Consumption and Behaviour in Modern...

Consumption and Behaviour in Modern Cities

Jagdeep Singh

PhD student, Industrial Ecology KTH Royal Institute of Technology Stockholm

SUSTAINABLE DESIGN | Spring Semester 2013 Uppsala Centre for Sustainable Development, Uppsala

Consumption and Behaviour in Modern Cities

Contents

Consumption and behaviour: ’Consumerism’ and ’Consumerist’

Economic growth in our modern socities

Market dynamics, Obsolescence

Environmental Impacts, Externalities

Questions ?

Jagdeep Singh SUSTAINABLE DESIGN 2013-02-13 2

Economic Growth Model


Consumers

Product Market

Producers

Factor Market

Sales up by 125%

Profits up by x%

Quaterly Profits Yearly Profits

Monthly Profits

Choices

Competition

Goods & services Monetary Flows

$$ $$

$$ $$

$$ Cost, income, profits


’Everything ends at MINES’

Time M

ater

ial V

olum

e Refers to the acts invloved

Consumption Behaviour

Economic Growth

Industry Waste Sales

Environment

Externalities


• The way of life founded on the centrality of consumption

• Psycho-social implications of consuming experience

• Consumerism – the most central aspect of life ?

Source: http://www.jedword.com/2012/11/26/conspicuous-consumption-the-act-of-spending-money-in-a-dramatic-way/


’MINDS’

Behaviour Desire

Enjoyment Pleasure

Consumption

Choices Advertisement Consumerism

Advertisement and desire

? The symbolically conditioned desire √ Stimulate and channel desire through advertisements based on fantasies ! Natural and physical properties !


Source: http://www.greenissexy.tv/consumerism-stands-in-a-way-of-green-america/


Corporation spendings on marketing

Source: http://www.go-gulf.com/blog/online-ad-spending/


Source:http://awesome.good.is/transparency/web/1101/advertising/flat.html

Paradox of choices


Choices

?

Source: http://realchoiceeducation.org.au/

Accelation of expectations

Matching expectation

Unsatisfection

Responsibility?

Ultimately constraining us as it is enabling

Enjoyment and Consumption

• Partial Enjoyment

• Lacanian Theory – ’Jouissance’

• Paradoxical enjoyment

• ’A Pleasure borders with displeasure’

• Postponing final satisfaction of desire


Source: http://www.johnehrenfeld.com/2009/03/is-consumerism-dead.html

Consumer Culture

Administration of enjoyment Desire and hope directed in a perticular direction Shifting the bond between society and the way it perceives enjoyment


Comanded Enjoyment

Source: http://www.tinkered.co.uk/Gallery/Consumerism1.html

Consuming paradox • Predetermined channels of behaviour


egemony of

Consumerism?

Des

ire

Enjo

ymen

t

Advertisment

• Hegemony of economy of desire • Hegemony of adminstration of enjoyment


Consumerism – one of the most central aspects of life ?

CULTURAL

ECONOMIC

ENVIRONMENTAL

Consumerists

• Administrators of comanded enjoyment

• Leaders of Economic growth


Engine of Economic Growth

Consumerist Strategies to maintain the GOALS



Planned Obsolesence

Economic

Market Competition

Fasion Technical Physical

Life Span Sales Innovation

Design

Product Replacement Durables

Non-durable


Planned Obsolesence

Durables

Non-durable To stimulate product replcement Frequent Product upgrades


Planned Obsolesence

Physical Technical • Limited Functional Life

Design (Death Dating)

• Design for limited repair

• Design aesthetic that leads to reduced satisfaction

• Design for fashion

• Design for functional enhancement

To shorten the Product Life

Making the old vesion unattractive


Drivers of obsolescence and fast replacement

’Durables Problem’ (The long-lasting and the more reliable the product is, longer the repeat purchase cycle and hence slower the rates of sales)

Market structure (monopoly/intensive competition)

Dynamic inconsistency (Interest in the next generation of goods)

Market for used goods (Competition between old and new version)

Competitive pressure for Technological Obsolescence


Todays markets ? Cost, quality, time-to-market, performance based on distinctive features

Competitive Necessity To maintain own market (even in a monopoly setting )


Impact of Consumers’ Decision making

Forced and unforced replacement decisions?

Social approval, utilitarian functions, value expressive goods

Rapid product developments and the purchase interval !

Environmental Awareness !

Economic Growth Model


Households

Product Market

Firms

Factor Market


Consumption

Economic Growth

Innovation

Product Life-span Consumer

costs

Material and energy efficiency

Production

Extraction

Environmental Impacts

Negative externalities

Wastes /pollution

Undervalued Natural resources & human capital

Economic inequalities

Social Impacts Behaviour

1

2 3


Responsibility ? Engineers Managers Consumers

Corporate responsibilities

Product ’Take back’

Consumers’ Environemntal Awareness

Design Thinking


Role of desigers

What should they include and exclude? And why?

Current design practices

SDSOD:Sustainability Driven Systems Oriented Design (Laurenti et. al.)


Thank you


Discussion ?


Consumption and Behaviour in Modern...

Documents

Transcript of Consumption and Behaviour in Modern...