Using environmental segmentation to perform ecodesign with users
Year: 2013
Editor: Udo Lindemann, Srinivasan V, Yong Se Kim, Sang Won Lee, John Clarkson, Gaetano Cascini
Author: Domingo, Lucie; Rasamoelina, Francis; Bouchard, Carole; Brissaud, Daniel; Aoussat, Améziane
Series: ICED
Institution: 1: Laboratory G-SCOP, University of Grenoble, France; 2: Product Design and Innovation Laboratory, Arts et Métiers Paritech
Page(s): 111-120
ISBN: 978-1-904670-48-3
ISSN: 2220-4334
Abstract
Market segmentation has been a crucial point for enhancing the success of new products. By grouping users with similar needs, manufacturers have been able to design products with much more appeal to a specific typology of users. Moreover, ecodesign process strives at developing products with lower impact on the environment. Actual ecodesigned products however do not completely fit with users needs. This contribution proposes to use the segmentation approach to drive the process of product ecodesign. By differencing the users according to their sensitivity to environmental issues, this approach enables to design environmentally friendly products for a specific group. To this end, we intend to couple an existing segmentation definition for environmental policy with the Rokeach Values System. The result is a seven group representation of users with a specific set of values for each group that will allow developing products that match user needs with the environmental consciousness. This segmentation and its benefits are applied to the adaptation of ecodesign strategies according to each users group. We illustrate our proposal with an application to the design of a coffee machine.
Keywords: Eco design, segmentation, terminal values