Bullshit consumption: What lockdowns tell us about work-and-spend lives and care-full alternatives

COVID-19 disrupted ‘non-essential’ work and consumption, providing an unparalleled opportunity to examine work-and-spend culture, which we do via 44 in-depth interviews that capture experiences and reflections during UK lockdowns. Deploying Graeber’s conceptualisation of ‘bullshit jobs’ and related critiques of consumption, we first consider the possibility that contemporary work-and-spend lifestyles may deny the normative separation of work as worthy toil and consumption as its pleasurable opposite. Within such experience, and in addition to Graeber’s bullshit jobs, we find a parallel in bullshit consumption at work, in order to work, and because of work. Yet our findings also highlight that when freed from bullshit, participants engage in more caring practices for the self, others, and their possessions. We propose that much of our work-and-spend lives might be bullshit: routines that promise status, virtue, freedom, and pleasure, but feel meaningless, while displacing satisfying experiences of care. We conclude that a focus on subtractive logics – cutting the bullshit! – can activate both new critiques and optimism about societal arrangements

The history of conspicuous consumption in the United Kingdom: 1945 – 2000

Purpose This study aims to provide a historical understanding of conspicuous consumption phenomena in the context of the United Kingdom, between 1945 and 2000. It considers how status-driven consumption has been shaped by economic, technological and cultural factors. Design/methodology/approach Adopting a periodization scheme, concerning two time structures between 1945 and 2000, this paper is based on research stemming from a wide range of data such as academic studies, research articles, narrative history books, past advertisements, novels and biographies. Rich interdisciplinary data from the realms of political economy, sociology, cultural geography and consumption studies have been synthesized so as to provide a marketing-oriented historical outlook on conspicuous consumption phenomena. Findings Status-driven consumption in the United Kingdom has been heavily influenced by economic policies, cultural changes and public perceptions towards wealth during the second half of the twentieth century. Post-war rationing, youth-driven fashions, free-market economics and technological advances have played a crucial role in forming consumers’ tastes and engagement with ostentatious economic display. Originality/value Although the vast majority of marketing studies have approached luxury consumption through a psychological angle, this examination identifies the capacity of historical research to uncover and highlight the interrelationships between socio-economic factors and status-motivated consumption

Rethinking Veblen’s contribution to Consumer Research: a phenomenological enquiry into the perception of ‘status consumption’ by middle-income British consumers

The name of the American economist and social analyst Thorstein Veblen has been inextricably linked with the term “conspicuous consumption” referring to the competitive consumption practices and leisure activities that aim to indicate one’s membership in a superior social class. However, the ‘classical models’ of consumer behaviour face difficulty in accommodating and understanding the nature of conspicuous economic display and a serious study of Veblen’s arguments on the consumption practices of the ‘nouveau-riche’, non-utilitarian and status-directed behaviour has been noticeable only through its absence. This Thesis suggests and encourages a rereading of Veblen’s The Theory of the Leisure Class through a critical examination about the adoption and discussion of his work. Thereupon, it argues that although many marketing theorists and consumer researchers will be aware of some of the terminology popularized from his book, surprisingly little attention seems to have been paid to the substance of Veblen’s arguments and ideas. Also, via a series of existential phenomenological interviews and employment of vignettes, this study sought to draw broader conclusions about how ostentatious consumption activities and ‘status consumption’ are perceived nowadays by adult middle-income British consumers. Overall, the findings suggested that the notion of ‘achieved status’ receives a more intangible and honorable connotation compared to the excessive features of luxurious products and services and participants’ accounts indicated that conformity and individual’s need for a socially acceptable identity can be viewed as the primary motivations behind conspicuous consumption practices. In conclusion, it is argued that negative connotations associated with ostentatious economic display necessitate the reappraisal of Veblen’s accounts about consumer’s rising expectations and desires together with further research as regards the ‘taboo’ and sensitive issue of upward social mobility via consumption

Marketing concepts can have a life of their own: Representation and pluralism in marketing concept analysis

The expansion and fragmentation of marketing theory has led to the introduction of a plethora of concepts, definitions and theoretical constructs over the last few decades. Subsequently, marketing scholars have been developing sophisticated concept analysis tools to alleviate the field’s terminological confusion and facilitate the process of theory development. Drawing inspiration from Tähtinen and Havila’s recent contribution in the area of marketing concept analysis, this think piece aims to critically explore the methodological and philosophical assumptions of systematic concept review methods, seeking to broaden the discussion around the politics and context of marketing theory development. I suggest that apart from the meticulous examination of the conceptual marketing language, marketing theorists can elaborate on how social processes, ideological viewpoints and institutional forces shape the development of marketing concepts. Finally, I provide recommendations on how the theoretical development of marketing language can embrace a fresh awareness towards cultural contexts, consumers and marketing practices that remain under-explored or marginalized in the literature

Turning the invisible to visible: exploring consumers’ perceptions towards sustainable water consumption.

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The inter-generational arts branding of the Star Wars saga: may the myth be with you!

Purpose Employing the Star Wars brand as a case study, this paper seeks to critically discuss the importance of comparative mythology for inter-generational branding and consumption practices within arts related markets. Design/methodology/approach Secondary data have been gathered focusing on the analysis of material in the form of books, academic journals, films, videos, television programs, websites and media reports related to the interface between comparative mythology, the Star Wars brand. Findings First, this paper indicates how the long-standing success of the Star Wars brand mirrors and reflects the power of monomythic storytelling in creating a platform for arts and place building branding associations and extensions for numerous products and services. Second, this study shows and highlights the potential of monomythic structures/storytelling and comparative mythology in acting an underlying cultural platform whereupon several arts brand associations, narratives, extensions and overall strategies can emerge. Finally, this project suggests how arts marketing scholars could further explore the infusion of mythological narratives within branding practices in the areas of performing/visual arts, museums, entertainment and arts related tourism campaigns. Originality/value Focusing on the most successful film franchise of all times, this study argues that comparative mythology constitutes an endless source for common templates of artistic, cross-cultural and inter-generational marketing practices focusing on universal moral codes and archetypes.</p

Marketplace cultures for social change? New Social Movements and Consumer Culture Theory

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“The city is a work of art and everyone is an artist”: collaborative protest art, participation and space reproduction at the 2014 Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement.

Despite the growing interest towards spatial practices of social movements, the use and capacity of collaborative protest art in reshaping urban spaces has remained under-discussed. Synthesizing empirical findings from the 2014 Hong Kong Umbrella Movement and Lefebvre’s (1991) theory of spatial reproduction, this paper examines how space was reproduced through the employment of protest art, not only at the main protest camps but also throughout the city of Hong Kong. First, the findings show how the strategic display of protest art’s universal symbolism and multifarious creativity attracted massive audiences’ attention and strengthened the movement’s collective identity. Second, the study indicates how a variety of spontaneous and all-inclusive collaborative arts projects shaped the city’s public spaces and modified the dominant conceived spaces of public transport and commercial activity. Finally, the paper suggests directions of future research on the transformative power of collaborative protest art as means of reshaping and reproducing urban spaces