The “right to consume”? Re-thinking the dynamics of exclusion/inclusion in consumer society

ABSTRACT

Consumption is a political relationship. This article considers competing political discourses around consumption as different versions of a hypothetical right to consume. In the first section, we consider how the domain of consumption can express the critical potential of the “right to the city,” a concept inspired by Henri Lefebvre that has had widespread influence in urban studies and related fields. In the second section we consider how the right to consume can also become a bulwark for capitalist ideologies of an individualistic and destructive right to consume. A third section concludes on recent trends in consumption studies that point to ways that capitalism seeks to assuage and manage these tensions through ongoing innovations in consumer technology and finance. New questions about rights and democracy must emerge to confront this new techno-economy of consumer relations. In short, while we affirm the right to consume for the most vulnerable, we also insist on deconstructing the system of consumption as it is currently configured.     

Branded places and marketplace exclusion

ABSTRACT

This article analyses the development of a branded place in a Brazilian city. Drawing on Lefebvre’s spatial triad, I show how the intertwined practices of hegemonic market actors in alliance concur to produce a city space that caters to the aspirations and ways of life of local elites while actively excluding lower-class groups from it. I distinguish three main elements of branded places –architecture and urbanism, brand narrative, and spatial governance– and demonstrate how they produce physical, symbolic, and social boundaries between middle- and lower-classes in the city. These findings contribute to understanding the ways market-mediated spatial dynamics perform exclusion of most vulnerable groups in post-industrial cities and extend place brand literature by accounting for the less documented practices of invested stakeholders in the production of branded places.     

Aesthetic logics,terroir and the lamination of grower champagne

ABSTRACT

This paper examines how aesthetic institutional logics and objects shape markets. We focus on the champagne field, for which dominant category conventions include luxury, celebration and protected regional origin (exemplified by grande marque champagne). Our attention, however, is on more recent, alternative conventions, such as site-specific terroir and passionate artisanality (exemplified by “grower champagne”). In analyzing how trade associations, small-scale producers and wine writers represent champagne, we offer an approach that is sensitive to both top-down and bottom-up dynamics of logics. Drawing on the concept of lamination to provide a processual bridge between category conventions and institutional objects (and thus logics), we find that representations from the three actor groups build up – layering and (at least partially) overlapping – such that both dominant and alternative frames come to shape the champagne field. We suggest how divergent representational practices may be directed at and by a common aesthetic institutional object.     

Subculture as learning context: subcultural music consumption as language,channel and journey

ABSTRACT

Subcultures cultivate alternative and resistive discourses and practices as well as transcendental meanings, experiences and identities. Yet, current knowledge falls short in documenting the ways in which subcultures facilitate learning. Therefore, this study empirically investigates the ways in which music subcultures offer consumers a learning context and potentially transformative process. Via an extensive online and offline ethnographic research design, the findings show how music subcultures enable learning at both the individual and collective levels. Findings reveal that the language of music awakens, the channel of music engages, and the music as journey of experiences facilitates action, navigation from one subcultural scene to another, alternative ways of knowing and critical social learning. Subcultures of music therefore provide consumers with a highly informal and unstructured experience in a participative, (inter)active, creative learning context.     

Environmental context and marketing planning processes

The traditional model of marketing planning assumes that the process by which organizations take planning decisions is constant with respect to context. Organizational environment, internal context, performance and distinctive competency affect marketing planning only as information inputs for the planning process, not as influences on the choice of process. However, rapid change in environments, in competitive patterns and in market responses all demand action from organizations. Intuitively, we expect that rapid environmental change will require a faster planning process, and that increasing environmental complexity requires more careful deliberation. The marketing planning model does not accommodate such intuition. This paper outlines the case for rethinking marketing planning models, and develops a conceptual framework through which the impact of environmental context on marketing planning processes can be effectively examined.     

Shopping context and consumers’ mental representation of complex shopping trip decision problems

Depending on the shopping context, consumers may develop different mental representations of complex shopping trip decision problems to help them interpret the decision situation that they face and evaluate alternative courses of action. To investigate these mental representations and how they vary across contexts, the authors propose a causal network structure that allows for a formal representation of how context-specific benefits requirements affect consumers’ evaluation of decision alternative attributes. They empirically test hypotheses derived from the framework, using data on consumers’ mental representations of a complex shopping trip decision problem across four shopping contexts that differ in terms of opening hour restrictions and shopping purpose, and find support for the proposed structure and hypotheses.     

