Women's Magazines: Construction of Identities and Cultural Consumption in Hong Kong

Consumption is an integral part of contemporary capitalistic society. By means of a textual analysis of letters to the editor of a women's magazine in Hong Kong, as well as in-depth interviews with readers and editors, this paper examines how women's cultural consumption creates, constructs and circulates women's identities. Results reveal that the processes of identification can be constructed on three equivalent consumption levels. Firstly, women readers identify certain "imaginary communities" through reading the magazine, and by modeling the behaviors and styles of the communities they feel they are sustaining their relationship with them. Secondly, women identify with an idealized community-constructed beauty and seek to consume products which collectively suggests this idealized beauty for them. Thirdly, women regard the "communities" as providing shelter for rapport and comfort from the emotional and relational problems of real life. In sum, structured identification-consumption has shaped working class women into an identity, which conforms to society's dominant capitalist logic. Despite these findings, however, there are always a few women who attempt to seek alternative lifestyles.     

Aesthetic Products and Aesthetic Consumption: A Review

This article presents a review of recent thinking about consumers’ aesthetic experiences. These experiences are examined within the context of philosophical, psychological, and social science perspectives on aesthetics. A distinction is made between aesthetic products and aesthetic consumption, and these two concepts are discussed in terms of marketing views of their core elements. The review also reflects on the impact of “postmodernism” on aesthetics within marketing. Consideration is given to four philosophical conundrums relating to the aesthetic experience which are relevant to marketing theory: disinterested attention; objective and subjective taste; the nature of the aesthetic encounter; and the relationship of evaluation to preference.     

社会保障、包容性增长与居民消费升级

包容性增长是经济发展的最终目标,社会保障制度的不断完善,在消除贫困和促进居民消费方面发挥着重要作用,是包容性增长的有效手段。基于2010—2018年CFPS数据,以生命周期理论为基础构建理论模型,运用面板分位数、反事实估计、PSM-DID等方法探究社会保障对居民消费升级的影响。研究发现不同类型社会保障对居民消费的影响存在异质性,相较于医疗保险和政府补助,养老保险对增加居民消费倾向有积极作用,各类社会保障均有利于居民消费结构由食品支出向发展型或享受型消费升级,且对农村居民和低收入群体消费结构升级有更显著的正向作用,表明社会保障促进了中国的包容性增长。     

论出口、消费与产出增长

本文采用时间序列和面板数据,对二战后11个高速增长经济体的出口、消费和产出三个变量之间的因果关系进行计量检验。对单个经济体的时间序列数据进行三变量向量自回归估计后发现,这些经济体的三变量之间存在不同的因果关系,并没有一般性的规律;而将这些经济体在1978-1996年的三变量进行面板向量自回归并进行因果检验后的结果显示,存在显著的出口和产出之间的双向因果关系,以及消费和产出的双向因果关系。本文的分析结果表明,对于快速赶超的发展中经济体,经济增长应该注意维持内部和外部的平衡,既重视出口也重视消费对经济增长的拉动作用。     

Consumption and macroeconomic policies: Theory and evidence from developing countries

Abstract

This paper examines determinants of private consumption in a sample of developing countries. The empirical model includes income, a proxy for the cost of consumption, and the exchange rate. Anticipated movements in these determinants are likely to trigger adjustment in planned consumption, while unanticipated changes determine random transitory adjustment in consumption. Fluctuations in private consumption are mostly random with respect to unanticipated changes in income and, to a lesser extent, the exchange rate. Consumption increases during cyclical expansion of income and decreases in the face of an unanticipated increase in the cost of consumption. Exchange rate fluctuations have mixed results on private consumption. As for the effects of domestic policies, fiscal policy has a limited, and sometimes negative, effect on private consumption. Monetary growth, in contrast, stimulates an increase in private consumption. This evidence supports recent calls to decrease the size of government and enhance the role of monetary policy in stimulating private activity in developing countries.     

