Showing papers on "Consumerism published in 2021"
01 Jan 2021
TL;DR: This paper explored the plausibility of the traditional explanation for the desire for the new as exemplified in the theories of Simmel and Veblen and found that only one of them can explain the crucial desire for new that is characteristic of modern consumerism, with Bohemians as the crucial social group responsible for its continuing introduction.
Abstract: This chapter explores the assumption that the central dynamic of modern consumerism is the desire for the new and assesses the plausibility of the traditional explanation for this desire as exemplified in the theories of Simmel and Veblen. The work of these two men is often conflated to constitute a Simmel-Veblen model which assumes that ideas of what is fashionable ‘trickle down’ from superior to inferior classes in society while consumption activity itself is determined by a general desire to impress others with one’s ‘pecuniary strength’. Significant problems with this theory are identified, most especially the failure to distinguish between different forms of newness. Once these have been identified as the new, the innovative and novel, it becomes possible to see that only one of these—the novel’—can account for the crucial desire for the new that is characteristic of modern consumerism, with Bohemians as the crucial social group responsible for its continuing introduction.
86 citations
Book•
03 Mar 2021
TL;DR: Consumption corridors: Living a Good Life within Sustainable Limits as discussed by the authors explores how to enhance peoples' chances to live a good life in a world of ecological and social limits, with the concept of consumption corridors, enabled by mechanisms of citizen engagement and deliberative democracy.
Abstract: Consumption Corridors: Living a Good Life within Sustainable Limits explores how to enhance peoples’ chances to live a good life in a world of ecological and social limits.
Rejecting familiar recitations of problems of ecological decline and planetary boundaries, this compact book instead offers a spirited explication of what everyone desires: a good life. Fundamental concepts of the good life are explained and explored, as are forces that threaten the good life for all. The remedy, says the book’s seven international authors, lies with the concept of consumption corridors, enabled by mechanisms of citizen engagement and deliberative democracy.
Across five concise chapters, readers are invited into conversation about how wellbeing can be enriched by social change that joins "needs satisfaction" with consumerist restraint, social justice, and environmental sustainability. In this endeavour, lower limits of consumption that ensure minimal needs satisfaction for all are important, and enjoy ample precedent. But upper limits to consumption, argue the authors, are equally essential, and attainable, especially in those domains where limits enhance rather than undermine essential freedoms.
This book will be of great interest to students and scholars in the social sciences and humanities, and environmental and sustainability studies, as well as to community activists and the general public.
The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9780367748746, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.
40 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the origins, frontiers, and prospects of online consumer behavior research are analyzed to clarify the formation principles, development paths, and future directions of the online consumer behaviour research jungle.
Abstract: In recent years, the study of online consumption behavior has gradually formed its research system and analysis model based on the inheritance of traditional research paradigms, focusing on the inner mechanism of consumption models explained by consumption activities. Online consumption is based on the research scenario of social e-commerce and forms a broad research network through the extension of consumer objects, consumer psychology, and consumer concepts. Although the theoretical constructs of online consumer behavior continue to improve, the relevant studies still do not fully grasp the research frontiers due to the lagging research nature. In the context of Web 2.0, it is impossible to run through the latest developments in online consumption research. Moreover, the study of online consumer behavior has shown a trend of diversification and multiple schools of thought, and a research jungle has emerged, which in essence is the perfection and new height of the study of consumerism. This paper analyses the origins, frontiers, and prospects of online consumer behavior research to clarify the formation principles, development paths, and future directions of the online consumer behavior research jungle. Ultimately based on the economic changes in the post-pandemic context, this paper integrates and proposes an evolving mechanism for studying online consumption behavior, intending to achieve a peek into and reveal the jungle of online consumption research.
29 citations
TL;DR: It is argued that the theory of global capitalism provides an important, critical perspective for understanding different phenomena associated with global health.
21 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the lived experiences of two community sports coaches in an era of neoliberal capitalism, consumerism, and insecure employment were addressed, and their attempts to cope with these challenges were discussed.
Abstract: This paper addressed the lived experiences of two community sports coaches in an era of neoliberal capitalism, consumerism, and insecure employment. Specifically, we considered (a) their attempts t...
20 citations
TL;DR: This article presented a new perspective on British free traders' economic thought in the first half of the twentieth century, focusing on the aspect of consumerism and consumerism in the UK economy.
