Katri Weckroth and Elina Närvänen
The purpose of this paper is to present a novel qualitative activity focus group (AFG) method for studying consumption practices. This participatory method, which is inspired by…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a novel qualitative activity focus group (AFG) method for studying consumption practices. This participatory method, which is inspired by practice-theoretical thinking, combines focus group discussions with activities that represent the practices at the centre of the research.
Design/methodology/approach
The application of the AFG method is demonstrated with an empirical study of the transition to plant-based food consumption practices in Finland, involving four group sessions of 13 participants.
Findings
The findings from the empirical application of the AFG method illustrate that its key strength is the ability to foster fruitful and natural discussions on routine consumption practices that connect with discursive and practical dimensions and thus generate multidimensional data in resource-efficient ways.
Originality/value
The AFG method extends the methodological approaches in practice theory–oriented research, responding to the call for creative, real-life-reflecting methods that are able to grasp the discursive and embodied dimensions of practices. The method is proposed to be particularly suitable for research on mundane consumption practices.
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Carles Sitompul, Theresia Gunawan, Nina Mesiranta, Elina Närvänen and Johanna Renny Octavia
This study aims to examine food waste behaviours among university students in Indonesia by adapting the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) alongside the theory of domains of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine food waste behaviours among university students in Indonesia by adapting the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) alongside the theory of domains of knowledge.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 518 students at five Indonesian universities participated in an online survey, answering questions about their food waste behaviours based on the TPB and the domains of knowledge frameworks. Among them, 250 students had taken a course that covered the food waste topic, while 268 students had not taken the course. The data were later analysed by using partial least squares-structural equation modelling and measurement invariance across the composite models.
Findings
The findings reveal that environmental awareness, attitude towards food waste behaviours, subjective norms and different types of knowledge which are procedural knowledge, declarative knowledge, personal and social knowledge significantly influence food waste behaviour. Students who attended a course related to the food waste topic were more likely to align their intentions to reduce food waste with their reduction behaviour.
Originality/value
While previous research has highlighted the importance of the TPB in understanding food waste intentions and behaviour, studies also show that students’ knowledge about food waste plays a crucial role in shaping these intentions. This study builds on these insights by combining the TPB with the domains of knowledge theory, specifically looking at how participating in food waste-related courses influences food waste behaviours among Indonesian students.
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Ulla-Maija Sutinen, Roosa Luukkonen and Elina Närvänen
This study aims to examine adolescents’ social media environment connected to unhealthy food marketing. As social media have become a ubiquitous part of young people’s everyday…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine adolescents’ social media environment connected to unhealthy food marketing. As social media have become a ubiquitous part of young people’s everyday lives, marketers have also shifted their focus to these channels. Literature on this phenomenon is still scarce and often takes a quite narrow view of the role of marketing in social media. Furthermore, the experiences of the adolescents are seldom considered.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a sociocultural approach and netnographic methodology, this study presents findings from a research project conducted in Finland. The data consist of both social media material and focus group interviews with adolescents.
Findings
The findings elaborate on unhealthy food marketing to adolescents in social media from two perspectives: sociocultural representations of unhealthy foods in social media marketing and social media influencers connecting with adolescents.
Originality/value
The study broadens and deepens the current understanding of unhealthy food marketing to adolescents taking place in social media. The study introduces a novel perspective to the topic by looking at it as a sociocultural phenomenon.
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Sonja Lahtinen and Elina Närvänen
The purpose of this research is to explore how consumers co-create sustainable corporate brands (SCBs) by framing brands with a newly adopted sustainability orientation.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to explore how consumers co-create sustainable corporate brands (SCBs) by framing brands with a newly adopted sustainability orientation.
Design/methodology/approach
The qualitative data were generated from four focus groups consisting of altogether 25 Finnish millennial consumers. The data were analysed using thematic analysis, and the resulting themes were classified as different framings.
Findings
The findings indicate three ways of framing SCBs: as signs of corporate hypocrite, as threats that increase societal fragmentation and as signs of corporate enlightenment. These framings are based on two components: the perceived attributes and activities of the corporate brand.
Practical implications
The role of corporate brands is expanding from the business sphere towards actively influencing society. Yet, sustainability activities can be risky if consumers, as primary stakeholders, deem them unacceptable, unethical or untrustworthy. This research supports brand managers to succeed in co-creating SCBs as contributors to societal and environmental well-being, at a time when multiple stakeholders consider this a worthwhile endeavour.
Originality/value
The theoretical contribution is twofold: firstly, the paper extends the sustainable corporate branding literature by demonstrating how SCBs are co-created through an interactive framing process between the corporation and primary stakeholders, and, secondly, it contributes to the constitutive approach to corporate social responsibility communication (CSRC) research by showing how millennial consumers frame corporate brands that communicate corporations' newly adopted sustainability orientation.
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Tiina-Kaisa Kuuru and Elina Närvänen
This paper aims to study the embodied nature of service employees’ work in human touch contexts.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to study the embodied nature of service employees’ work in human touch contexts.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper adopts the practice theory as its interpretive approach, using focus group interviews with service employees from different industries.
Findings
The study identifies four practice bundles related to the embodied dimension of service employees’ work: orienting, attuning, connecting and wrapping up. The findings illustrate how employees’ knowledge, skills and capabilities are used via the body.