流动人口家庭成员年龄构成、公共服务与消费研究

利用2014年中国计划生育家庭发展追踪调查数据,研究对比了流动人口和城镇居民家庭成员年龄构成对家庭消费的影响,并通过对比二者的差异,探求了这种差异背后的公共服务方面的原因。分析结果表明,对流动人口家庭来说,婴幼儿随迁会显著增加其医疗消费支出;学龄前儿童则会显著增加家庭教育消费支出;而老年人口随迁会显著增加其医疗消费支出。家庭成员年龄构成对家庭教育和医疗消费支出的影响在城镇居民家庭和流动人口家庭之间存在较大差异,产生差异的原因主要在于流动人口和户籍人口享受的保障和服务的不均等。     

Producing and Consuming Gendered Representations: An Interpretation of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras

The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is considered to be one of Australia's "hallmark" consumption events. This paper draws from anthropological literature on carnivalesque festivals, postmodern streams of thought, and original participant observation data in order to construct a new theoretical interpretation of the Mardi Gras. The festival is a contested event with meanings associated with the carnivalesque and gay and lesbian politics, executed with an attention to serious political issues. Findings include insights about contemporary manifestations and embodiments of the carnivalesque, the "frivolous" approach to serious political issues and negotiating "Australian-ness" and the perils and pitfalls of marketing an oppositional sensibility. Findings are discussed in light of advancing a "spiral" model of appropriation and resistance with respect to oppositional gendered representations and meanings.     

Game meats: Consumption values,theory of planned behaviour,and the moderating role of food neophobia/neophiliac behaviour

Game meat can be considered an alternative to traditional meats and is growing steadily. Previous literature has not investigated why consumers choose or buy game meats. The study draws on the theory of Consumer Choice Value and the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). The moderating influence of food neophobia/neophiliac behaviour is also examined. The data was analysed using Structural Equation Modelling, cluster-analysis, and multigroup analysis. Regarding consumer's choice value, epistemic and social value were found significant. TPB shows that perceived behavioural control was non-significant and to some extent, consumers with food neophobia/neophiliac behaviour moderated the purchase behaviour. Consumer's perceived well-being mediates the relationship between intention and purchase behaviour. It contributes to the breadth of the current theoretical-framework and provides useful insights for retailers and researchers.     

中国经济增长的产业逻辑及当前阶段的战略选择——基于长期消费需求的视角

从长期消费需求的视角来看,居民消费需求的释放遵循一定的次序,从基本的“吃穿住行”到较高层级的精神文化产品,是逐级释放的,这要求产业的生产活动也遵循同样的次序。中国40多年经济增长的基本逻辑在于产业的生产活动始终回应了居民的基本消费需求。在20世纪80年代到90年代中期,主要解决居民的温饱问题,以农业、日用化工及轻纺工业等产业为主导;2000年之后,主要解决居民的住行问题,以房地产、汽车、高速公路、高铁等产业为主导。从这一产业逻辑来看,中等收入陷阱实际上是“吃穿住行”等基本消费需求满足之后,居民的消费层级上升,产业需要进行相应的转型升级,但更高一级的消费需求出现了与以往完全不同的特点,导致产业生产活动无法有效跟进的结果。当前,我国居民更高一级的消费需求开始出现,产业处于转型升级的关键期,存在跌入中等收入陷阱的风险,因此,在产业战略上要关注更高一级消费需求的发展趋势,同时要积极寻找外部需求,且在这一过程中企业的治理结构也要做出相应的改变。     

Consumption and the retail change process: a comparative analysis of toy retailing in Italy and France

Set in the context of a review and critique of the retail change literature, this study conceptualizes the importance of cultural diversity in consumption practices, and their dialectical interplay with retail structures. Underpinned theoretically by concepts located in Critical Theory and Bourdieu's studies of 'Distinctions', a grounded approach at a macro-level of analysis is applied to the comparison of the French and Italian toy retail sectors, which serves as an empirical illustration of the conceptual categories and relationships posited. In the comparative analysis of the French and Italian toy retail industry, the links between market structures and macro-economic and demographic factors, on the one hand, and localized consumption habits, on the other, are discussed, highlighting the interplay of the properties of the emergent retail activity and consumption categories of analysis. The impact of global sourcing and market entry of international retailers is assessed. Conclusions point to the importance of the forcefield between localized meaning and the dynamics of toy retail capital. It is argued that the commodity form of toys, together with the values attached to them and the role they play in childhood, is influencing the structures of national toy retail sectors which are also dependent on the overall retail system and broader environmental factors. In this, retail change processes take place as a result of the interactions between the different spheres and their particular expressions cannot be generalized across borders as they depend on the specific dynamics within each system.     

Bond restructuring and moral hazard: are collective action clauses costly?

Recent emerging market crises have prompted debate over the costs and benefits of collective action clauses (CACs) in bond contracts. CACs may facilitate the restructuring of repayment terms in the event of financial distress. Proponents of CACs argue they should lower borrowing costs, while opponents contend that they lead to moral hazard and increased borrowing costs. This paper examines the pricing of bonds with and without CACs using data for both primary and secondary market yields and finds no evidence that the presence of CACs has increased yields for either higher- or lower-rated issuers.     

