Avi Shankar

Understanding consumption: contributions from a narrative perspective

In this paper we outline the contribution of a narrative perspective for theory and method in consumer research. Narratives are considered to be a fundamental way by which we structure and therefore make sense of our lives. Accordingly, narratives have the potential to contribute to our understanding of how consumers structure and make sense of their consumption experiences. We also develop a narrative paradigm and demonstrate how an understanding of narrative can underpin the three paradigmatic questions of ontology, epistemology and methodology. We include throughout a discussion of the implications of our perspective for consumer research and marketing in general.

Consumer empowerment: a Foucauldian interpretation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to question the taken for granted assumptions that underpin a liberal or lay view of consumer empowerment implicit to this special edition. In particular, the idea that it benefits consumers to have more choice is questioned.Design/methodology/approach – The key constructs of Michel Foucault – disciplinary power, governmentality and technologies of self – are used to argue that people can never escape from the operation of power. Rather it is shown how power operates to produce consumers.Findings – The liberal view of the empowerment of consumers through choice is questioned. Rather we suggest the opposite; that choice is a disciplinary power and that more and more choice can lead to choice paralysis. The contemporary phenomenon known as blogging is described as a Foucauldian technology of self. Managerial implications are discussed.Originality/value – The value of a Foucauldian inspired theory of empowerment is that it represents a more sophisticated understanding o...

Technologies of Sexiness: Theorizing Women’s Engagement in the Sexualization of Culture

‘Raunch’ culture and ‘porno-chic’ are examples of a dramatic rise in the re-sexualization of women’s bodies. Wrapped in discourses of individualism, consumerism and empowerment, and often excluding those who are not white, heterosexual and slim, this sexualization of culture has created significant debates within feminist literature with regard to the question of how to value women’s choices of participation in sexualized culture while also maintaining a critical standpoint towards the cultural context that has enabled such postfeminist sexual subjectivities. In this paper we contribute to these debates by presenting ‘technologies of sexiness’, a theoretical framework that draws on Foucauldian theorizing of technologies of the self and Butler’s work on performativity. The technology of sexiness framework conceptualizes a blurring between subjectivity and consumer and media culture and highlights the doubled movements in which agency is complexly enabled and disabled in relation to technology, performance/parody, multiplicity and recuperation.

Learning to be tribal: facilitating the formation of consumer tribes

Purpose – Studies of marketplace cultures emphasize the benefits of communal consumption and explain the ways that brand managers can leverage subcultures and brand communities. The ephemeral and often non‐commercial nature of consumer tribes means that they are more difficult to manage. This paper, aims to suggest that a necessary pre‐requisite for understanding how to engage with consumer tribes is to identify how consumers become members of tribes.Design/methodology/approach – Data are drawn from a five‐year ethnographic study of the archetypical club culture tribe that utilized a variety of data collection methods including participant observation and in‐depth interviewing.Findings – The paper identifies “learning to be tribal” as a communal practice that occurs through three interconnected processes of engagement, imagination and alignment.Originality/value – This paper makes three contributions: it clearly distinguishes between the three main forms of communal consumption found in the marketing lite...

The consumerist turn in higher education: Policy aspirations and outcomes

Abstract Insights from the marketing and education literature are combined to analyse government rationales and mechanisms related to the positioning of contemporary students as consumers and to assess the impact on the process and outcomes of education, on the professional practices of faculty and on widening participation. Pierre Bourdieus conceptual framework is applied to analyse how consumer mechanisms are mediated by the organisational cultures and practices within universities. These theoretical insights are combined with data from different national contexts to indicate positive outcomes. However, the organisational context of higher education, gamesmanship and outdated marketing relations have also led to the opposite of what policy makers have aspired to. We show how consumerism also promotes passive learning, threatens academic standards, and entrenches academic privilege. The paper contributes to scholarship on consumerism in sectors which are subject to changing relations between state regulation and market forces, and offers policy and management insights.

Interpreting the Past, Writing the Future

Using the metaphor of Homers Odyssey, this paper provides a characterization of the development of interpretive consumer research. Initially this development is shown to have been circumscribed by the machinations of positivism. However, following the disruptive influences of postmodernism/post-structuralism, issues such as methodological pluralism, reflexivity and representation are considered to signify the way forward to an interpretive consumer research with confidence in its axioms.

Lost in music? Subjective personal introspection and popular music consumption

Reports on the use of subjective personal introspection. Offers a brief overview of subjective personal introspection and then describes the technique used to inform an ongoing piece of research that is being conducted into popular music consumption. Concludes by assessing the usefulness of the technique and highlights how it may be of use to practitioners.

Interpretive consumer research: two more contributions to theory and practice

Presents two relatively new (to marketing) qualitative research techniques, “narrative theory” and “dimensional analysis”, and highlights the contribution they may have for consumer research. Narrative analysis focuses on features, plots and configurations, whereas dimensional analysis uses as its foundation context, conditions and consequences which affect the outcome of the story. Addresses the divide between academic investigation and practitioner research and suggests that practitioners may benefit from developing theoretical frameworks to underpin data collection.

Critical Marketing: Defining the Field

About the book: Marketing is still widely perceived as simply the creator of wants and needs through selling and advertising and marketing theory has been criticized for not taking a more critical approach to the subject. This is because most conventional marketing thinking takes a broadly managerial perspective without reflecting on the wider societal implications of the effects of marketing activities. In response this important new book is the first text designed to raise awareness of the critical, ethical, social and methodological issues facing contemporary marketing. Uniquely it provides: – The latest knowledge based on a series of major seminars in the field – The insights of a leading team of international contributors with an interdisciplinary perspective . A clear map of the domain of critical marketing – A rigorous analysis of the implications for future thinking and research. For faculty and upper level students and practitioners in Marketing, and those in the related areas of cultural studies and media Critical Marketing will be a major addition to the literature and the development of the subject.About the book: Marketing is still widely perceived as simply the creator of wants and needs through selling and advertising and marketing theory has been criticized for not taking a more critical approach to the subject. This is because most conventional marketing thinking takes a broadly managerial perspective without reflecting on the wider societal implications of the effects of marketing activities. In response this important new book is the first text designed to raise awareness of the critical, ethical, social and methodological issues facing contemporary marketing. Uniquely it provides: – The latest knowledge based on a series of major seminars in the field – The insights of a leading team of international contributors with an interdisciplinary perspective . A clear map of the domain of critical marketing – A rigorous analysis of the implications for future thinking and research. For faculty and upper level students and practitioners in Marketing, and those in the related areas of cultural studies and media Critical Marketing will be a major addition to the literature and the development of the subject.

Age is just a number: Rave culture and the cognitively young “thirty something”

This paper looks at “dance” or “rave”, a phenomenon usually associated with youth culture. It suggests that there is a hidden consumer who falls into the 30‐40 age group. The paper examines the emergence of dance/rave, and the process of commodification of a sub‐cultural movement. It suggests that youth‐related activities are migrating up the age scale and draws on the results of a phenomenological study to support this. The findings suggest that the experience is closely related to cognitive age and the dimensions of “felt” age, “look” age, “do” age, and “interest” age.