Flexibility, Dissonance and the conscious consumer

This paper considers the ethical purchasing of what are described as conscious consumers. Conscious consumers present a complex mix of behaviors; while seeking ethical alternatives, other social and economic forces impact on their behavior such that positive ethical choices are not always made. We identify two areas of theory relevant to the conceptualization of such consumers, flexibility and dissonance theory. A study of nine participants identified as conscious consumers was undertaken. As anticipated the participants revealed a range of often contradictory behaviors regarding their ethical purchases. The relevance of flexibility and dissonance theory to their behavior is discussed

Corporate citizenship and its impact upon consumer moralisation, decision-making and choice

Businesses are increasingly embracing corporate citizenship strategies. However, the empirical literature surrounding consumer responses to such practices features many contradictions concerning their impact. As a result, many businesses are uncertain about the extent to which they should commit resources to these activities to influence a positive response from consumers. Therefore, this paper seeks to address this gap by exploring consumers’ awareness of varying levels of corporate citizenship activities and assessing their moral responses to such efforts. Using a combination of qualitative methods and projective techniques with a broad cross-section of 20 consumers, the results help to shed light on the impact of corporate citizenship activities upon moral recognition, consumer decision-making and choice

Driving Circularities in the Food Supply Chain: The Sustainable Role of Alternative Food Retail Enterprises (AFREs)

The concept of the ‘circular economy’ is mooted as a new approach which can help facilitate the successful transition to a sustainable future, but there exists very little academic debate around the concept either within the business or sustainability literature (see Andersen, 2007; Murray et al., 2017). Similarly, despite much attention given to the topic of sustainability throughout the marketing discipline (McDonagh and Prothero, 2014), academics and NGOs (e.g. WRAP) have only recently started to question the sustainability of the retail sector (Thornton et al., 2013; Manna et al., 2016). More recently, a range of alternative food enterprises have emerged more recently which challenge the dominant mode of food retailing (Manna et al., 2016; Holweg et al., 2010) by incorporating social, environmental and economic forms of capital. Therefore, in response to calls for research which explores how businesses are cultivating a more actionable agenda for sustainable growth (Prothero et al., 2011; Vicdan et al., 2016), this study explores how alternative food retail business models drive circularities to ensure the transition to a more sustainable food supply chain. As the concept of the circular economy is limited in its application of social and ethical dimensions (see Murray et al., 2017), this research also draws on the conceptual lens of the sustainability marketing model which emphasises the social and ethical (see Belz and Peattie, 2010; Lim, 2016). In so doing, this study contributes to the marketing literature by advancing an empirical-based conceptualisation of sustainability marketing to reveal the driving circularities of food by AFREs

Producing & Consuming Public Space: A ‘Rhythmanalysis’ of the Urban Park

Research suggests an opportunity to offer a more comprehensive analysis of temporal consumption experiences encountered by park users, and the subsequent contribution to a perceived ‘sense of place’. Using visual ethnography and rhythmanalysis, our study distances our analysis from textual accounts of park usage as well as provide policy recommendations

Liminal Consumption within Nigerian wedding rituals: The interplay between bridal identity and Liminal Gatekeepers

Fagbola, L., Raftopoulou, C., & McEachern, M., Liminal consumption within Nigerian wedding rituals: The interplay between bridal identity and liminal gatekeepers, Marketing Theory (Journal Volume Number and Issue Number) pp. xx-xx. Copyright © [2023] (The Authors). Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications.This article combines the theoretical lenses of bridal identity and liminal consumption to illustrate the processes of problem-solving, negotiation and reconciliation through which the bride creates her bridal identity, in the Global South context of Nigeria. Most wedding ritual studies typically emphasise the processes of creating and negotiating a successful bridal identity, but few acknowledge the possibilities of failure and its effect upon the liminars. In addition, within liminal consumption studies, the role of liminars’ mentors is often under-theorised. Thus, we contribute to the field by expanding on the concept of ‘liminal gatekeepers’ as the individuals and institutions who control and enforce certain norms associated with the liminal experience. Following an interpretivist approach, the article also advances our understanding of the ways in which the demands of liminal gatekeepers affect the liminars’ experiences and identifies three novel bridal identity outcomes, namely: i) Embedded Bridal Identity; ii) Synthesised Bridal Identity; and iii) Marginalisation. In this way, we advance marketing research around how a liminal consumer identity such as bridal identity is co-constructed between liminars and gatekeepers

Development and Empirical Test of a Grocery Retail Instore Logistics Model

The purpose of the paper is to introduce a model of Instore Logistics for retail stores. The model attempted to give a picture of all logistics processes that are carried out within a retail outlet from an incoming dock to the check out. The model has afterwards been empirically validated by analyzing the Instore Logistics processes of dairy products in 200 stores in the Austrian grocery retail sector. The findings of the survey show typical problem areas within store operations and identify the impact of the final 50 metres in the store as a key factor impacting upon the success of retail business. The paper continues the work of Raman, DeHoratius & Ton (2001) and Cachon (2001) and the findings contribute to close the execution gap in retail operations

The Role of Community-led Food Retailers in Enabling Urban Resilience

Our research examines the extent to which community-led food retailers (CLFRs) contribute to the resilience and sustainability of urban retail systems and communities in the UK, contributing to existing debates on the sustainability and resilience of the UK’s urban retail sector. While this literature has predominantly focused on the larger retail multiples, we suggest more attention be paid to small, independent retailers as they possess a broader, more diffuse spatiality and societal impact than that of the immediate locale. Moreover, their local embeddedness and understanding of the needs of the local customer base, provide a key source of potentially sustainable competitive advantage. Using spatial and relational resilience theories, and drawing on 14 original qualitative interviews with CLFRs, we establish the complex links between community, place, social relations, moral values, and resilience that manifest through CLFRs. In doing so, we advance the conceptualization of community resilience by acknowledging that to realize the networked, resilient capacities of a community, the moral values and behavior of the retail community needs to be ascertained. Implications and relevant recommendations are provided to secure a more sustainable set of capacities needed to ensure resilient, urban retail systems, which benefit local communities