A crossroads for bioplastics: exploring product developers' challenges to move beyond petroleum-based plastics

Publikationstyp
Journal Article
Date Issued
2016-07-20
Sprache
English
Author(s)
Brockhaus, Sebastian  
Petersen, Moritz  orcid-logo
Kersten, Wolfgang  orcid-logo
Institut
Logistik und Unternehmensführung W-2  
TORE-URI
http://hdl.handle.net/11420/3793
Journal
Journal of cleaner production  
Volume
127
Start Page
84
End Page
95
Citation
Journal of Cleaner Production (127): 84-95 (2016-07-20)
Publisher DOI
10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.04.003
Scopus ID
2-s2.0-84992295857
Bioplastics play an increasingly important role for consumer products. These new materials might increase product sustainability but they are currently confined to niche markets. While research has gained important insight into the technical challenges, few studies to date explore the behavioral aspects for product developers as they move to employ bioplastics in their development efforts. This manuscript reports the findings of a grounded inductive study based on interview data with 32 product developers in the consumer goods industry. The Theory of Planned Behavior is employed to guide the research and provide a theoretical background to derive implications. The study finds that behavioral challenges impede the increased use of bioplastics. Product developers experience a lack of perceived behavioral control and struggle with doubts about the environmental benefits and incurring trade-offs of bioplastics with respect to the Triple Bottom Line. While product developers are intrinsically motivated to make more use of bioplastics, they often refrain from bringing products to the mass market due to uncertainties of customer receptiveness and fears of greenwashing allegations. Implications for industry and research are detailed.
Subjects
Behavioral research
Bioplastics
Consumer goods
Product development
Sustainability
Theory of planned behavior