16 citations
06 Feb 2021
TL;DR: In this article, the authors conducted evidence-based research to explore whether it is possible to maintain a balance between environmentalism and consumerism in a capitalist society, by combining systematic literature review (SLR) and text mining for cross-validation.
Abstract: Managing environmental sustainability has become a critical challenge and an essential agenda for academics and corporations alike This study conducted evidence-based research to explore whether it is possible to maintain a balance between environmentalism and consumerism in a capitalist society A triangulated approach is followed by combining systematic literature review (SLR) and text mining for cross-validation, thus, limiting subjective bias The findings suggest that, although, it is possible to achieve a balance in the long run but this necessitate enormous amount of efforts and resources due to the complexity and paradoxical nature of environmentalism and consumerism coupled with the current way of capitalist societies’ life Building on the findings and the Operations Management Input-Transformation-Output model, a research framework is proposed The proposed framework suggests that to keep a balance between environmentalism and consumerism in a capitalist society, a progressive and transformational change could be instrumental for a viable solution Finally, building on current gaps in the research domain, six future research directions are proposed to carry forward the notion of environmentalism and consumerism in a capitalist society
12 citations
TL;DR: From a decolonial perspective, the authors analyzes how and why Eurocentric consumerism was adopted by Proteste, a Brazilian consumerist organization that is associated with Euroconsumers, a...
Abstract: From a decolonial perspective, the present study analyzes how and why Eurocentric consumerism was adopted by Proteste, a Brazilian consumerist organization that is associated with Euroconsumers, a ...
11 citations
TL;DR: The authors examines how class, consumerism, and employment influence beliefs of an idealized digital world in marginalized communities, and recounts 24 months of ethnographic and institutional observations of marginalized communities.
Abstract: This article examines how class, consumerism, and employment influence beliefs of an idealized digital world in marginalized communities. I recount 24 months of ethnographic and institutional obser...
10 citations
TL;DR: The authors divided the discussion from authenticity to consumerism to charismatic authority, and discussed what is authenticity, and how social scientists define authenticity in the context of social media. But they did not discuss the role of celebrities.
Abstract: This article is divided into four parts which move the discussion from authenticity to consumerism to charismatic authority. The introduction discusses “what is authenticity,” and how social scienc...
9 citations
TL;DR: In the United States, the ratio of consumption to GDP has increased steadily over the past half century as discussed by the authors, and it is argued that standard models of the consumption function, built up from the neoclassical theory of constrained optimization, cannot offer a satisfactory answer.
Abstract: In the United States, the ratio of consumption to GDP has risen steadily over the past half century. In trying to understand why this ratio has increased so much, it is argued that standard models of the consumption function, built up from the neoclassical theory of constrained optimization, cannot offer a satisfactory answer. An alternative perspective is offered whereby aggregate consumption expenditure is seen as primarily the outcome of the population adopting widely upheld rules (‘meso-rules’) in a complex economic system. Aggregate consumption is viewed as the outcome of two contrasting historical processes: one mainly involving pre-committed, rule-bound choices and the other involving open-ended choices, made knowingly in the face of uncertainty, to adopt new meso-rules concerning the consumption of novel kinds of goods and services. The former process provides the degree of order that must be present in any complex system and the latter facilitates evolutionary change to occur. Using over half a century of data, the US consumption function is modelled successfully on the presumption that the economy is a complex system. The evidence supports the hypothesis that the ratio of consumption to GDP has risen because of the diffusion of a ‘culture of consumerism’ in the post-war era and that the limit of this process is now being approached, with important macroeconomic and social implications.
TL;DR: In China, consumerism and commercialism, triggered by products of market economy, have generated a cultural consumption of redundant bad taste as mentioned in this paper, in which the overwhelming success of mass culture is sided by the progressive marginalization of the intellectuals or elite.
Abstract: Due to the introduction of the market economy, in the past four decades China has switched from being a “planned country” – planned economy, planned art – into a domestic version of cultural pluralism. Consumerism has refilled the vacuum left by the retreat of Maoist ideology. However, the overwhelming success of mass culture is sided by the progressive marginalization of the intellectuals or elite, featuring a culture that is kitsch in its ideological twist. In China, present-day cultural constructions provide a forum of debate for the identity of the whole nation, no more traditional, and not yet modern. In other words, consumerism and commercialism, triggered by products of market economy, have generated a cultural consumption of redundant bad taste. Kitsch indeed.1
TL;DR: The authors show how and why "old" and "new" dominant histories of consumerism deny the racialist/colonialist side of liberal capitalism, and problematize the re-appropriation of transmodernity as a potential path to decolonizing consumerism and management history from a majority perspective.
