Functional sales from a consumer perspective
2006 (English)In: Proceedings of WonderGround: the 2006 Design Research Society International Conference / [ed] Ken Friedman; Terence Love; Eduardo Côrte-Real; Chris Rust, Lisboa: CEIADE - Centro Editorial do IADE , 2006Conference paper, Published paper (Refereed)
Abstract [en]
Design aims to create solutions that assist users. While much design has focused on physical goods this could also be accomplished through services. Increasing the service component of products may be a way to move towards functional sales, in which the customer pays for goal fulfilment instead of a physical product. Functional sales have been seen as beneficial from commercial, societal and environmental perspectives. It has primarily been discussed in relation to business to business markets but is interesting also from a consumer perspective. However, concerns have been raised about whether consumers would accept ownerless consumption. Based on focus group interviews around four hypothetical product offers we identify some characteristics of a change towards functional sales and ownerless consumption from a consumer perspective. The impact on consumers’ lives may be described through how it changes the activities in which they engage. New products imply new ways of doing things, and new things to do. Changes may be enabling (assisting the consumer in desirable activities), disabling (constraining what the consumer can do), and may also relieve or introduce musts. Functional sales may support more user-centred solutions but poses great challenges and producers need to adopt a user centred process.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Lisboa: CEIADE - Centro Editorial do IADE , 2006.
Keywords [en]
new product development, user centred design, New product-service systems, Sustainable consumption, technology adoption
National Category
Design Business Administration
Research subject
User Centred Product Design
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:his:diva-2041ISBN: 978-972-98701-7-0 (print)OAI: oai:DiVA.org:his-2041DiVA, id: diva2:32317
Conference
WonderGround - 2006 Design Research Society International Conference 1-4 November, 2006, Lisbon, Portugal
Note
IADE - Instituto de Artes Visuais, Design e Marketing, Av. D. Carlos l, 4, Lisboa
2008-05-092008-05-092021-08-11Bibliographically approved