Becoming Sensitive to Ethical Consumption Behavior

ABSTRACT -This paper examines ethical consumption behavior as a subjective and contextual phenomenon. For this study, nine informants who modified their consumption lifestyle and adopted ethical consumption practices were interviewed using existential phenomenology. The hermeneutic analysis of the 458 verbatim-transcribed pages provided insights into the factors influencing the development of alternative lifestyles and the meanings consumers associate to ethical consumption. Ultimately, ethical consumption behavior responds to an individual choice that is contingent upon living in an uncertain and unpredictable world. [to cite]: Helene Cherrier 600 Advances in Consumer Research Volume 32, © 2005 Becoming Sensitive to Ethical Consumption Behavior: Narratives of Survival in an Uncertain and Unpredictable World Hélène Cherrier, University of Westminster ABSTRACT This paper examines ethical consumption behavior as a subjective and contextual phenomenon. For this study, nine informants who modified their consumption lifestyle and adopted ethical consumption practices were interviewed using existential phenomenology. The hermeneutic analysis of the 458 verbatim-transcribed pages provided insights into the factors influencing the development of alternative lifestyles and the meanings consumers associate to ethical consumption. Ultimately, ethical consumption behavior responds to an individual choice that is contingent upon living in an uncertain and unpredictable world

Anti-consumption discourses and consumer-resistant identities

This article presents the analysis of two dominant anti-consumption discourses (the voluntary simplicity discourse and the culture jammer discourse) to show the importance of anti-consumption practices in the construction of consumer identities. Specifically, two consumer-resistant identities are presented: a hero identity and a project identity. Each resistant identity is produced by, and produces, overreaching cultural discourses against consumer culture, namely resistance to exploitative consumption and resistance to positional consumption. In addition, each identity expresses resistance either in terms of political consumption for an outer change or in terms of creative consumption directed toward an inner change. By stressing the importance of hero resistant identities and project resistant identities, this article offers the concept of identity formation as central rather than peripheral to the development of consumer resistance.Consumer resistance Identity Voluntary simplicity Culture jamming

Etude des motivations à faire partie d'un Système d'échange local (SEL).

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Different Sides of the Same Coin Political Ideology and Mask Avoidance or Adoption in the Age of COVID- 19

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, wearing masks created controversies and divided many consumers into pro versus anti-mask factions. Drawing on social media pages and online forums discussing the symbolic significance of the mask during the COVID-19 pandemic, this chapter explores how political ideologies serve to unify, rationalize, and legitimize pro-maskers’ and anti-maskers’ behavior. Our analysis reveals that two largely opposing political ideologies – collective responsibility and individual liberty – act as a filter through which consumers perceive the symbolic significance of wearing a mask. Legal, medical, fashion, and advertising systems interact with basic human needs for health and well-being, autonomy, affiliation, and competence to shape the symbolism associated with wearing a mask during the COVID-19 pandemic. The consequence of this is that the symbolism of wearing masks for pro-maskers and anti-maskers reflects different sides of the same proverbial coin. Both groups discuss health and well-being, autonomy, affiliation, and competence, but the distorting influence of the collective responsibility ideology translates to viewing masks as enabling these needs, whereas the individual liberty ideology translates to viewing masks as inhibitors

The Local Exchange Trading System in France (Système d’Échange Local (SEL)): Creating a scale to measure motivations for participation in SEL practice and identification of SEL member profiles

International audienceWhile Local Exchange Trading Systems (LETS) are regularly cited in the literature on collaborative consumption, they have paradoxically rarely been studied by researchers in the field of marketing. In France, although LETS, or SELs ( Systèmes d’Échanges Locaux), continue to develop, they suffer from high member turnover. This raises the question of whether the existing SELs are responding to the underlying motivations for participation in SEL practice. What is the nature of SEL member motivations? Are these motivations different from those in collaborative consumption more generally? Is it possible to measure them and thus propose SEL member profiles based on these motivations? A qualitative study of 16 SEL members and a quantitative study of 957 SEL members revealed five types of motivations and five SEL member profiles –‘the intellectual protester’, ‘the novice SEL member’, ‘the affective idealist’, ‘the pragmatic consumer’ and ‘the accomplished SEL member’. The theoretical contributions of this study include notably the importance of the ‘for intellectual enrichment’ motivation and the creation of a reliable and valid scale for measuring motivations for participating in SEL practice. The findings have consequences for SEL management teams, who will be able to use them to reduce high turnover and improve the nature of their exchange offers, the effectiveness of their internal and external communications and the recruitment of new members

Les systèmes d'échanges locaux : création d'une échelle de mesure des motivations au sélisme et identification de profils de sélistes

International audienceWhile LETS, or Local Exchange Trading Systems, are regularly cited in the literature on collaborative consumption, they have paradoxically rarely been studied by researchers in the field of marketing. In France, although LETS, or SELs (Systèmes d’Échanges Locaux), continue to develop, they suffer from high member turnover. This raises the question of whether the existing SELs are responding to the underlying motivations for participation in SEL practice. What is the nature of SEL member motivations? Are these motivations different from those in collaborative consumption more generally? Is it possible to measure them and thus to propose SEL member profiles based on these motivations? A qualitative study of 16 SEL members and a quantitative study of 957 SEL members revealed five types of motivations and five SEL member profiles –‘the intellectual protester’, ‘the novice SEL member’, ‘the affective idealist’, ‘the pragmatic consumer’ and ‘the accomplished SEL member’. The theoretical contributions of this study include notably the importance of the ‘for intellectual enrichment’ motivation and the creation of a reliable and valid scale for measuring motivations for participating in SEL practice. The findings have consequences for SEL management teams, who will be able to use them to reduce high turnover and improve the nature of their exchange offers, the effectiveness of their internal and external communications and the recruitment of new members.Les SEL, ou Systèmes d’Echanges Locaux, sont régulièrement cités dans le cadre des travaux sur la consommation collaborative mais ont paradoxalement rarement été étudiés par les chercheurs en marketing. Alors que les SEL continuent à se développer, ils font face à un fort turnover. Au point de se demander si les SEL existant répondent aux motivations qui sous-tendent la pratique séliste. Quelle est la nature des motivations d’un séliste ? Ces motivations sont-elles différentes des motivations génériques relatives à toute forme de consommation collaborative ? Est-il possible de les mesurer et de proposer d’identifier ainsi des profils de sélistes fondés sur ces motivations ? Une étude qualitative portant sur 16 sélistes et une étude quantitative portant au total sur 957 sélistes ont permis d’identifier cinq types de motivations et cinq profils de sélistes – « les intellos contestataires », « les sélistes débutants », « les idéalistes affectifs », « les consommateurs pragmatiques » et « les sélistes accomplis ». Les apports théoriques de l’étude résident notamment dans l’importance de la motivation « S’enrichir intellectuellement » et dans la création d’une échelle de mesure des motivations au sélisme fiable et valide. Ces résultats ont des conséquences pour le pilotage des gestionnaires de SEL, qui pourront ainsi améliorer la nature des offres d’échanges, l’efficacité de leur communication interne et externe, le recrutement de nouveaux membres, mais également réduire l’important turnover

Etude de l'influence des motivations à faire partie d'un Système d'échange local (SEL) et de leurs antécédents sur la pratique séliste

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