Elina Närvänen and Christina Goulding
The purpose of the paper is to build a sociocultural perspective of brand revitalization. Maintaining brands and bringing them back to life in the market has received much less…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the paper is to build a sociocultural perspective of brand revitalization. Maintaining brands and bringing them back to life in the market has received much less interest than their creation. Moreover, the existing literature is dominated by the marketing management paradigm where the company’s role is emphasized. This paper addresses the phenomenon of brand revitalization from a sociocultural perspective and examines the role of consumer collectives in the process.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a data-driven approach, the study builds on the case of a consumer brand of footwear that has risen to unprecedented popularity without traditional marketing campaigns. Data were generated using an inductive theory building approach utilizing multiple methods, including interviews, participant observation and cultural materials.
Findings
The paper presents a conceptual model of cultural brand revitalization that has four stages: sleeping brand, spontaneous appropriation, diffusion and convergence.
Practical implications
Implications for companies in consumer markets are discussed, suggesting ways to facilitate the process of sociocultural brand revitalization.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the literature first by offering a sociocultural brand revitalization scenario that highlights the interplay between the actions of consumers and the company, second, by examining the interaction between the symbolic meanings associated with the brand and the practices used by consumers and, third, by offering insights into the relevance of national identity in creating brand meaning.
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Christina Goulding and Maud Derbaix
This paper aims to examine how and why an “old” technology and mode of consumption – vinyl records, which should have become obsolete – has managed not only to survive but also…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine how and why an “old” technology and mode of consumption – vinyl records, which should have become obsolete – has managed not only to survive but also revive in the face of supposedly cheaper and superior digital formats.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used constructivist grounded theory (CGT), a methodology rooted in pragmatism. The authors acknowledge the primacy of relational, conversational and social practices as the source of individual and social life, and that all knowledge is local and the product of negotiation between people within a given context and time frame. In terms of data, the authors draw on the extensive use of memos and participatory observation at the oldest vinyl record store in the UK. The authors also draw on interviews with the store owner and workers and in-depth interviews with vinyl enthusiasts.
Findings
The authors argue that authenticity is not a fixed and static concept but has fluid and porous boundaries that can be experienced by individuals in different situations. The findings center around three experiences of authenticity – staged authenticity, interpersonal authenticity and intrapersonal/existential authenticity.
Research limitations/implications
This research is limited to a specific market, typical of old or second-hand vinyl consumption. Future research would benefit from broadening the sample to include new consumers and female enthusiasts of both old and new vinyl.
Practical implications
The paper has implications for consumer service and personal selling relationships.
Originality/value
Originality lies in theoretically positioning the phenomenon within a conceptual framework of authenticity. In particular, the authors shed light on the role that authenticity plays in the experiences of vinyl music consumption amongst buyers and sellers in a store that has a long established heritage. The authors find that vinyl in the age of digital reproduction retains and maintains a number of qualities that are missing from allegedly superior forms of musical reproduction. The authors further maintain that as it has aged, original vinyl has taken on greater power and meaning, and now that it is out of the realm of mass production/consumption, it has opened up a deeper more authentic interaction between human beings and technology. This deeper interaction goes beyond the immediate experience with the object itself and extends to the sensorial, the social and the personal.
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There has been considerable discussion in recent years over the application of interpretive methodologies such as phenomenology, hermeneutics, and semiotics within the field of…
Abstract
There has been considerable discussion in recent years over the application of interpretive methodologies such as phenomenology, hermeneutics, and semiotics within the field of marketing research, particularly consumer behaviour. However, while these approaches have inspired a wealth of publications, scant attention has been paid to the potential of grounded theory. This is attributed largely to misconceptions regarding both the principles of the method and the two distinct approaches associated with the original authors, Glaser and Strauss (1967). The paper outlines the development of the method and explicates the philosophy underpinning its procedures. Finally, it suggests that grounded theory if applied in its true sense has scope and potential for the study of consumer behaviour and consumption experiences given its emphasis on context, theoretical emergence, and the social construction of realities.
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Avi Shankar and Christina Goulding
Presents two relatively new (to marketing) qualitative research techniques, “narrative theory” and “dimensional analysis”, and highlights the contribution they may have for…
Abstract
Presents two relatively new (to marketing) qualitative research techniques, “narrative theory” and “dimensional analysis”, and highlights the contribution they may have for consumer research. Narrative analysis focuses on features, plots and configurations, whereas dimensional analysis uses as its foundation context, conditions and consequences which affect the outcome of the story. Addresses the divide between academic investigation and practitioner research and suggests that practitioners may benefit from developing theoretical frameworks to underpin data collection.
