Consumers across the globe tend to store their small electronic devices when they reach their end of life instead of disposing of them. This is a problem because if end-of-life devices are not recovered from consumers’ homes, the devices cannot be re-used or recycled, leading to increased production. We study what motivates consumers to store their end-of-life devices by looking at how storage creates consumer value. Applying a practice-based understanding of value, we find that storage is a social practice that generates value by protecting consumers from four different kinds of risk: practical risks, existential risks, environmental risks, and moral risks. Storage gives consumers a sense of security in their everyday lives and thus generates what we call ‘security value’. This notion implies that even though end-of-life devices sit idle in consumers’ homes, their value generating capacity remains active. The findings have implications for the role of consumers in reverse logistics strategies for sustainable systems.

中文翻译：

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消费电子产品的死仓如何创造消费价值

全球的消费者倾向于在他们的小型电子设备达到使用寿命时将其存放起来，而不是将其丢弃。这是一个问题，因为如果不能从消费者家中回收报废设备，这些设备将无法重复使用或回收，从而导致产量增加。我们通过研究存储如何创造消费者价值来研究是什么促使消费者存储其报废设备。应用基于实践的价值理解，我们发现存储是一种社会实践，它通过保护消费者免受四种不同风险的影响来创造价值：实践风险、生存风险、环境风险和道德风险。存储让消费者在日常生活中获得安全感，从而产生我们所说的“安全价值”。这个概念意味着即使报废设备在消费者家中闲置，它们的价值创造能力仍然活跃。这些发现对消费者在可持续系统逆向物流战略中的作用具有重要意义。