ICoRSI’s comments on WHO’s draft global targets for road safety risk factors

Abstract

A recent United Nations General Assembly resolution has asked the World Health Organization (WHO) to develop voluntary global performance targets on key road safety risk factors. These targets will be used to track how well countries are doing in reducing deaths and injuries from traffic crashes. WHO has produced a draft set of country-level targets and invited feedback from state and nonstate actors. This document provides feedback from ICoRSI about the targets proposed by WHO.     

Running wild in the marketplace: the articulation and negotiation of an alternative food network

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we examine how actors within what we conceptualise as an emerging wild food alternative network are navigating through the foodscape to find alternatives to homogenous and standardised food products. Drawing on data from different research engagements with wild food consumers and producers over the last decade in Canada, we use the context of wild foods to explore how the ‘alternative’ is being articulated and negotiated. Inspired by scholarly work exploring the pedagogical promise of food, we also explore the transformational potential of the ‘alternative’ – how bringing wild foods to the table can both inspire and teach consumers about sustainability and alternative consumption practices. We conclude with directions for future marketing research on alternative food networks.     

The Selection and Retention of Law Firms: A Study of the Perceptions of Corporate Officers

ABSTRACT

Mood states have generated considerable activity in many diverse fields, including psychology and marketing. While this research has been extended to include a variety of applications, the uniqueness of services provides a particularly sound environment to apply mood states and their effects on persuasion. In this context, this article reviews current applications of moods, and addresses how they can be strategically used to facilitate persuasion by service marketers who have contact with clients.     

An Investigation of the Success of Targeting Newspapers and Efficiency of Advertising in Ireland

ABSTRACT

Segmentation and targeting have been considered a central component of marketing strategy for any organization for decades. This study considers the ability to utilize Irish print media to successfully target a high value segment. The aim of this study is twofold: first, to examine reader profiles of Irish daily papers and, second, to consider the accuracy of claimed target readers. Data from the Joint National Readership Survey was utilized to profile readers of the major newspapers available in Ireland. Results suggest once actual circulation size is taken into account there is unlikely to be any advantage in buying advertising space in a publication that claims to target a specific target reader with a smaller circulation, rather than buying advertising in a large circulation mainstream tabloid.     

Implementing diversity management in retailing: Exploring the role of organisational context

Abstract

Diversity management is a means of managing customer and employee differences for the benefit of the organisation. This qualitative study considers how contextual factors influence diversity management implementation in different retailing environments. Exploratory research was conducted in three SBUs of a UK retailing group: the UK high street SBU, the US operations and the online SBU. Despite different cultural, legal and historical differences between the UK and US, these factors did not lead to significantly different ways of dealing with diversity in the UK high street and US businesses. Instead the extent to which individual differences were recognised was influenced by the selling environment and the SBU's size and structure. The paper recommends that retailers need to develop a ‘home-grown’ approach to diversity management that acknowledges their organisational context.     

The servicescape: The social dimensions of place

Abstract

Place should not be viewed solely as a physical space that people inhabit or, within a servicescape context, patronise because the experiences consumers have in place are very much shaped by its occupants. Marketing literature, though, has tended to focus on the physicality of place, or the stimulus–response aspects of place, whereas in other disciplines such as geography, place has been viewed in terms of its temporal, spatial, natural, and social dimensions. The purpose of this study was to gain a greater understanding of how women's non-commercial relationships shaped their patronage decisions. Since this study was interested in why consumers make repeat retail visits, qualitative methods were used. As the findings revealed, one's need for social connectedness and desire to feel like an insider were sometimes more important than the products available and/or the servicescape's attributes.     

