Consumer behavior assessment regarding lightweight furniture as an environmentally-friendly product

Khojasteh-Khosro, Saeed; Shalbafan, Ali; Thömen, Heiko (2020). Consumer behavior assessment regarding lightweight furniture as an environmentally-friendly product Wood Material Science & Engineering, 17(3), pp. 192-201. Taylor & Francis 10.1080/17480272.2020.1847187

Text fulltext.pdf - Published Version Restricted to registered users only Available under License Publisher holds Copyright. Download (2MB) | Request a copy

This study was aimed to evaluate the position of lightweight panels and their application in furniture production in Iran by investigating consumers’ behavior and preferences. Here, consumers’ preferences toward effective criteria to choose furniture made of wood-based panels (WBPs) were evaluated on the basis of analytical network process method. Furthermore, respondents were asked about their attitudes and preferences regarding lightweight furniture. The results revealed that the main sub-criteria for buying furniture were product quality, design, price, environmentally-friendly, and guarantee features. Furthermore, the technological feature was the most important criterion affecting consumers buying decisions more than the visual/appearance and economical features of the furniture. Consumers believed that conventional WBPs were heavy for some applications in the furniture. Respondents emphasized that they would buy lightweight furniture, even with a bit more price (5–9%) in comparison to conventional furniture (furniture made of WBPs) if there would be a product guarantee, more varieties of the products available in the market, and environmentally-friendly certification. In general, the consumers showed a willingness to buy furniture made by panels with mid-range density (480 kg/m3 density), but they should have to be sure of the panels’ quality and the furniture made thereof before buying this product.

Item Type:	Journal Article (Original Article)
Division/Institute:	School of Architecture, Wood and Civil Engineering School of Architecture, Wood and Civil Engineering > Institute for Materials and Wood Technology School of Architecture, Wood and Civil Engineering > Institute for Materials and Wood Technology > Furniture Development School of Architecture, Wood and Civil Engineering > Institute for Materials and Wood Technology > Composite Materials BFH Centres and strategic thematic fields > BFH Centre for Wood - Resource and Material School of Architecture, Wood and Civil Engineering > Institut for Building Materials and Biobased Products IBBM School of Architecture, Wood and Civil Engineering > Institut for Building Materials and Biobased Products IBBM > Materials and Life Cycle Assessment group FGWO
Name:	Khojasteh-Khosro, Saeed; Shalbafan, Ali and Thömen, Heiko
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HM Sociology N Fine Arts > NA Architecture T Technology > T Technology (General) T Technology > TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General) T Technology > TS Manufactures T Technology > TT Handicrafts Arts and crafts
ISSN:	1748-0272
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Language:	English
Submitter:	Heiko Thömen
Date Deposited:	16 Dec 2020 12:07
Last Modified:	19 Dec 2022 11:23
Publisher DOI:	10.1080/17480272.2020.1847187
Uncontrolled Keywords:	consumers environmentally-friendly product lightweight furniture preferences wood-based panels
ARBOR DOI:	10.24451/arbor.13882
URI:	https://arbor.bfh.ch/id/eprint/13882