The development of consumer protection in Saudi Arabia

The development of consumer protection in Saudi Arabia is of interest for a number of reasons. First, Saudi Arabia presents a unique combination of size, stage of development of the economy and wealth, coupled with strictness of Islamic observance. Second, consumer protection in the Saudi context has received very little attention from researchers. Despite the richness of Islamic teachings on the conduct of business and trade, very little has been written on consumer protection in Islamic societies other than discussions of financial markets and consumer credit and monopoly. This article briefly explores the background to the emergence of consumer protection in Saudi Arabia. Consumer credit and financial markets are excluded from the discussion. Islamic (Shari’ah) law is analysed as a basis for the regulation of consumer affairs; this system of law is then compared in its major outcomes for consumers with legal systems in advanced Western economies. The development of secular commercial law during recent times in Saudi Arabia is also considered as a parallel development to those in Shari’ah. Both strands of development are then set in the context of Saudi Arabia's 5‐year development plans and the changing position of consumer policy issues is tracked through successive plans. The institutional location of consumer policy within the Saudi government system is discussed before finally considering the changing nature of the Saudi consumer and the possible future for consumer protection in the country.     

Diversifying and de-growing the circular economy: Radical social transformation in a resource-scarce world

Programmes and policies for a Circular Economy (CE) are fast becoming key to regional and international plans for creating sustainable futures. Framed as a technologically driven and economically profitable vision of continued growth in a resource-scarce world, the CE has of late been taken up by the European Commission and global business leaders alike. However, within CE debates and documentation, little is said about the social and political implications of such transformative agendas. Whilst CE proponents claim their agenda is ‘radical’, this paper outlines its inability to address many deeply embedded challenges around issues of consumption and the consumer, echoing as it does the problematic (and arguably failed) agendas of sustainable consumption/lifestyles. Using the Sharing Economy as an example, we argue here that the ontological and sociological assumptions of the CE must be open to more ‘radical’ critique and reconsideration if this agenda is to deliver the profound transformations that its advocates claim are within our collective reach.     

浅析消费主义价值观

消费主义是20世纪初源自美国的一种社会文化现象.随着我国生产力水平的提高和购物空间的扩展,消费主义在我国也存在着蔓延的苗头.本文试图立足于消费主义价值观的基本内涵,通过剖析其产生的原因,来引领全社会的民众树立科学消费观.     

The scientific management of the consumer interest

Beginning in the late 1980s, the widely held assumption that scientific management (Taylorism) was an authoritarian and mechanical body of thought and practice began to be subjected to sustained challenge. Underpinning this contest was a growing understanding that, in his last years, Frederick Winslow Taylor became acutely aware that the ability of business interests to dominate enterprise governance was a major barrier to the development of forms of management in which scientific knowledge, rather than vested interests, dictate decision making. Building on this new understanding, scholars have subsequently uncovered a number of the ways by which Taylor and his colleagues and heirs sought to broaden access to management knowledge and assist the creation of a democratic social and intellectual space within which a science of management could flourish. One aspect of this history not previously brought to light is the fact that Taylor and a number of his disciples utilized their technical and political skills to assist consumers to gain access to the knowledge they required if they were to adequately defend themselves against the interests of business and the state. In this article, we seek to correct this omission by detailing the three major ways in which Taylor and his colleagues sought to increase the ability of the consumer to make informed decisions. In so doing, we also explain why their efforts attracted a level of business hostility that in the 1930s became vitriolic and subsequently drew the attention of the House of Representatives' Un-American Activities Committee.     

绿色营销是21世纪企业经营的新战略

中国即将加入世贸,中国企业要在新世纪的竞争中取胜,必须实行绿色营销战略。本文对绿色营销战略的内涵、实施绿色营销战略的重要性及如何实施绿色营销战略进行了探讨。     

Consumer goals/skills that mothers want their children to learn

The study purpose was to assess consumer practices and attitudes of mothers (n = 117), and consumer goals/skills that their children were to learn. Mothers with at least one child aged 5–9 years were recruited from an ongoing study and through posters, flyers and referrals. Mail‐out surveys included a validated consumer questionnaire and requests for information related to socioeconomic status (SES), age, paid‐employment and gender/age of children. Responses were analysed using SAS, Cronbach’s alpha and qualitative analyses. Results indicated that mothers were of middle/upper SES and had 2.3 children/family, and 64% were in paid‐employment. Mother–child co‐shopping and mothers’ role modelling were major means of teaching consumer goals/skills. Children were to learn about getting the best buy and quality for the money, cost/unit comparison, being knowledgeable about products and avoidance of impulse buying. Mothers were consciously consumer training their children.     

In search of status through brands from Western and Asian origins: Examining the changing face of fashion clothing consumption in Chinese young adults

Consumption for many is increasingly underpinned by the search for and creation of identity and status through specific consumption practices, including consumerism and placing a high priority on brands. One product category where such consumption practices underpin its growth and marketing is fashion clothing. The expressive nature of clothing makes it particularly important in societies where consumerism and status seeking is a priority. In picking up the significance and the role of fashion clothing, this study explores the impact of Chinese young adults’ consumerism, their status consumption tendencies and decision-making style on their perceptions of fashion clothing brands’ status, with origins from the West versus Asia. The results show that Chinese young adults prefer fashion clothing brands with Western origins over those with Asian origins. The levels of consumerism, status consumption and decision-making styles were major contributors to how they perceived the brands, and in this sense western fashion clothing brands may communicate status and wealth better than Asian brands. Further, the findings show a willingness on the part of young Chinese adults to buy more than what they need and look for prestigious-symbolic brands of fashion clothing.