Practical implications
The study provides guidance for managers to use an embodied perspective in the management of service employees.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the discussion on embodiment in service encounters by highlighting the embodied nature of service employees’ work.
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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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Elina Närvänen, Hannu Kuusela, Heli Paavola and Noora Sirola
This paper's purpose is to develop a meaning-based framework for customer loyalty by examining how consumers make sense of customer loyalty through meanings and metaphors.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper's purpose is to develop a meaning-based framework for customer loyalty by examining how consumers make sense of customer loyalty through meanings and metaphors.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative study based on in-depth interviews and focus group data in the retail context was conducted with Finnish customers. The data were analysed with qualitative data analysis techniques such as the constant comparative technique.
Findings
The empirical findings comprise eight loyalty meanings characterised by two dimensions. The first dimension is reflexive vs. routinised, and the second dimension is private vs. social. The loyalty types are dimensionalised through four metaphors: loyalty as freedom of choice; as being conventional and binding; and as belongingness.
Practical implications
The findings improve the way customer loyalty currently is understood in the retail setting. The paper proposes that customer insight that utilises thick data can be used to grasp loyalty meanings. These data are rich in context and detail, and they take into account customers' everyday lives. Utilising thick data in the form of storytelling fuels customers' meaning-making related to customer loyalty, potentially enriching their relationship with the retailer.
Originality/value
Customer loyalty has been driven largely by a transactional and company-centric perspective. This article presents an alternative view of customer loyalty that accounts for the variety of meanings that customers may assign to their loyalty-related thoughts and behaviours.
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Hanna Leipämaa-Leskinen, Elina Närvänen and Hannu Makkonen
The purpose of this study is to define and analyse the emergence of collaborative engagement platforms (CEPs) as part of a rising platformisation phenomenon. Contrary to previous…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to define and analyse the emergence of collaborative engagement platforms (CEPs) as part of a rising platformisation phenomenon. Contrary to previous literature on engagement platforms (EPs), this study distinguishes between formalised and self-organised EPs and sheds light on collaborative EPs on which heterogeneous actors operate without central control by legislated firm actors.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on institutional work theory, this paper explores the institutional rules, norms and practices involved in the emergence of a new platform. This paper implements a longitudinal case study of a local food network called REKO and explores how engagement practices and institutional work patterns catalysed its emergence during 2013–2020.
Findings
The findings of this study show that actors engaged within the REKO platform participated in institutional work patterns of disruption, creation and maintenance, which drove the development of the platform and ensured its viability.
Research limitations/implications
This paper encourages future research to further explore how different types of EPs emerge and function.
Practical implications
The rise of CEPs pushes the dominant managerial orientation to progress from the management “of” a platform to managing “within” a platform. For managers, this means developing novel practices for engaging and committing a versatile set of actors to nurture open-ended, multi-sided collaboration.
Originality/value
This study contributes by conceptualising different types of platforms with a particular focus on CEPs and explicating the engagement practices and institutional work patterns that catalyse their emergence.
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Evert Gummesson, Hannu Kuusela and Elina Närvänen
– The purpose of this paper is to propose that the recasting of supplier and customer roles reconfigures the role of marketing.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose that the recasting of supplier and customer roles reconfigures the role of marketing.
Design/methodology/approach
A conceptual paper that suggests the need to rethink the role of marketing in the strategic decision making of companies. The study accesses recent theories of marketing, service and value and provides illustrative case examples.
Findings
Consumers are progressively more active and the traditional supplier role of controlling consumers is less viable. The case examples show the variety of ways in which companies may adopt a new role in relation to customers and the market. The paper argues that adapting to this role change needs to take place at the highest level in the company and is the way to reinvent marketing strategy. This also necessitates marketing employing unconventional methodologies and relevant theory to address the complexity and ambiguity of current markets.
Research limitations/implications
The paper is a conceptual paper restricted to supplier and customer roles, albeit set in a broader context of stakeholders.
Practical implications
The marketing-oriented supplier of the future can design service systems and exert a certain control at the same time adapting to and supporting consumer initiatives through interaction in networks of stakeholder relationships.
Originality/value
Stressing the new roles of consumers and suppliers; reinventing the role of marketing, breaking with conventional marketing research methodology.
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Hannu Kuusela, Elina Närvänen, Hannu Saarijärvi and Mika Yrjölä
– The purpose of the article is to identify and analyze the challenges of business-to-business (B2B) research relevance from the point of view of top executives.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the article is to identify and analyze the challenges of business-to-business (B2B) research relevance from the point of view of top executives.
Design/methodology/approach
Ten in-depth interviews with top executives from different B2B industries were conducted and analyzed by using Arndt’s (1985) elements of a healthy discipline, i.e. knowledge, problems and instruments.
Findings
The findings reveal 12 challenges that characterize contemporary B2B research relevance from a top executive perspective.
Research limitations/implications
The research offers genuine top executive insight. More research from different perspectives is needed to broaden the understanding of B2B research relevance.
Originality/value
Reflecting B2B research with the identified challenges can contribute to better research designs, narrowing the gap between B2B scholars and practitioners. Altogether, it contributes to the health of the B2B discipline. The study also introduces a new approach to analyzing research relevance by using the elements of scientific balance.