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Title
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Economic consequences of consumer repair strategies for electrical household devices
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Author
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Abstract
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| Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate to what extent a consumer’s repair strategy impacts the annual costs of ownership of a washing machine and two types of vacuum cleaner. Design/methodology/approach: The annual cost of ownership is determined by calculating the annual life cycle cost (LCC) for the respective devices. The annual LCCs of the different scenarios allow a comparison of the different repair strategy options. A Monte Carlo simulation is run to introduce parameter variability. The device’s failure rate is estimated by a combination of data sets on the devices’ performance. Findings: Results demonstrate that the repair of the devices considered is a more favourable option over replacement. A consumer who aims for the lowest annual LCC should allow for a high number of repairs per device, without putting a maximum on the cost per repair. However, the consumer should become more cautious when a device approaches the end of its expected lifetime. Finally, the purchase of warranty can be interesting when the warranty covers a sufficiently long proportion of the device’s (expected) lifetime and when its cost does not exceed a threshold proportion of the initial purchase price. Research limitations/implications: The costs for repair might be overestimated. Future research can focus on the reduction of repair costs following self-repair. Practical implications: The results provide strong arguments in favour of repair instead of replacement of broken devices. Originality/value: This is the first research to quantify the influence of consumer behaviour in the context of repair of devices on the ownership costs of these devices. |
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Language
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English
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Source (journal)
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Journal of enterprise information management. - Kempston
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Publication
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Kempston
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2020
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ISSN
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1741-0398
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DOI
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10.1108/JEIM-12-2018-0283
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Volume/pages
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33
:4
(2020)
, p. 747-767
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Full text (Publisher's DOI)
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