Consumer culture theory

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Consumer culture theory (CCT) is the study of consumption from a social and cultural point of view, as opposed to an economic or psychological one.

Contents

Cname="CCT1">Arnould, E. J.; Thompson, C. J. (2005). "Consumer culture theory (CCT): Twenty Years of Research". Journal of Consumer Research. 31 (4): 868–882. doi: 10.1086/426626 .</ref> Reflective of a post-modernist society, CCT views cultural meanings as being numerous and fragmented [1] and hence views culture as an amalgamation of different groups and shared meanings, rather than a homogeneous construct (such as the American culture).

Consumer culture is viewed as "social arrangement in which the relations between lived culture and social resources, between meaningful ways of life and the symbolic and material resources on which they depend, are mediated through markets" [2] and consumers as part of an interconnected system of commercially produced products and images which they use to construct their identity and orient their relationships with others. [3] This evolution underscores the intricate relationship between technology, consumer behavior, and cultural production in contemporary society. [4]

Methodology

There is a widely held misperception by people outside CCT researchers that this field is oriented toward the study of consumption contexts. [5] Memorable study contexts, such as the Harley-Davidson subculture [6] or the Burning Man festival [7] probably fueled this perspective, which is far from the theory development aim of this school of thought. Some academic journals associated with research on consumer culture theory are Journal of Consumer Research, Consumption Markets & Culture, and Marketing Theory.

CCT is often associated with qualitative methodologies, such as interviews, case studies, ethnography, and netnography, [8] because they are suitable to study the experiential, sociological and cultural aspects of consumption. However, CCT researchers use a variety of methods [5]

Fields of study

In 2005, Arnould and Thompson [5] identified four research programs in CCT:

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Consumer behaviour</span> Study of individuals, groups, or organisations and all the activities associated with consuming

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Postmodern marketing is a term derived from postmodern philosophical movements where there are cultural tendencies of inherent suspicion towards a global cultural narrative or meta-narrative. Postmodern marketing takes this same philosophical perspective and applies it to the way advertising initiatives are handled in the current post-World War II era. Postmodern marketing is approaching or has passed through a new era in advertising, branding, and strategic brand thinking. Postmodern marketing is inherently focused on customized experiences where broad market generalizations are no-longer applied or implemented on behalf of branded communications. Instead, the technique requires marketers to remove "new aged adlandia" trends and developments to focus on how the consumer prefers to be messaged to.

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The psychology of eating meat is an area of study seeking to illuminate the confluence of morality, emotions, cognition, and personality characteristics in the phenomenon of the consumption of meat. Research into the psychological and cultural factors of meat-eating suggests correlations with masculinity, support for hierarchical values, and reduced openness to experience. Because meat eating is widely practiced but is sometimes associated with ambivalence, it has been used as a case study in moral psychology to illustrate theories of cognitive dissonance and moral disengagement. Research into the consumer psychology of meat is relevant to meat industry marketing, as well as for advocates of reduced meat consumption.

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Consumer identity is the consumption pattern through which a consumer describes themselves.

References

  1. ↑ Firat, A. F.; Venkatesh, A. (1995). "Liberatory Postmodernism and the Reenchantment of Consumption". Journal of Consumer Research. 22 (3): 239–267. doi:10.1086/209448. JSTOR   2489612.
  2. ↑ Arnould, E. J. (2006). "Consumer culture theory: retrospect and prospect" (PDF). European Advances in Consumer Research. 7 (1): 605–607. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
  3. ↑ Kozinets, R. V. (2001). "Utopian Enterprise: Articulating the Meanings of Star Trek's Culture of Consumption". Journal of Consumer Research. 28 (3): 67–88. doi:10.1086/321948. JSTOR   254324.
  4. ↑ Shi, Yuntian (2023-12-28). "Consumer Behavior and Cultural Factors in Social Media: A Cross-Cultural Comparative Study". Advances in Economics, Management and Political Sciences. 63 (1): 271–277. doi: 10.54254/2754-1169/63/20231435 . ISSN   2754-1169.
  5. 1 2 3 Arnould, E. J.; Thompson, C. J. (2005). "Consumer culture theory (CCT): Twenty Years of Research". Journal of Consumer Research. 31 (4): 868–882. doi: 10.1086/426626 .
  6. 1 2 Schouten, J.; McAlexander, J. H. (1995). "Subcultures of Consumption: An Ethnography of the New Bikers" (PDF). Journal of Consumer Research. 22 (3): 43–., ./61. doi:10.1086/209434. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-08-03. Retrieved 2010-08-14.
  7. 1 2 Kozinets, Robert V (2002). "Can Consumers Escape the Market? Emancipatory Illuminations from Burning Man". Journal of Consumer Research. 29 (1): 20–38. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.195.4028 . doi:10.1086/339919 . Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  8. ↑ Kozinets, Robert V. (February 1, 2002). "The Field Behind the Screen: Using Netnography for Marketing Research in Online Communities". Journal of Marketing Research. 39 (1): 61–72. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.321.1136 . doi:10.1509/jmkr.39.1.61.18935. ISSN   0022-2437.
  9. ↑ Schau, H. J.; Gilly, M. C. (2003). "We Are What We Post? Self-Presentation in Personal Web Space". Journal of Consumer Research. 30 (4): 384–404. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.474.6954 . doi:10.1086/378616. JSTOR   3132017.
  10. ↑ Muniz, Albert M.; O’Guinn, Thomas C. (2001). "Brand Community". Journal of Consumer Research. 27 (4): 412–432. doi:10.1086/319618. ISSN   0093-5301.
  11. ↑ Goulding, Christina; Shankar, Avi; Canniford, Robin (May 24, 2013). "Learning to be tribal: facilitating the formation of consumer tribes". European Journal of Marketing . 47 (5/6): 813–832. doi:10.1108/03090561311306886. ISSN   0309-0566.
  12. ↑ Diaz Ruiz, Carlos A.; Penaloza, Lisa; Holmqvist, Jonas (2020-01-01). "Assembling tribes: An assemblage thinking approach to the dynamics of ephemerality within consumer tribes". European Journal of Marketing . 54 (5): 999–1024. doi:10.1108/EJM-08-2018-0565. ISSN   0309-0566.
  13. ↑ Holt, D. B. (1998). "Does Cultural Capital Structure American Consumption". Journal of Consumer Research. 25 (1): 1–25. doi:10.1086/209523.
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