S YMBOLIC V ALUE

experiences with the company staff make them enjoy their experiences of using Swapfiets and feel satisfaction regarding their decision of leasing a bike.

Thirdly, the aesthetic value is related to the attractiveness of the product and its design (Kazakeviciute & Banyte, 2012). This aspect of hedonic value does not seem to be so crucial for the participants of the study. However, it is interesting to see how female respondents seem to care more about the appearance of their bikes. The overall outcomes of the discussion about the design of the bikes were related to the bikes “looking really nice” (P5, line 1030). Participants were asked if they would like to change something about the bike or personalize them. All of them mentioned that it would be advantageous to have baskets on their bikes, which would also increase the functional value of the product. Furthermore, some of them also mentioned that it would be nice to have more different colours and designs or get stickers to make the bike look more personal.

In conclusion, the perceived hedonic value for participants seems to be indirectly related to leasing a bike. In contrast to both functional and financial value, which have a direct impact on the consumers' decision-making process, the hedonic values seem to arise afterwards, once the consumption experience is happening. Thus, consumers seem to perceive different hedonic benefits related to the feelings they develop through the experience of cycling.

According to Belk (1988), people are motivated to be seen by others in a positive way. For that, they usually shape the image that they want to project about themselves through consumption. This author also mentioned that the products consumers own - or access - do not just help them show who they are to others, but also shape their self-identities. Hence, consumers choose to use products and services in a way that shows others who they are and, at the same time, helps them shape who they want to be.

The perceived symbolic value can affect people’s willingness to adopt sustainable innovations – like PSSs – without basing their decision exclusively on the instrumental attributes of the products they provide (Noppers, Keizer, Bolderdijk & Steg 2014). The symbolic value is related to altruistic or social aspects of consumption (Hwang & Griffiths, 2017). In the case of this research, the focus is put onto the altruistic and environmental values attributed to the experience of leasing a bike. The perceived symbolic value of consumption will be related to the millennial participants’ increasing awareness of the importance of sustainability issues in consumption.

Through the interviews, participants demonstrated awareness of the current “climate crisis”

facing the planet and the shift that consumers need to make towards more sustainable ways of consumption. Respondents repeatedly mentioned that it was essential for them to use their bikes as an eco-friendly way of transportation. As one participant noted, even if she loves travelling and going back home to visit her family and friends, she does not feel good about the fact that taking a plane comes together with a massive carbon dioxide emissions.

She tries to balance that with biking in Copenhagen instead of, for example, driving a car.

Some other participants also mentioned that even if they did not do it consciously at first as their primary motivation to use their bikes was economic, they now feel good about cycling as it is a zero-emission activity.

The facts mentioned before are associated with cycling as a mean of transport. People agreed on the fact that they were having a positive impact on the environment by reducing carbon dioxide emissions. However, this was related to the use of bikes in general, and there was no distinction made between owning, renting or leasing. As a respondent mentioned:

“...I can see there definitely is an environmental impact. However, I see it as something more general. Not just leasing, but also renting or buying a bike. If they don’t do it, they’ll probably use their cars, and that has a negative impact on the environment, of course.” (P4, lines 804-807).

When consumers were asked if they believed that using Swapfiets had social or environmental impacts, most of them agreed on the same facts. For example, some respondents mentioned: “when someone does not need the bike anymore and ends the subscription, another person can start using the same bike, which at the end of its life as a product can be used by several persons. That means there is less useless production which means less impact on the environment.” (P6, lines 1283-1286). By doing that, they all agreed, their bikes would serve someone else as soon as they do not need them anymore, which would also reduce waste and the resources used to produce more bikes.

It is also noteworthy that none of the interviewees considered the option of buying a new bicycle outright; they were all choosing between either leasing a bike or buying a second-hand one. As a generation, millennials are familiar with more sustainable ways of production and consumption, not just in relation to the sharing economy but also the circular economy, in which they can re-use bikes that other people do not need anymore. All participants agreed they would consider selling their bikes afterwards so that they could be used by someone else.

Conclusively, participants felt good about making to a positive impact on society and the environment when making the decision to lease rather than purchase a bike. However, most of them agreed on the fact that they did not consciously think about it when they decided to use Swapfiets. As one participant mentioned: “In my opinion, before, you feel comfortable about using Swapfiets, but you don’t think about the effects, and after, you start to become aware of the impact of what you are doing.” (P8, lines 1710-1712). Participants also mentioned that by using Swapfiets they felt like they are doing something right; and also, as one participant stated: “it shows to other that you care about the environment” (P5, lines 1062-1063).

5.4.1. Sub-conclusion

As Hwang and Griffiths (2017) agreed, Millennials tend to be more empathetic and aware of the impacts that their consumption habits have on the environment. The perceived symbolic value associated with owning something and thereby demonstrating social status has evolved into a more pro-social form of consumption, where sharing acts as a value signaller, showing the rest of the world that Millennials care about the planet.

Through this research, I have found that Millennials’ perceived symbolic value has an impact on empathy towards using a PSS instead of owning something. They are familiar with these ways of consumption and do not seem to find any stigma associated with accessing instead of owning. However, even though all of the participants mentioned that their decision was based on other facts like price and convenience, different generations might not contemplate the option of leasing something instead of owning it. Additionally, they all agree that they feel good using a bike as a means of transport and believe they are consuming in a sustainable way, as they are reducing waste and unnecessary consumption and production.

In terms of self-identity expression, the participants mentioned that they want to show the others that they care about the environment and leasing their bikes is a tool for them to do it. That is also related to one of the six dimensions of access-based consumption developed by Bardhi and Eckhardt (2012), political consumerism, in which consumers use consumption as a tool to promote their ideological interests. Focusing on participants of this study, Millennials’ decision of leasing a bike seems to fit their ideology towards sustainability, and they feel good to show that to the others.

The present research agrees with Chen (2009) in that the value of possessions as part of the consumer’s extended-self can be exchanged for the benefit of experiencing a product or a service. The popularity of Swapfiet’s services reflects the decreasing value Millennials place on materiality and ownership. As participants of this study mentioned, they feel great about using Swapfiets and showing others that they care about the environment, and they do not need to own their bikes for that.