A cross-country study of consumer innovativeness and technological service innovation

The current literature suggests that the concept of consumer innovativeness is universally applicable. Innovators are believed to be novelty seekers and risk takers independent of their national identity, and therefore to be attracted to similar characteristics of an innovation across most countries. However, research in intercultural marketing has shown that cultural norms and values have varying influences on the adoption of innovation, a finding that seems to contradict the assumption that the relationship between consumer innovativeness and adoption of innovation is universally uniform. This research investigates the effects of consumer innovativeness on attitude toward a service-based innovation across three European countries. The results of a multi-group structural equation modeling show that the relationship between consumer innovativeness and attitude toward innovation varies across the three dimensions of perceived novelty, perceived value, and perceived risk.     

Price Intransparency,Consumer Decision Making and European Consumer Law

Price comparison is a basic element of competition. For comparison to work, at least prices need to be transparent. Moreover, price is usually a focal point in consumer thinking and deciding on transactions. Hence, obfuscating prices can be detrimental to consumers. Therefore, it is vital for policymakers to know how transparent pricing is in reality. Commercial practices involving price intransparency can be detrimental to consumer decision making and may be associated with market failure. So, legislative intervention to ensure price transparency is sometimes warranted. Suppliers may disclose and frame pricing information in such ways as to influence consumers. For some suppliers, advantages may be gained by obfuscating price—through practices ranging from the outright hiding of price terms in the small print to subtle ways of throwing in gifts or adding charges during the vending process. Do consumers appreciate the implications of the fact that by framing price in different ways suppliers actually try to influence their demand for products? And how does the law broadly speaking respond to problems of price intransparency? In this article, behavioural science insights are combined with a legal analysis of European consumer law in order to chart some of the detrimental influences of price intransparency on the consumer decision-making process and to answer whether and to what extent European consumer law addresses these issues. In doing so, this article first reviews research from consumer psychology, marketing, and behavioural law, and economics regarding the influence of presentation, framing, and transparency of price on the consumer decision-making process. Subsequently, it describes and evaluates the legal framework offered by European consumer law and how this framework responds to practices of price intransparency. Particular problematic pricing techniques are identified and discussed. In conclusion, attention is drawn to the disadvantages of the increasing full harmonization character of European consumer law for combating price intransparency at Member State level.     

Consumer Law and the Environment: From Consumer to Citizen

This paper addresses the question of the relationship between consumer law and the protection of the environment. In contradiction to those who see the goals of consumer protection and environmental protection as being close to each other, this paper presents the relationship as one of conflict rather than one of harmony. Consumer law as an expression of the consumer society promotes goals which sometimes run counter to the environmental interest. This clearly comes to the fore when analysing the main consumer rights and their relationship to environmental issues. However, despite this basic incompatibility, the book of consumer law also contains some small stories of environmentally constructive behaviour. The telling of these good stories would require us to transcend the boundaries of traditional consumer law and to replace "the consumer" by "the citizen" who is interested not only in his own consumption but in all aspects of social life. In support of this development certain consumer law measures can be used to raise the awareness of consumers regarding environmental issues.     

Digital Content Contracts for Consumers

The application of consumer law to digital content contracts encounters a number of obstacles. Some of these are rather typical for digital content markets, e.g., the legal consequences of the classification of digital content as “goods” or “services” and, more importantly, the absence of general benchmarks to evaluate the conformity of digital content. Other problems, such as the limited usefulness of consumer information and the position of underage consumers, are not as such reserved to digital consumers, but they are amplified in the digital content markets. Moreover, particular attention is paid to the complex relationship between copyright law and consumer law. This paper explores the extent to which consumer (contract) law is fit to address the problems faced by digital consumers wishing to enjoy the benefits of digital content and examines whether the on-going initiatives at national and European level are likely to provide relief. Finally, recommendations for improvement are put forward in cases where the analysis shows that the problems identified are not or are insufficiently solved by these initiatives.     

