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Virginia Tech

The Effect of Ownership on Consumers' Disposal Decisions: Research on Food Wastage and Recycling Behaviors

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

Research in consumer behavior has focused predominantly on how consumers make purchase decisions. However, much less attention has been directed toward examining post-purchase behaviors. In this dissertation, I examine how ownership affects individuals' disposal decisions of their current possessions. In essay 1, I investigate how differences in duration of ownership affect consumers' food waste behaviors. I demonstrate that the same food products are more likely to be wasted as well as wasted more of when they are owned for a longer duration (vs. purchased more recently). I also delineate how this wastage can be reduced. In essay 2, I explore how a specific post-ownership experience, evaluations (positive vs. negative), influences consumers' recycling behaviors, even when these evaluations (e.g., taste of a drink) do not affect recyclability (e.g., of the bottle). I demonstrate that consumers will be more likely to recycle products associated with positive (vs. negative) evaluations, and, thus, will be more likely to recycle a drink's bottle when the taste is evaluated more positively.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Doctor of Philosophy
Level thesis:degree_level
doctoral
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Business, Marketing
Department dc:contributor.department
Marketing
Grantor dc:publisher
Virginia Tech
Year dc:date.issued
2022

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Xie, Jieru
Chair dc:contributor.committeechair
  • Bagchi, Rajesh
Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
  • Herr, Paul Michael
  • Chaxel, Anne-Sophie
  • May, Frank Dominick
  • Pandelaere, Mario

Subjects

dc:subject × 8

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • In Copyright
Language dc:language.iso
en

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Dc Identifier Other
vt_gsexam:34298
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/109641

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Virginia Tech
Base URL
vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Xie, Jieru. The Effect of Ownership on Consumers' Disposal Decisions: Research on Food Wastage and Recycling Behaviors. doctoral thesis, Virginia Tech, 2022. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/109641