Situational liminality: mis-managed consumer experience in liquid modernity

The purpose of the paper is to explore experience economy events from an abductive interpetivist perspective. The empirical part of the study is based on the self-reflective anthropologic inquiry method. This study sets out to propose that the awkwardness and setback experienced by the client, customer or visitor, may generate his/her agency to establish a more clear-cut construction of the experiential framework. However, if attempted the disambiguation demands significant emotional and, sometimes, physical labour, typically not undertaken willingly, and potentially resulting in the subject’s avoidance of exposure to similar experiences in future. Introducing the notion of ‘situational liminality’, the paper re-focuses the critical edge of inquiry away from agency-reducing aspects of experience economy, towards reflecting on their enforced, albeit not deliberate, agency-inducing consequences. By exploring the ‘liquid’ underpinnings of situational liminality, this study contributes to the ongoing discussion on liquid modernity in organizational context

A cross cultural study of gender differences in omnichannel retailing contexts

This research examines gender difference in omnichannel experience in modern shopping malls, combining personal, physical and virtual encounters. It proposes a new theoretical model: the gender-based shopping mall omnichannel experience model. Data was collected using 1139 questionnaires completed by millennial shoppers in the United Kingdom and United Arab Emirates. Data was analysed using partial least squares. The results showed a shift in males shopping behaviour as they pay more attention to peer interaction on social platforms, service excellence, convenience, diversity and personalisation in shopping malls than female shoppers, while aesthetics and privacy are more important for female shoppers