Abstract: Within an increasingly unequal, heterogeneous, and authoritarian Global North, a (US-led) new global consumerism (NGC) movement championed by activist consumers, together with academics, managers, and organizations, has emerged as the ultimate ethical management discourse for a better global future. NGC reframes Cold War official history of buycott consumerism by emancipating “passive” consumers and “insurgent” boycotts. Drawing on decolonial liberating transmodernity from Latin America, this paper shows how and why “old” and “new” dominant histories of consumerism deny the racialist/colonialist side of liberal capitalism. The discussion involves transmodern and counter-transmodern mechanisms and overlooks everyday liberating boycott consumerism against the colonialism/racialism mobilized by subaltern victims of history. We problematize the re-appropriation of transmodernity as a potential path to decolonizing consumerism and management historiography from a majority perspective.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine how fairs and expositions have reflected and shaped perceptions of food production, at local, regional, national, and international levels, and examine the role of fairs in food production.
Abstract: This special issue of Food, Culture & Society examines how fairs and expositions–at local, regional, national, and international levels–have reflected and shaped perceptions of food production, mar...
TL;DR: Student consumerism in the Higher Education (HE) sector continues to stimulate critical academic commentary about the consequences of marketisation as mentioned in this paper, although much of the debate focuses on the effec...
Abstract: Student consumerism in the Higher Education (HE) sector continues to stimulate critical academic commentary about the consequences of marketisation. Although much of the debate focuses on the effec...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyze environmental policy in a model where some consumers derive warm glow from buying a good of a higher environmental quality, and where green firms differentiate products on their environmental quality to enjoy market power.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors summarize the important contextual influences East Asian philosophy may have on marketing strategy and consumerism, and discuss how marketing activities and consumer behavior intertwine within East Asia and beyond.
Abstract: PurposeThis study aims to summarize the important contextual influences East Asian philosophy may have on marketing strategy and consumerism.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative approach is used to deconstruct (1) the literature on marketing as a contextual discipline, (2) East Asian philosophical underpinnings and their personal and institutional manifestations in East Asian marketing contexts, and (3) the implications for non-East Asian marketers. This essay includes a brief introduction to the manuscripts in this special issue.FindingsAncient philosophical wisdom shared by East Asian societies can shed light on how marketing activities and consumer behavior intertwine within East Asia and beyond. Three ancient philosophies (i.e. Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism) heavily influence East Asian societies through personal and institutional-level cultural manifestations in marketing contexts.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the three discussed East Asian philosophical schools are not exhaustive, they lay a foundation for future discussions about how alternative marketing-related theories and frameworks may complement ones grounded in western historical and cultural contexts.Originality/valueThis essay initiates an overdue academic discussion about relying on non-western historical and cultural contexts to globalize the marketing discipline further.
19 Mar 2021
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors used the mimetic approach by M.H. Abrams to analyze the consumerism of leisure classes in the novel Crazy Rich Asians, which contained the aspect about the style of consumers in Singapore.
Abstract: This research entitled “Consumerism of Leisure Class in Singapore in Kevin Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians: A Sociological Approach”. The purpose of this study is to analyze the leisure class reflected in Singapore in the novel Crazy Rich Asians. In addition, the aim of this research is to reveal the consumerism of leisure classes in Crazy Rich Asians. This novel contained the aspect about the style of consumers in Singapore. This study used the mimetic approach by M.H. Abrams. The research used a qualitative method to analyze the data. This study is used two main concepts of the theory of leisure class by Thorstein Veblen, these are conspicuous leisure and conspicuous consumption. The research applied the data of Singaporeans leisure class in the book Understanding Singaporeans: Values, Lifestyle, Aspirations and Consumption Behaviours by Keng et al. This study also applied the concept of uniquely Singaporean mindset in the book entitled The Cult of the Luxury Brand: Inside Asia’s Love affair with Luxury by Chadha and Paul as a tool to analyze the consumerism of leisure class in the novel Crazy Rich Asians. In this study, the researcher found two main results. First, this study indicated conspicuous leisure as a signal of the leisure class in Crazy Rich Asians based on seven leisure activities of Singaporeans. They are sports, social, self-improvement, various charity, travel, home, and other activities. Second, the study discovers the consumerism of leisure class in the novel Crazy Rich Asians and uniquely Singaporean mindset as the main result of consumerism of leisure class in Singapore reflected in the novel Crazy Rich Asians.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present the potential of religion, in particular Christianity, in shaping a culture of sustainable consumption (a culture of moderation), which results in the primacy of "having" over "being" and reduces man to a Homo consumens.
