solutions to ecological problems and elevate themselves as environmentally responsible firms. The electronic reuse industry is expanding its customer reach by providing reliable products and a positive buying experience. The second part involves quantitative research, which uses a survey and statistical analysis to identify the demographic factors influencing consumers' behavioural intent. Demographic characteristics, like educational attainment, home locations, age, gender, and ethnicity, are shown to have affected consumers' attitudes, social norms, perceived behavioural controls, and behavioural intent pertaining to CE practices engagement. The results proved that different marketing activities must be targeted to different segments in exchange for more customer interest and participation.