Product quality and reliability, warranty conditions, availability of after-sales service, lowest possible costs outlay in achieving the required standards, previous experience with suppliers and good references are determining factors when making purchasing choices. Additionally, preferential credit or financing schemes from the supplier significantly increases the chances of product sale.
The majority of respondents indicated high product quality (60-70 percent) as the greatest advantage of foreign technologies, followed by their user-friendliness and ease of operation (60 percent), besides the reliability and durability of products (50 percent). Interestingly, up to half the respondents also cited good value for the money as an advantage of foreign technologies.
An additional strength of foreign environmental technology providers is that they are capable of meeting the specialized technical demands of consumers.
While virtually all respondents indicated that foreign technologies were "too expensive" (65-70 percent), this was often offset by the quality of the product, the conditions of the warranty and the after-sales service. In some cases, foreign suppliers producing highly sophisticated technologies not available on the domestic market have carved out a market niche for themselves.
Import restrictions and high customs duties were mentioned by up to 30 percent of the respondents as further barriers to purchasing foreign environmental technologies, although this problem is expected to decrease in the near future, at least with regard to products from the EU.
Other significant barriers included the lack of reliable product information (40-50 percent) and the scarcity of information concerning suppliers (40 percent).