01 Mar 2021
TL;DR: In this paper, marketing can be used both to trigger consumption activities and to encourage more sustainable behaviours, and the authors discuss how marketing can both trigger consumption behaviors and encourage sustainable behaviours.
Abstract: How marketing can used both to trigger consumption activities and to encourage more sustainable behaviours?
TL;DR: In this article, the authors reiterate the need for CRM initiatives and corresponding marketing strategies in lieu of covid-19 which the consumer forums and consumerism prevails, and the marketers job is thus defined and implied (i.e., CRM practice to be imbibed and executed in letter and spirit).
Abstract: The new millennium marketer post covid-19 is faced with a host of challenges and opportunities. Challenges in the form of discerning and knowledgeable prospect/customer base coupled with availability of a plethora of choices which has made the marketers job complicated. The objective of this paper is to reiterate the need for CRM initiatives and corresponding marketing strategies in lieu of covid-19 which the consumer forums and consumerism prevails. The marketers’ job is thus defined and implied (i.e., CRM practice to be imbibed and executed in letter and spirit). Consumerism on the other hand is an established and accepted (albeit with resistance) practice. Consumer exercises his/her right in the event of non- performance or underperformance of the product or service. Be it known that CRM as a marketing tool as compared to consumerism are entities that vests with one, the marketer/company and the other, with the consumer. CRM when practiced in totality is the answer to consumerism.
Keywords: Customer Relationship Management, Consumerism, COVID19.
TL;DR: In this paper, heritage tourism has contributed to local economic development, while over-tourism may have impeded experienced locality by residents and facilitated over-exploitation by tourists.
Abstract: With increasing globalization and consumerism, heritage tourism has contributed to local economic development, while over-tourism may have impeded experienced locality by residents and facilitated ...
TL;DR: For a significant part of the twentieth century, Hong Kong was seen on the forefront of football development in Asia, and it was just in recent decades that the so-called "beautiful game" has been...
Abstract: For a significant part of the twentieth century, Hong Kong was seen on the forefront of football development in Asia, and it was just in recent decades that the so-called “beautiful game” has been ...
TL;DR: The authors explored the creative relations between craft consumers and the commodities they are searching for in order to be able to craft and to create, using affect theory and focusing on aspects such as raw materials, tools, instructions and craft processes.
Abstract: How are crafters, in this case hand knitters active on social media, involved in participatory consumerism and prosumption? This is the main question asked in this article, that explores the creative relations between craft consumers and the commodities they are searching for in order to be able to craft and to create. By using affect theory, and focusing on aspects as raw materials, tools, instructions and craft processes, the study is an exploration of how crafters engage in material conditions by using them to realize ideas and fantasies in craft.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present Slovak consumers' behavior in terms of sustainable consumption in the field of organic products, focusing on the significance of consumer behaviour and the consumption of bioproducts.
Abstract: Consumption styles in most modern societies are characterised by internal diversity. This situation reflects the paradox of the postmodern world in which two different trends - consumerism and greening consumption, compete for the hearts, minds and portfolios of buyers. The popularity of one of the above trends depends on society’s standards and the level of awareness of its citizens. The article aims to present Slovak consumers’ behaviour in terms of sustainable consumption in the field of organic products. Concerning the multifaceted nature of organic food consumption, empirical research has taken into account various aspects of the potential of individual respondents and the general characteristics of their households. The survey conducted from January to May 2019 involved 1,373 individuals who live in Slovakia. The respondents’ selection criteria did not consider whether or not they had food allergies or intolerances, whether they were vegetarian or vegan, or whether they liked most foods. The paper used the clustering of objects method, especially the Two-Step method. The research questionnaire concerns consumers who have a positive attitude about organic foods considering the importance of their health.Implications for the Central European audience: The development of organic food markets is stimulated by accepting the Agenda 2030 for sustainable development. The purpose of this article is to propose elements of reflection for economic entities facing the challenges of sustainable consumption. The increased interest of Slovak consumers in organic food is linked with their interest in living a healthier life. The theoretical framework of the article focuses on the significance of consumer behaviour and the consumption of bioproducts. The practical support of consumption in-home organic food is one of the main tasks of the Programme for the Development of the Country until the year 2020 and the Action Plan of the Development of Agriculture for the years 2014–2020.