Connections Among People,Things, Images,and Ideas: La Habana to Pina and Back

This paper is a photo essay of images of Cuba taken by the authors in the fall of 2003. Through an analysis of the photos, our initial goal is to deconstruct reigning tropes and myths surrounding Cuba. By implicitly asking, “what is a photo?” the essay also tackles the larger issues of representation, meaning creation and understanding—of marketplaces, consumption, brands, and culture. We suggest that photographer and subjects are both agents and producers of meaning and ideas in which the interplay becomes the source for analytic understanding. In the deconstruction we offer our sense of Cuba. In the end, the essay is a journey, intellectual and otherwise.     

Live Broadcasting,Gate Revenue,and Football Club Performance: Some Evidence

This paper presents new evidence concerning the main argument of the English Premier League for collective arrangements in selling television broadcast rights. Matches that are broadcast live on television can be considered as a substitute for watching at the stadium. New panel-data show that broadcasting live has a small negative effect on gate revenue for the best performing clubs and a much larger effect for the worst performing clubs. However, the marginal cost is outweighed by the marginal revenue, concluding that restrictions on quantity stemming from collective arrangements are detrimental to the consumers, broadcasters, and clubs themselves.     

Romancing the alpaca: Passionate consumption, collection, and companionship

With their inquisitive nature, apparent intelligence, and aesthetic appeal, alpacas draw humans to them. This article spotlights alpaca breeders in an exploration of collecting as passionate consumption [BelkRussell, W. Collecting in a Consumer Society. London: Routledge, 1995.] and consumers' relationships with their animal companions [Hirschman Elizabeth. Consumers and their animal companions. Journal of Consumer Research 1994; 20 (March): 616-32.; Holbrook MB. Stephens DL. Day E. Holbrook SM. Strazar G. A collective stereographic photo essay on key aspects of animal companionship: The truth about dogs and cats. Academy of Marketing Science Review 2001; (1) 1-16.]. Multiple data sources provide stories of alpaca ownership. These sources comprise books, newspaper clips, and magazine articles about alpacas, as well as the author's own experiences as an alpaca breeder over the past 10 years. Building from Belk's work on collection, this article both introduces the idea of dynamic-and-transforming collections and illustrates how passionate consumption can lead to rejuvenation and re-enchantment with life. By concentrating on consumption experiences, this work adds to the growing body of consumer research that moves beyond a narrow focus on purchase behavior.     

The irrepressible and uncontrollable urge: sex,experience, and consumption

In the face of innumerable marketing articles that provide safe, sanitized, and staid interpretations of sex, this research attempts, in the words of one notorious rock band, to put the X back in sex by exploring its naughty role in consumption. While the extant marketing literature has focused primarily on how sex influences both consumer acquisition and identity construction, less research has addressed the consumption of sex as an erotic practice, especially in non-sexual consumption contexts. Given the immersive nature of sex, we explore the relationship between sex and consumption via experiential offerings, and more specifically, through consumer participation in the spectacular themed attraction of Splash Mountain at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Utilizing the lens and style of the archetypal trickster, we tease out the symbolic and physical aspects of this attraction to reveal that sex potentially underlies both the narrative interpretation and bodily enjoyment of this ride.     

Critical insights of nano-based pharmaceutical,cosmeceutical and nutraceutical products: Empirical evidence from the consumption values perspective

Nanotechnology has received a widespread application recently in the development of pharmaceutical, cosmeceutical and nutraceutical (PCN) products through utilizing nanomaterials in the formulation and/or shaping of the finished products at nanoscale. This study investigates factors influencing Malaysia consumer decisions in nano-based PCN products purchase by consumption values theory (n = 181). The moderating effect of nano labelling on consumption decisions is examined. Nano labelling is found to strengthen the relationship between epistemic value and consumption decisions. The knowledge-based consumption decisions can be misled by inappropriate label information that has implications for policy makers and marketing practitioners.     

Marketing and society: Preface to special section on volunteerism, price assurances, and direct-to-consumer advertising

We discuss the reasons why this call for papers was issued and describe the process of selecting the three articles presented in this special section. We argue that maximizing stakeholder welfare and not just consumption maybe a new goal for marketing that will be consistent with emerging societal trends. Three articles on volunteerism, price assurances, and direct-to-consumer advertising result from our call and are presented in this section. This introduction is an overview of the three articles.