Managing consumer behavior toward on-time return of the waste electrical and electronic equipment: A game theoretic approach

Increasing the collection rate of used products depends on how end users perceive the value of a used product and benefits of returning it. It is empirically proven that consumers tend to store their unwanted electronic devices after the last time of usage. In this paper, an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM)—taking the responsibility of remanufacturing—launches a take-back program to acquire consumers’ used products for remanufacturing activities. The consumers’ decision about when to return the End-of-Use/Life (EoU/L) products and manufacturer's decision for the amount of incentive offered to consumers are incorporated into a theoretic game framework. The equilibrium solutions are provided in the presence of heterogeneous and homogeneous consumers. Some managerial insights are derived from the one-way and two-way sensitivity analyses. It has been shown that convenience of services, consumers’ tendency to overvalue the unwanted products, the usage time of electronics, consumers’ perceptions of products’ obsolescence, and the remarketability of refurbished products all affect the strategic decisions made by both stakeholder groups.