Overcoming contamination and purchasing used products

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to confirm contamination phenomenon of an item by its owner, from an anthropological perspective. Furthermore, it was also investigated the influence of other elements on the individual's propensity to buy used products, such as consumption awareness and finances. Relevance: Despite the popularity of virtual platforms to buy used products and the positive consequences of this action for consumer welfare, the motivations that lead to this behavior appear unclear. Besides that, there are barriers related to the acquisition of these items that transcend rationality and logic. Method: A quantitative approach was adopted and an electronic survey was applied to a convenience sample. The collected data were analyzed through descriptive statistical tests, correlations, exploratory factorial analysis, ANOVA and GLM (General Linear Model). Theoretical/methodological contributions: This research contributes academically with the verification of the contamination phenomenon existence and the development of an instrument to measure this construct. Results: The results confirm the existence of the contamination phenomenon, from an anthropological perspective. Also, confirm that the positive attitude of some individuals towards conscious consumption does not usually result in consistent behaviors. However, different from other researches, it was verified that the predisposition to buy used products is not significantly associated with personal finances.