欧盟消费者法对商业创新的法律影响力评析

欧盟主要施行的消费者法和相关指令强调的是不仅保护消费者也鼓励竞争和支持创新。法律在竞争性的市场中应为消费者的保护提供一个基本的框架,即"授权"给消费者,让消费者愿意也能够在市场上对商品和服务进行选择,并且根据对商品和服务的质量和安全性的合理预期而确立起足够充分的消费者信心,而其中消费者法对实现这样的目标应该起到基础和关键性的作用。     

Consumer@Protection.EU. An Analysis of European Consumer Legislation in the Information Society

The Internet and electronic commerce have emerged as the emblems of a worldwide virtual economy. Although it is yet difficult to grasp all the repercussions of the borderless world of the Internet, it is certain that to shop in this world is different from shopping in the world as we knew it ten years ago. Obviously, the new developments affect the traditional framework of European and national consumer law and the perspectives that underpin this body of law, for most consumer law was established at a time when the Information Society was an unknown phenomenon. Underlining the importance of this issue, the European Council asked the Commission to examine existing consumer law in the Community in the light of the new conditions created by the Information Society and to identify potential problems and loopholes. A report on background research for this examination was submitted to the Commission in August 2000. The present article is based on this report and provides an account of the main findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the report.     

Consumer Insolvency in the European Legal Context

Consumer credit, as an important aspect of the free movement of capital, has for a long time now been subject to European Union regulations. However, one important aspect of consumer credit, over-indebtedness, has not been acknowledged in the Consumer Credit directives of 1978 and 2009, nor is there any other European Union law instrument that addresses over-indebtedness or insolvency of consumers. The only European-level document addressing the problem of over-indebtedness of ordinary people is the Council of Europe Recommendation of 2007. In European Union law, over-indebtedness can and should be approached from several angles. The Insolvency Regulation (2000) does not directly address situations facing the consumer debtor and leaves it up to the discretion of the Member States to include or exclude insolvency proceedings for consumer debtors regarding the scope of the Regulation. There can be little doubt that the European Union has a legal basis for action in this field, and it has also used its competence in a number of related issues, such as general insolvency law and enforcement of judgments. Case C-461/11, in which Advocate General delivered her opinion on Sept 13^th, 2012 shows that national insolvency procedures for natural persons may constitute a restriction on the freedom of movement. This article argues that, even in the absence of a European Union law instrument, the Member States should recognize debt adjustment judgments made in another Member State and that there is a need for a regulation in the European Union law in this field.     

Towards a Handbook on European Contract Law and Beyond: The Commission’s 2004 Communication “European Contract Law and the Revision of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Acquis</Emphasis>: The Way Forward”

The European contract law project has crossed the threshold between an intellectual exercise and concrete policy. The 2004 Communication on the way forward describes the procedure to implement the policy suggested by the 2003 Action Plan, and so it would now be timely to give some thought to the likely impact of the Common Frame of Reference (CFR) on future Community law. It is submitted that the CFR is indispensable for the planned crafting of full harmonisation consumer contract law. This article therefore focuses on the possible uses of the CFR for consumer legislation and attempts to make the case for a recasting of Community law on consumer protection as a first priority in the implementation of the project. Based on policy papers and policy considerations, this article suggests making a test case of the travel and tourism sectors. It also reflects further on the potential virtues of an optional instrument for consumer legislation.     

The Place of Consumer Contract Law Within the Process on European Contract Law

This paper shows the development of European consumer contract law within the whole area of European contract law. It explains in some detail the possible contents of one of the major options for the future – the development of a specific consumer contract law in form of a framework Directive. Such an instrument would combine the common denominators of the consumer contract Directives: the applicable definitions of a consumer and a trader, the right of withdrawal, the pre-contractual information obligations, the burden of proof, the private international law clause, and the nature of consumer law as mandatory law. Furthermore the paper shows how the Commission Communication of July 2001 and the Commission Action Plan of 2003 shape the process of European contract law. Finally, it analyses in particular the treatment of consumer contract law in the Action Plan.     

The Expulsion of the Concept of Protection from the Consumer Law and the Return of Social Elements in the Civil Law: A Bittersweet Polemic

Consumer law started in the 1960s and 1970s as consumer protection law, meant to compensate for the risks and deficiencies of the consumption society which led to an enormous increase. The target of the first generation of national consumer law was the weak consumers, those who could not cope with the increased choice and the resulting risks. The argument here presented is that the European Union by taking over consumer legislation gradually but steadily changed the outlook, from consumer protection law into consumer law. The weak consumer is not the one who is needed for the completion of the Internal Market. This is the famous average consumer which governs today??s?? normative design of the consumer law making and enforcement. However, the shift in paradigm does not set aside the need to strive for legal rules that cover the weakest in the society.     

