唐红红、李琳(硕士生)、苏凇(通讯作者):“Experiencing less leads to the use of more: The effect of a scarcity mindset on product usage”,available online,Journal of Business Research (ABS 3) 2022; 149:139-148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.05.024
Abstract:In social marketing campaigns, demonstrating the severity of scarcity to highlight the importance of reducing wasteful behaviours is a prevalent approach that seems logically justified. However, whether and how a scarcity mindset influences product usage in waste generation remains unclear. The present article reveals the process underlying the effect of a scarcity mindset on product usage. A series of studies demonstrate that reminding consumers of a scarcity experience induces them to be more selfishly oriented and to experience less anticipated guilt of waste, thereby increasing their usage amount. Furthermore, enhancing the possession–self link with ownership and conducting recycling education for the classification of unrecyclable waste can moderate the effects of a scarcity mindset on usage quantity. This research thus advances our understanding of the factors that affect consumption quantity and sheds light on waste prevention and reduction.
研究简介:
如何有效、理性地使用和处置商品,对于提高消费者自身的健康和幸福、加强整个社会的资源合理利用率非常重要。减少浪费的倡导就是这其中的一项重要举措。在实际应用中,通过强调稀缺来呼吁人们节约资源、减少浪费是很常见的,但这样的策略真的有效吗?消费者有了稀缺感就会减少浪费吗?实际上,这样的策略有可能起着反作用。我们发现,主观稀缺感会增强消费者的利己心理,削弱消费者对于浪费的预期内疚感,进而增加对公共物品或他人所有物品的使用,而减少消费者对自己所有物的使用。我们还发现,一些策略能够减弱主观稀缺对浪费的影响。例如,让消费者在商品使用前接受其可回收和不可回收的垃圾分类知识(我们采用了北京市的垃圾分类标准让消费者进行归类),会增强消费者对浪费的预期内疚,削弱主观稀缺感的影响,减少商品使用量。
该研究补充了主观稀缺感对社会行为影响的相关研究,促进了对浪费行为产生过程的了解,并提出了能够影响预期内疚从而影响浪费行为的两种可能调节路径——增强消费者自身利益与浪费行为之间的连接,以及将垃圾分类的知识贯穿于商品使用和处置中,以期为减少浪费行为提供理论和实证参考。