El modelo de rivalidad ampliada de Porter (1982) aplicado al sector de la distribución minorista

Used household products refer to goods and services which are often repurposed at no cost.

These products include many of the common household commodities which have been left over or are no longer utilised by members of Instructables or their families. The use of household products is consistent with the use of second-hand products since the consumption of both reflects how prosumers may rationalise cost of their individual projects.

For instance, Lamont describes a cost-effective laser cutter project through the use of unneeded household products:

“create a large format laser cutter utilizing all the scrap electronics you may have lying around. If you have a broken scanner or two, the cost can be just about 30 dollars for the entire project… I say that this costs < 50 dollars. And it does, you can even get it cheaper if you have a broken scanner.” (Lamont, male, observation).

According to a Google search, laser cutting requires the use of laser power to cut and shape materials, which is common in manufacturing applications. Also, according to an eBay search, laser cutter devices often cost around £400 to £1500, with different models and brands for household users. This shows the significance of Lamont’s project using materials commonly available in many households. Lamont offers a substitute product for a similar expensive electronic device through the consumption of unneeded materials required for his project.

141 Many members of the community frequently use products left over from their previous purchases. Those members turn used household materials into innovative products through the consumption of non-working or stocked products in their houses or workshops. For example, Johan introduces a new product through the use of an obsolete product:

“I had this old Apple 800K External drive laying around and it dawned on me that it was about the same size as my Lacie External USB 2.0 HDD so I thought I'd try combining the two.” (Johan, male, observation).

Johan in the above example presents a project which requires the reuse of an old product as one of the components for a new product. Computer products tend to become obsolete within a short time since new, more advanced versions are rapidly evolving in the marketplace. This often means that many consumers no longer use obsolete products, even though they may still be in good working condition. Some of those obsolete products go to waste, unused, or are thrown away. Johan introduces an innovative product which requires the consumption of materials from two different commercial brands, Apple and Lacie, with their possible variations in hardware capabilities. This combination of different products (i.e.

brands) is an illustration of innovation which brings in a product beyond the technical limitations of some commercial-version products. Similar to Johan, Travis also introduces a product which requires the use of left over materials.

“trying to find something new to do with floppy disks…I was determined to do something different, so here's my take on a lampshade... floppy style!” (Travis, male, observation)

Travis uses a number of unused floppy disks as components for the purpose of an innovative design project. In doing so Travis repurposes materials for objectives other than those intended by their original manufactures. Travis turns his unused household commodities into

142 another useful product (i.e. a floppy lampshade). Both Johan and Travis offer interesting examples regarding the reuse of electronic components to create new products. However, the reuse of household products is not just applicable to the context of technological projects on Instructables. For example, Graham, a male graphic designer, utilises components from a broken violin (a musical instrument) and turns these components into a new product:

“What do you get if you take one broken violin? …Well you get the Steampunk Violin Beetle…the main body is made from an old violin whose back was splitting away from the body… in a moment of inspiration I decided to make this” (Graham, male, observation)

In the above excerpt, Graham shows a pattern of consumption which is very similar to those involved in earlier projects by Johan and Travis. Graham uses components from an unused commodity to create another product. However, Graham presents more insights into the innovative consumption of material components for projects in Instructables. Travis and Jhon consume unneeded materials which eventually introduce new functional products while Graham consumes unneeded materials which eventually introduce a new artistic product. In this sense, Graham gets inspiration for his project from steampunk (a pseudo-Victorian science fiction aesthetic).

This section provides evidence of members’ experiences as they find their unused commodities inspirational to their projects. Overall, it is noted that the consumption of these commodities requires members to dissemble them into components which can then be consumed for one or many of their projects. All of the above examples from members of Instructables demonstrate that individuals frequently take the consumer role as part of prosumption. As prosumers these members often buy materials, tools and services for their individual projects. This demonstrates the significance of such resources for prosumers who

143 consume them as components rather than final products. Prosumers often provide information relying on their shopping experiences including technical specifications of materials, prices and shopping locations. Furthermore, prosumers also take responsibility for the outcome and risks associated with their projects. Prosumers, similar to business consumers, develop new products through the consumption of materials, tools and services.

Consistent with this view, the consumer role of the prosumer on Instructables emerges in two complementary patterns: cost rationalisation of market resources, and innovative reuse of individual resources.