Group Action in the Baltic States

The article is based on a study which aimed at examining the existence and use of group actions in consumer issues in the Baltic states. It was part of a larger research project in which the same questions were studied in all Central and Eastern European countries. Besides group actions in courts, administrative group actions were also studied.A starting point for the study was an overview of substantive consumer protection legislation in the Baltic states. In spite of the fact that there has been a rapid development in this field during recent years, the main finding was that many substantive law elements of consumers' collective interests, which in the EU Member States are often protected by different kinds of group actions, are as yet not regulated at all in the Baltic states or not regulated in a sufficiently detailed way in the Baltic states.The study showed that several kinds of group action exist in these countries. Firstly, there are administrative group actions for injunction. They are applied mainly in cases concerning product information, product safety, and unfair competition. Secondly, a group action by a consumer organisation for injunction in a court is, in principle, possible in Estonia and Lithuania, but not in Latvia. So far, no case law exists, however. A genuine group action for compensation is not possible in the Baltic countries, but a consumer organization may represent an individual consumer or a specified group of consumers in a court and may claim compensation on their behalf. The study showed that administrative group actions are a functioning part of the present consumer protection system in these countries, whereas court actions so far exist only on paper. It also showed that in the Baltic states, procedural means are in some matters better developed than substantive consumer law, whereas in many western countries, the exact opposite is the case. The article concludes with some recommendations as to how the Baltic states could develop their consumer protection legislation.     

Unfair Contract Terms Under Greek Law: Case Law Developments

This note examines a decision by the Greek Supreme Court which offers an interpretation of the unfair term provision in consumer protection law. The case concerned a class action by a consumer organization against a commercial bank. The decision makes a breakthrough in two related respects. First, the Court not only interprets the national law in the light of the EU Directive on Unfair Contract Terms, but also adopts rules of interpretation and reasoning that run parallel to the latest European discussion on unfair contract terms. Second, in an unprecedented manner for Greek case law, it declares a large number of contractual clauses to be unfair, hence broadening consumer protection significantly. Most commercial banks in Greece are now under an obligation to modify their pre-formulated contracts in order to comply with the Court's interpretation of the provision on unfair terms in the Consumer Protection Act.     

Zielsetzungen und Instrumentarien der europäischen Verbraucherrechtspolitik: Eine Analyse von Entwicklungen im Bereich des Zivilrechts

Objectives and instruments of European consumer policy: An analysis of developments in the area of civil law. The paper discusses the relationships and conflicts between the objectives pursued by European consumer policy and the means which are at its disposal. As a first step, the theoretical assumptions of this policy are analysed by an evaluation of the EC Programme for a Consumer Protection and Information Policy of 1975 and of the draft directives on product liability, on misleading and unfair competition, on doorstep sales, and on correspondence courses. It is suggested that the European approach toward consumer protection largely corresponds to the policies prevailing at the national level: Consumer protection is seen as a supplement to the traditional market and competition policy which used to be restricted to regulating competition between producers or suppliers of goods and services, whereas the new policy focuses on the relations between producers and consumers. Nevertheless, consumer policy adheres to the basic presumptions of market economy. It presupposes that the demands of the consumer have to be articulated and satisfied via market processes. It therefore primarily relies on regulations directed against misleading advertising, on protecting justified expectations as to the quality of goods or services by providing redress for losses sustained, and by endeavours aimed at securing a more rational behaviour of the individual consumer. The most important means to promote this policy on the European level are the directives which aim at consonance among national laws (Art. 100 EC Treaty). This is indicative of a market orientation of consumer policy in so far as the harmonization of law is seen as a device for overcoming discriminating effects or distortions of competition created by the differences among national laws thereby furthering a better functioning of the Common Market (Art. 3 h EC Treaty). This accordance of consumer policy and harmonization policy does not rest on firm ground, however. In consumer policy it becomes more and more obvious that the efforts to protect the interests of the consumer lead to further interventionist activities. This process also reveals the need for systematic adjustments or consultations between consumer policy and other fields of politics. A harmonization policy which is primarily centered on breaking down trade barriers and on overcoming discriminating effects of competition cannot respond to the needs and problems of such interventionist activities. Therefore, the harmonization of consumer law should be conceived as a process of formulating broader policies directed at a congruous development of the economic sphere and at an improvement of the living conditions in the Common Market (cf. Art. 2 and the preamble of the EC Treaty). Legal techniques which might be adopted to support such an orientation are (a) in the EC directives to lay down minimum standards for the national legislation, (b) to use a conflict-of-laws approach which would allow to respect and try to coordinate legitimate interests in the application of national consumer policies, and (c) the development of special rules responding to the international aspects of the exchange between producers and consumers. At present, however, European policy gives hardly any attention to the chances and problems of such an approach requiring a complicated coordination of the various legal techniques.     