Exchange rates and US direct investment into Latin America

Abstract

In this paper, we analyze separately the determinants of maritime transport and road transport costs for Spanish exports to Poland and Turkey (markets for which maritime and road transport are competing modes) and investigate the different effects of these costs on international trade. First, we investigate the extent to which maritime and road transport costs depend on different factors such as unit values, distances, transport conditions, service structures, and service quality. Second, we analyze the relative importance of road and maritime transport costs in comparison with distance measures as determinants of trade flows. The main results of this investigation indicate that real distance is not a good proxy for transportation costs and identify the central variables influencing road and maritime transportation costs: for both modes, transport conditions are strong determinants, whereas efficiency and service quality are more important for maritime transport costs, and geographical distance is more important for road transport. Road and maritime transport costs are central explanatory factors of exports and they seem to deter trade to a greater extent than road or maritime transit time when endogeneity is considered.     

The brand personality dimensions of business-to-business firms: a content analysis of employer reviews on social media

ABSTRACT

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the brand personalities that employees are creating of their employer brands, in particular business-to-business (B-to-B) brands, when describing these brands on social media. We examine how the brand personalities, based on written online reviews, differ between high- and low-ranked, and high- and low-rated brands.

Methodology/Approach: 6,300 written employee reviews from a social media platform, Glassdoor, are used for content analysis in DICTION, to determine the brand personality dimensions they communicate (J. L). An independent B-to-B brand ranking data source, Brandwatch, is used as a reference to various brands’ level of ranking, while an ANOVA test is used to determine whether there is a difference in the brand personality trait means when comparing high and low-ranked, and high- and low-rated brands.

Findings: Our findings suggest that a strong social media presence does not equate to a strong employer brand personality perception among employees, since there are no significant differences between B-to-B firms based on their rankings.

Research Implications: Extant literature has mostly explored the impact of either critical reviews or favourable customer ratings and reviews on company performance, with very little research focusing on the B-to-B context. In addition, research employing DICTION for the purposes of content analysis of reviews is sparse. The methodology used in this study could thus be employed to further compare and contrast the reviews from a single company, dividing top and low starred reviews to compare discrepancies.

Practical Implications: The results of this study show how online shared employee experiences of employer brands contribute to the formation of a distinct employer brand personality. From a managerial viewpoint, engaging with current and past employees and being cognizant of the online narratives that they share on social media, may be an early indicator of where the firm is lacking (or showing strength) in its’ employee engagement. This would offer a way for firms to both understand their employer brand personality as well as gauge how they compare to top employers in a specific sector or industry.

Originality/Value/Contribution: The study attempts to grow the literature of employee brand engagement in a B-to-B context, by recognizing the important role that employees play in engaging with their employer brand online. Two main contributions are offered. The first contribution relates to the finding that employees perceive highly-rated B-to-B brands as being more competent, exciting, sincere and sophisticated than low-rated B-to-B brands. Second, the methodology used in this study proves to be a novel and accurate way of comparing employee reviews and perceived employer brand personality, with the employer-created intended brand image.     

Fostering fair and sustainable marketing for social entrepreneurs in the context of subsistence marketplaces

Abstract

In recent years, in-depth, on-the-ground research has generated many insights into the nature and functioning of subsistence marketplaces and the people who operate in them. Such knowledge is bound to be useful to various companies and organisations, as they seek to engage such marketplaces, particularly for marketing managers, who quite likely have not had education or experience in marketing in such impoverished settings. This paper complements these practical insights with a normative ethical framework, presented in the marketing literature and labelled the integrative justice model (IJM) for impoverished markets, so as to synthesise a new framework for fair and sustainable marketing for social entrepreneurs in the context of subsistence marketplaces.     

Youth entrepreneurship in emerging economies: can family support help navigate institutional voids?

Abstract

Institutional voids plague entrepreneurship in emerging economies. In this paper, we investigate how the social structure of the family can enable young entrepreneurs to navigate the institutional voids and progress through the venturing process. Findings suggest that both institutional voids and family support have a significant effect on startup activities, and that family financial support helps absorb the negative influence of capital market voids. Our study begins to explain the relationship between institutional voids and family support, thereby contributing to the ongoing development of institutional theory in an emerging economy context and to the literature on family influences on entrepreneurship.     

The Role of Language in the Communication Process Between Business and Government: Evidence from Russian Firms

Abstract

The paper investigates how language facilitates communication process between government and business. We use Russian context to show barriers and challenges of using language in official communication between governmental authorities and Russian companies. In our work, we demonstrate how language may produce employee’s misunderstanding and discuss typical sources of ineffective usage of language. The results indicate that problematic issues of both linguistic and non-linguistic nature can lead to serious implications for successful communication between government and business in Russia. We found that documentations’ complexity, which is perceived as such due to a complicated subject area they belong to (legal, tax, etc.) and language insufficiency applied are most likely to raise multiple problems related to government’s communication with business.     