01 Jan 2021
TL;DR: In this paper, a model has been developed to identify the impact of services extended marketing variables on customer-based brand equity, and two components of customer based brand have been taken into consideration: brand awareness and brand association.
Abstract: Digital banking is at the helm of all intangible transactions for the new age consumers in this world of touchless banking. So here in this chapter the authors tried to reconcile the new innovative content that will make this service to a notch higher. In goods industry, the product is considered as primary brand with various attributes. However, in case of services industry, the company itself is a primary brand. This research article is based upon primary research of services (banking) sector as a case of service branding with services extended marketing mix variables. A model has been developed to identify the impact of services extended marketing variables on customer-based brand equity. Two components of customer-based brand have been taken into consideration: brand awareness and brand association. For this purpose, structured questionnaire was prepared, and survey was conducted on 400 respondents and structural equation model has been applied.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyze, through a decolonial perspective and using a historical approach, the geopolitical and colonial elements present in the origins of the Advertising Self-Regulator (ASR).
Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to analyze, through a decolonial perspective and using a historical approach, the geopolitical and colonial elements present in the origins of the Advertising Self-Regu...
TL;DR: In the case of the National Health Service (NHS), a discussion paper explores the territory of managed consumerism and suggests realistic ways to make it more effective in shaping the NHS.
Abstract: Background In Britain's National Health Service (NHS), medical consumerism is disliked by many doctors but managed by NHS leaders. Managed consumers have choices about treatment options, but are expected to help contain costs, improve quality of care, take part in clinical research and advocacy, and increase productivity. There are so many meanings for medical consumerism that it can be categorized, in post-structuralist terms, as a 'symbol without meaning', but meanings are plentiful in the NHS. Policy expectations Choices made by discriminating consumers were expected to improve the quality of medical care for all. Extending choice to the many, and not restricting options to the few, would allow gains from choices to accumulate, so that choice would sustain social solidarity. Managed consumerism would in theory, therefore, instil reasonable choices and responsible behaviours in a moralized citizenry, across the nation. The advocates of New Labour's espousal of medical consumerism expected the accumulative effects of customer choices to challenge professional and occupational power, erode the medical model of health and illness, constrain professional judgements, and open the NHS to new ways of working. Almost all their expectations have been thwarted, so far. Conclusions Managed consumerism is far from being a meaningless symbol. This discussion paper explores the territory of managed consumerism and suggests realistic ways to make it more effective in shaping the NHS. Patient & public contribution We developed the arguments in this discussion paper with insights provided by a lay expert (see Acknowledgements) with experience of consumerism in both public sector management and a disease-related charity.
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07 Apr 2021
TL;DR: This paper explored the intersection of race, seen through the predominantly Black athletic body of the NBA, with the rise of the capitalist, consumer-oriented entertainment industry of professional sports throughout the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Abstract: This research paper seeks to explore the intersection of race, seen through the predominantly Black athletic body of the NBA, with the rise of the capitalist, consumer-oriented entertainment industry of professional sports throughout the late 20th and early 21st centuries. It will attempt to illustrate how racial identity and capitalism have reacted to one another to create one of the biggest – and one of the most complicated – entertainment entities in North America.
To explore this issue, I will outline the social setting from which Black athletes grew to participate in spectator sports, touching on notable persons such as Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, and Bill Russell. I will then examine the importance of broadcasted sports and race’s role therein during the 20th century to contextualise capitalist practices in entertainment. I will conclude with an examination of capitalist practice as regulators for Black identity in the NBA by focusing on its direct and indirect attempts towards regulation. This will be done through an examination of Black athletes’ participation in social justice movements as measures of regulation, using the 1992 Rodney King trial riots and the events of Summer 2020 as comparative case studies.
While this may appear to simply be an exploration of sports history, one should consider that sports are a primary form of entertainment in both North American and global popular culture. As such, this research project goes beyond an attempt to contribute to sports history, instead seeking to delve into the complementarity of social history, consumerism, and race.