Passengers,consumers, and travellers: The rise of passenger rights in EC transport law and its repercussions for Community consumer law and policy

EC transport law is set to be complemented by a series of Regulations giving rights to passengers for almost every mode of transport. These Regulations not only give transport law a distinct consumer dimension but also add new elements to European private law. This paper attempts to provide a horizontal, or intermodal, survey of these Regulations, adopted and proposed. It is argued that passenger law, although originating separately and remaining a sector distinct from other fields of law, has become part of a wider, three-stranded notion of European consumer policy deserving due attention as the force most dynamically expanding the area of Community law of contracts and of torts. The paper will point to the elements of consumer contract law and the law on travel and tourism related to passenger transport and elaborate on the basics for finding a common notion of the key terms like “passenger” and “damage” for Community law. It concludes with some points for further reflection.

Consumer Protection Law in Cuba

Journal of Consumer Policy - The authors address the origins and evolution of consumer law in Cuba and the influence of European Union consumer law on development in Cuba. The transition from the...     

THE IMPACT OF EUROPEAN CONSUMER LAW IN THE UNITED KINGDOM*

In this paper the authors describe the consequences of European consumer law for British consumers. After an analysis of some of the difficulties which have been faced by the United Kingdom in coming to terms with its new-found status within a federal system, the article goes on to describe the progress which has been made with the programme of implementation. The third part looks at some EEC proposals which are in the pipeline at the moment and comments on some of the consequences which the prospect of EEC legislation can have for domestic reform. Finally, the authors examine the actual enforcement of EEC consumer law through the criminal process and the effects upon civil processes.     

Consumer Law and Policy in Kenya

This contribution seeks to examine the consumer protection law and policy in Kenya with a view to understand how consumer issues, such as product safety and product liability, are addressed as well as the remedies for defective goods. It also seeks to understand the available provisions on the safety standards of consumer products, such as mobile phones, by highlighting the consumer issues that arise for mobile phone users with particular reference to the services provided by mobile network operators (MNOs) – i.e., the financial services and products – and how the consumer protection regime has addressed them. It will conclude by examining how the Kenyan consumer law has manifested itself, either by its influence on other states’ consumer laws and policies or the way(s) in which its own laws have been influenced by foreign and supranational consumer laws. References will be made with regard to the influence by the European Commission (EC) Product Safety Directive, the EC Product Liability Directive, the EC Consumer Sales Directive and the EC Unfair Commercial Practices Directive. Furthermore, this contribution will highlight the challenges encountered with respect to the achievement of a consumer protection regime in Kenya, as a result of the fragmentation of the law and policies.     

Nanomaterials and the Precautionary Principle in the EU

This article focuses on the risks of nanomaterials and nanotechnologies, and the challenges they pose to European consumer law. These risks are exemplary for the sociological phenomenon of modern risk society, living under the condition of uncertainty with regard to the likelihood and the extent of possible negative effects. Generally, in law important functions in risk societies are fulfilled by the precautionary principle. It serves both, as a justification for state measures vis-à-vis other legal interests, especially economic human rights, and as a request for state action in response to possible risks. This paper will argue that the precautionary principle applies at least to health protection as a core part of consumer protection and basically EU law is well equipped to deal with uncertainties. This is established in case law and practice. However, although there is pressure to apply the precautionary principle to nanomaterials and nanotechnologies, the European Commission has adopted a rather modest approach. That has been criticized especially by the European Parliament. For dealing with the gap in basic research and methodology, this article suggests a burden sharing in financing taking into account both, the precautionary principle and the principle of proportionality.     

Quality Regulation in European Private Law

The EC Directive on certain aspects of the sale of consumer goods and associated guarantees obliges sellers to deliver goods which are in conformity with the contract, and gives rights to the consumer where the goods are not in conformity with the contract. It also contains provisions as to the binding nature and transparency of commercial guarantees. The implementation date for this European private law quality regime was 1 January 2002. This article considers the policies and legal concepts that have influenced and will influence this quality regime, questions associated with the general mode of implementation, and some key features of the regime.     

Networks to Enforce European Law: The Case of the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network

Central to this paper is the aim to discuss the effectiveness of the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network (also known as ??CPC Network??) for consumer protection in cross-border disputes in the European Union (EU). In doing so, this paper deals with the literature about networks established by grouping the Commission and national authorities to enforce European Law. The examples of the European Competition Network and the CPC Network are interesting because they raise questions with regard to the effectiveness and the accountability of emerging network-based law enforcement. The development of the CPC Network may have relevant implications for other areas of EU law and policy, including the question whether network-based governance could be transposed in other fields of EU Law.