Jeff B. Murray

The Critical Imagination: Emancipatory Interests in Consumer Research

Critical theory is presented as an interdisciplinary approach to seeking knowledge about consumers. Critical theory holds that social problems often result from groups in society being constrained by social structures and processes that they themselves construct and maintain. Critical research involves grasping both the intersubjective understandings of the groups involved and the historical-empirical understanding of the potentially constraining objective social conditions. Contradictions that are discovered provide the stimuli for change. Through the process of critique and dialogue the critical researcher tries to help people imagine alternative social organizations that facilitate the development of human potential free from constraints. Copyright 1991 by the University of Chicago.

Manufacturer–supplier relationships: An empirical test of a model of buyer outcomes

Abstract Relational buyer–seller exchanges have been the focus of significant research in the past few years. In extending this recent research, the authors draw upon transaction cost analysis and symbolic interactionism to propose and test a model focusing on outcomes of manufacturer–supplier relationships from the perspective of the manufacturer. Data from 157 purchasing executives offer empirical support for the relationships proposed in the model. In the context of acquiring critical items, relational orientation is found to be negatively related to measures of acquisition and possession costs and positively related to perceived product quality, and these variables, in turn, are significantly linked to the buyers satisfaction with the supplier. Model results also indicate that a relational orientation has both a direct and an indirect link to satisfaction. Implications for both marketing managers and researchers interested in collaborative relationships between buyer and supplier organizations are offered.

Ideological Challenges to Changing Strategic Orientation in Commodity Agriculture

Why do some firms not change their strategic orientation despite economic incentives to do so? Most current literature on changing strategic orientations has focused on an antecedents and outcomes approach to business orientations. Intimated, but rarely addressed, are the notions that (1) strategic orientations may be thought of as ideologies and (2) such ideologies are likely to contend with each other. Taking such a perspective may be helpful in discussing why it is challenging to transition to more sustainable strategic orientations even in the presence of financial incentives to do so. In assessing the transition to organic production and marketing in a commodity agriculture context, the authors find that contending ideologies restrict its adoption. In addition, they suggest that strategic orientations are not adopted or contested solely within firms but also among them. The authors find that ideological contestation among firms in this context takes the form of a marketplace drama between a chemical, productionist orientation and an organic orientation in which protagonists mobilize several forms of legitimacy.

Spouses' materialism: Effects of parenthood status, personality type, and sex

This study responds to a call for broadened conceptualizations of materialism and its role in self-definition (Richins & Dawson, 1992). Data from 202 spouses were analyzed for relationships among materialism, parenthood status, and personality type, defined as spousal “warmness” or “coolness” (Csikszentmihalyi & Rochberg-Halton, 1981). Testable hypotheses were based on the concept of object-subject interchangeability (Claxton & Murray, 1994) as a mechanism of self-definition. The hypothesis was supported that cool spouses without children would have the highest materialism score. Total sample materialism scores were related to parenthood status and to several interactions among parenthood status, personality type, and sex of respondent. Analyzed by sex of respondent, mens materialism scores were related to parenthood status and to the interaction between parenthood status and personality type. Womens materialism scores were not related to any independent variables or interactions. Consumer policy implications are discussed.ZusammenfassungMaterialismus von Ehegatten: Effekte von Elternschaft, Persönlichkeitstyp und Geschlecht Die Studie reagiert auf die Forderung nach einer breiteren Konzeptualisierung der Materialismus-Variable und der Rolle von Materialismus bei der Selbst-Definition. Die Daten stammen von 202 Ehegatten und wurden auf die Beziehungen hin analysiert, die zwischen Materialismus, Elternschaft und Persönlichkeitstyp (definiert als eheliche WÄrme und eheliche Nüchternheit) bestehen. Die Hypothesen basieren auf dem Konzept der Objekt-Subjekt-Austauschbarkeit als Mechanismus der Selbst-Definition. BestÄtigt wurde die Hypothese, da\ nüchterne Ehegatten ohne Kinder den höchsten Materialismuswert haben. Insgesamt waren die Materialismuswerte abhÄngig von der Variable Elternschaft und von mehreren Wechselwirkungen zwischen Elternschaft, Persönlichkeitstyp und Geschlecht des Antwortenden. Eine geschlechtsspezifische Analyse zeigt, da\ die Materialismuswerte der MÄnner mit Elternschaft und mit der Wechselwirkung zwischen Elternschaft und Persönlichkeitstyp verbunden sind. Bei den Materialismuswerten der Frauen zeigte sich keine Beziehung zu einer der unabhÄngigen Variablen oder den Wechselwirkungen. Der Beitrag schlie\t mit einigen verbraucherpolitischen Implikationen.