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Christina Goulding, Avi Shankar and Robin Canniford
Studies of marketplace cultures emphasize the benefits of communal consumption and explain the ways that brand managers can leverage subcultures and brand communities. The…
Abstract
Purpose
Studies of marketplace cultures emphasize the benefits of communal consumption and explain the ways that brand managers can leverage subcultures and brand communities. The ephemeral and often non‐commercial nature of consumer tribes means that they are more difficult to manage. This paper, aims to suggest that a necessary pre‐requisite for understanding how to engage with consumer tribes is to identify how consumers become members of tribes.
Design/methodology/approach
Data are drawn from a five‐year ethnographic study of the archetypical club culture tribe that utilized a variety of data collection methods including participant observation and in‐depth interviewing.
Findings
The paper identifies “learning to be tribal” as a communal practice that occurs through three interconnected processes of engagement, imagination and alignment.
Originality/value
This paper makes three contributions: it clearly distinguishes between the three main forms of communal consumption found in the marketing literature; it identifies how consumer tribes are formed; and it questions received wisdom and shows how tribal theory can guide managers to offer products and services as learning resources that facilitate tribal practices.
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The paper aims to look at some of the problems commonly associated with qualitative methodologies, suggesting that there is a need for a more rigorous application in order to…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to look at some of the problems commonly associated with qualitative methodologies, suggesting that there is a need for a more rigorous application in order to develop theory and aid effective decision making.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper examines three qualitative methodologies: grounded theory, ethnography, and phenomenology. It compares and contrasts their approaches to data collection and interpretation and highlights some of the strengths and weaknesses associated with each one.
Findings
The paper suggests that, while qualitative methodologies, as opposed to qualitative methods, are now an accepted feature of consumer research, their application in the truest sense is still in its infancy within the broader field of marketing. It proposes a number of possible contexts that may benefit from in‐depth qualitative enquiry.
Originality/value
The paper should be of interest to marketers considering adopting a qualitative perspective, possibly for the first time, as it offers a snap‐shot of three widely‐used methodologies, their associated procedures and potential pitfalls.
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Since the advent of the contract culture, the reduction in museum budgets, and the implementation of performance measures based on customer satisfaction management, museums have…
Abstract
Since the advent of the contract culture, the reduction in museum budgets, and the implementation of performance measures based on customer satisfaction management, museums have faced increasing pressure to attract wider audiences. This requires an understanding of visitor expectations, and experiences, of visiting a museum. However, for the most part, public museums have concentrated their research efforts into obtaining statistical data which measure through‐put and provide demographic profiles, ignoring in the process the nature of the experience itself. This paper looks at research derived primarily from academics working in the field of visitor studies. It outlines three approaches; the social, the cognitive, and the environmental perspective, which have been applied to studies of museum visitor behaviour. The paper then presents the findings from an observational study of visitors to a city museum. These findings are recast in the light of the three approaches described, in order to offer an integrated framework of customer behaviour which has implications for the management of the service encounter in museums.
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Christina Goulding and Michael Saren
The purpose of this paper is to suggest grounded theory as a potential methodology within the field of arts marketing and the creative industries in general, particularly if the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to suggest grounded theory as a potential methodology within the field of arts marketing and the creative industries in general, particularly if the research aims to gain insights into consumer experiences.
Design/methodology/approach
Grounded theory is a general, qualitative methodology that is concerned with social processes and interactions. The paper looks at the fundamental processes that grounded theory must follow and provides an example of applying grounded theory in the context of researching the Goths, an aesthetic subculture.
Research limitations/implications
The paper suggests that within the creative industries there is scope for the wider application of inductive, theory‐building methodologies that aim to provide deeper understanding of behavior.
Originality/value
The value of the paper lies in detailing a systematic methodology that scholars may apply across the spectrum of creative and cultural marketing from music festivals to museums.
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Christina Goulding and Avi Shankar
This paper looks at “dance” or “rave”, a phenomenon usually associated with youth culture. It suggests that there is a hidden consumer who falls into the 30‐40 age group. The…
Abstract
This paper looks at “dance” or “rave”, a phenomenon usually associated with youth culture. It suggests that there is a hidden consumer who falls into the 30‐40 age group. The paper examines the emergence of dance/rave, and the process of commodification of a sub‐cultural movement. It suggests that youth‐related activities are migrating up the age scale and draws on the results of a phenomenological study to support this. The findings suggest that the experience is closely related to cognitive age and the dimensions of “felt” age, “look” age, “do” age, and “interest” age.
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The paper looks at the concept of postmodernism and the issues relating to positioning and representing the consumer. It evaluates the conflict regarding postmodern research, and…
Abstract
The paper looks at the concept of postmodernism and the issues relating to positioning and representing the consumer. It evaluates the conflict regarding postmodern research, and in particular scientific claims, and the role of theory. It suggests a greater emphasis on rich and varied forms of data collection and cross‐disciplinary integration in order to centre the experience, create meaningful pictures and broaden the debate about consumption in the early twenty‐first century.