Dynamics of positive deviance in destigmatisation: celebrities and the media in the rise of veganism

ABSTRACT

How is positive deviance utilised by the news media in the destigmatisation of a consumption practice? I study this question in the context of veganism through critically informed frame analysis of a major British newspaper, the Daily Mail. This context is ideal for such an analysis as the image of veganism has been transformed in the recent years from a stigmatised lifestyle to a normalised, healthy diet. Furthermore, this transformation has particularly taken place through celebrities, who are conceptualised as positive deviants. I then develop a discursive framing perspective of the role of media in the destigmatisation process of a consumption practice. The resulting framework shows how media can use positive deviance in destigmatisation by managing both the boundaries of the stigmatised practice and the dynamics of positive deviancy. Moreover, this framework contextualises the different frames in terms of the organisational, institutional, and national context as well as macro-level ideologies.     

Marketplace orchestration of taste: insights from the Bridgewater Hall

ABSTRACT

The aim of this paper is to explore how a concert hall can orchestrate and shape individuals’ classical music tastes. The paper is based on an 8-month ethnography at the Bridgewater Hall concert venue in Manchester. Our emergent findings illustrate how classical music tastes are influenced via the spatial meanings of the concert hall. These meanings include various physical, historical and sociocultural aspects that are revealed in the context of the Bridgewater Hall. Our study contributes to various streams of consumer culture theory research and opens up avenues for future research on the interrelationships of space and place with taste.     

Purchasing for someone else in a b-to-b context: Joint effects of choice overload and accountability

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the (negative) influence of assortment size identified in the business-to-consumer (B-to-C) literature also exists in business-to-business (B-to-B) settings and whether it is contingent on buyers’ accountability for their choices. Furthermore, it is examined if and to what extent assortment presentation in the form of color-coding may reduce the negative effects on decision satisfaction caused by large assortments.

Methodology/approach: In addition to a qualitative study (i.e., Study 1) including 16 semi-structured expert interviews, we conducted two experiments with real industrial buyers to further examine the interaction effect of assortment size and accountability on decision satisfaction as well as the moderating effect of color-coding. Specifically, in Study 2, we used a 2 (assortment size: small versus large) X 2 (accountability: informal versus official) between-subjects design. A 2 × 2 ANOVA revealed an interactive effect of assortment size and accountability on decision satisfaction. Furthermore, we ran a moderated mediation analysis to test for the underlying process. Study 3 used a 2 (color-coding: yes versus no) X 2 (accountability: informal versus official) between-subjects design. A comparison of the means across the experimental cells provided support for a positive influence of color-coding when industrial buyers are informally (rather than officially) accountable.

Findings: Our experiments show that when B-to-B buyers are held officially accountable, they experience equal decision satisfaction when choosing from small and large assortments. However, when buyers are held informally accountable, they experience a higher decision satisfaction when choosing from small rather than large assortments. These effects are mediated by decision justifiability. Furthermore, we show that color-coding the assortment influences buyers’ decision satisfaction positively when they are held informally accountable and are asked to choose from a large assortment.

Research implications: Our research contributes by demonstrating that overchoice effects exist in B-to-B settings. In addition, our studies show that potential overchoice effects are contingent on the specific form of accountability that industrial buyers experience. In this respect, our findings make an important contribution to the literature on B-to-B decision making and the role of accountability in these decisions.

Practical implications: Our research also has practical implications for managers that have to make assortment decisions as an appealing and easy to understand assortment is an important means to compete in the market. Many companies offer large assortments that, at the same time, are efficient in fulfilling customer needs and therefore do not have the potential to be reduced through the elimination of certain product variants. Assortment presentation (for example through color-coding) can be the key to offering a high number of variants while making the assortment mentally convenient at the same time.

Originality/value/contribution: To the best of our knowledge, ours is the first research to provide a more fine-grained analysis of official and informal accountability in a B-to-B context and to examine the differences between these two forms of accountability in an experimental setting with real industrial buyers.