Assessing the Societal Impact of Research: The Relational Engagement Approach

Marketing and policy researchers aiming to increase the societal impact of their scholarship should engage directly with relevant stakeholders. For maximum societal effect, this engagement needs to occur both within the research process and throughout the complex process of knowledge transfer. The authors propose that a relational engagement approach to research impact complements and builds on traditional approaches. Traditional approaches to impact employ bibliometric measures and focus on the creation and use of journal articles by scholarly audiences, an important but incomplete part of the academic process. The authors recommend expanding the strategies and measures of impact to include process assessments for specific stakeholders across the entire course of impact, from the creation, awareness, and use of knowledge to societal impact. This relational engagement approach involves the cocreation of research with audiences beyond academia. The authors hope to begin a dialogue on the strategies researchers can use to increase the potential societal benefits of their research.

Inscribing the Personal Myth: The Role of Tattoos in Identification

In order to emphasize in-depth analyses of individual life stories, seven informants were selected. Since breadth of experience will contribute to a more detailed contextualization of the consumers use of products in identity negotiation, diversity across informants was emphasized. Interviews generally followed the format as suggested by Thompson, Locander, and Pollio (1989). A comfortable setting was chosen and pseudonyms were used to ensure anonymity. Interviews were audio-taped and lasted anywhere from one to just over two hours. Grand tour questions (McCracken, 1988) focused on the meaning of the tattoo design, the experience of being tattooed, perceptions of the body, words the informants used to describe themselves, and other biographical information important for understanding the informants personal myth. Every effort was made to present a natural front, keep the informant on track without being too directive, demonstrate active listening, and prompt the informant as a way of probing for details (Spradley, 1979). To ensure accuracy, an experienced and trained transcriptionist transcribed each of the seven interviews. The final text totaled 450 typed double-spaced pages.

The critical participant

The need for critical theories and methods has never been greater. As global citizens, we face enormous inequities and unprecedented challenges such as global warming and rising rates of poverty. Consumption and markets are at the very heart of our most pressing social problems ranging from materialism and pollution to obesity and addiction. Critical theory is often presented as a conceptual tool designed to engage these problems. Traditionally, critical theory consists of two key moments. The first is the negative moment; here the researcher forms a critique of existing social practices and institutions. The second is the positive moment; here the researcher envisions creative alternatives to the status quo. In this article, the authors argue that there is a third moment called critical participation. This third moment encourages the researcher to participate in theoretically inspired social change. The article develops the third moment by discussing the role of the public intellectual, critical practice in teaching, and critical practice in research.

An Experiential Approach for Developing Conceptual Skills in Marketing Doctoral Students

Traditional approaches to specifying the domain and meaning of social concepts are based on the classical approach, which assumes a static view in which the researcher discovers and reveals the fixed boundaries of concepts. The authors introduce an alternative approach to concepts, based on a Wittgensteinian philosophy of science. This approach assumes that social concepts are dynamic, changing, and value laden. Varying boundaries for concepts may be appropriate depending on the social context and purposes of the research. The authors propose a step-by-step approach to analyzing concepts as a pedagogical tool. Here the student systematically examines the boundaries of concepts by studying the empirical uses of concepts in everyday life. They suggest that theories will be more relevant and useful if they are built on meanings that are grounded in experience.

A prototyping analysis of relationship marketing constructs: what constructs to use when

ABSTRACT As relationship marketing research evolved, a number of key constructs emerged. Some scholars have argued that these constructs are not conceptually or empirically distinct. We investigate this phenomenon based on the premise that sustained research effort towards studying conceptually overlapping/redundant constructs, while treating them as independent, can hamper the development of the field. We use prototyping, a method adopted from psychology, to examine consumers’ views of these constructs, and then identify relationship contexts where constructs are distinct or redundant.