Exploratory Study about "Planned Obsolescence: A Tool for Business Plans and Strategic Decisions”

Abstract

With the consumption reaching maximum numbers and the technological sector being responsible for the introduction of new products every week consumers are starting to be much more concerns with several aspects of durable good and not only the price and its purpose. Producers are forced to push new models and versions of their products to the market to continue to operate on an evolution and progress basis for fighting and maintaining their market share.

Companies, mainly durable goods producers, have been using one business practice that always has been observable to the eyes of the consumer but never noticed. That concept is the key aspect of this work and it is called Planned Obsolescence. It corresponds to the deliberate manufacturing of a certain good with the objective of stop working or becoming obsolete after a certain period of time, usually a small period.

Following the literature review, this work has as an objective to explore this concept, its ramifications and implications for the society. Also has the objective to study the behaviour of consumers when purchasing durable goods and which attributes they value the most. The key objective of this paper is to obtain a first understanding about the thematic and their implications not only for the consumers but also for the companies. It represents a different approach about Planned Obsolescence, embracing not only how companies take decisions based on it but also how consumers react, relate themselves with the goods that have it and see the companies that apply it. Concluding, this paper tries to explain not only the ramifications of the concept but also how it is seen by the society.