Consumer Repair Decision-Making: A Systematic Literature Review and Future Research Agenda

Abstract

Repair is a vital consumer behaviour necessary to extend product lifespans and to achieve a circular economy. Despite its importance, past literature reviews do not offer a comprehensive overview of consumer repair decision-making, as they focus on the repair of specific products, multiple circular behaviours, the act of repair, or limit the review period. Given this gap, this study undertakes a systematic literature review (SLR) using the Theory-Context-Characteristics-Methods (TCCM) framework and the SPAR-4-SLR protocol to identify 62 papers related to consumer repair decision-making. We find that the literature is generally atheoretical. While we discover a wealth of studies identifying the factors influencing consumer repair decisions, few examine mediating or moderating variables or the outcomes of repair decisions for consumers. We synthesise the literature to propose a conceptual model of consumer repair decision-making and outline a comprehensive future research agenda based on the TCCM framework. We find the decision to repair is negatively related to the inconvenience and cost of repair. We recommend that marketers support repair take-back programs and that policymakers support repair hubs and Right to Repair legislation to encourage repair and promote a circular economy.