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While many consumer behavior studies have investigated consumer coping, few have considered it as a source of positive benefits in addition to being a matter of necessity. In this paper, we draw on Bourdieu’s notion of capital to introduce the concept of coping capital—the intentional or unintentional accumulation of resources, such as emotional and epistemic-competencies and skills resulting from coping with adversity, that may thereafter exist in an embodied state in the form of mental and physical dispositions—dispositions that later provide benefits in life. We suggest that the benefits of coping capital may be determined using either a prospective or a retrospective approach. These benefits may be anticipated or unanticipated when intentionally coping with adversity, while the benefits are predominantly unanticipated when unintentionally coping. By conceptualizing coping capital, our study makes a domain-level conceptual contribution to research on consumer coping. In addition the concept of coping capital may have broader implications outside of the domain of consumption.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual framework that highlights transhumanism’s ideals of achieving superintelligence, super longevity and super well-being through human enhancement technologies (HET) and their relations with services marketing principles. Design/methodology/approach Framed by the transformative service research (TSR), this conceptual work articulates the 7Ps of the marketing mix with four macro-factors that create tensions at both the marketplace and consumer levels. Findings HET has potential for doing good but also tremendous bad; greater attention is needed from services marketing researchers especially in one proprietary research area: bioethics. Research limitations/implications The authors contribute to the growing work on TSR investigating how the interplay between service providers and consumers affects the well-being of both. Additionally, the authors call for novel interdisciplinary work in transhuman services research. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first papers in services marketing research to explore the promises and perils of transhumanism ideals and human enhancement technologies.

This is an ethnography among poor migrants from Kerala, India to the Middle East. This study offers insights into how the poor accumulate sacrificial money through sufferings and self-abnegation, and earmark it for consumption in Kerala. The hardships endured to earn the sacrificial money transform it into a sacred object. The phenomena of accumulation, earmarking, and meaning making of sacrificial money by the poor can be understood through the concept of sacrificial work. Sacrificial work is a spatially demarcated circuit of accumulation of money through hardships and its conflict-ridden transfer to family, community, and self for consumption. In sacrificial work, the poor erect a boundary around this money, and earmark it as caring, communal, and transformative. By delineating the various aspects of sacrificial work, this study brings to the center a behavior that has, in spite of its ubiquity, been relegated to the margins of consumer research.

With developments like China's Belt and Road and Maritime Silk Road initiatives, the nation is flexing its economic and political muscle and demonstrating its vision for the 21st century and beyond. In a study of grape-based wine consumption in southern China and Hong Kong, we found that people would typically drink wine with a Western meal, but not a Chinese meal (Groves and Belk, 1998). The paper, in the context of the New Zealand wine industry, is about competition versus cooperation. In the case of Crick and Crick's study of the New Zealand wine growers, the hypothesis supported that there was an inverted U-shape between amount of cooperation and performance, attenuated to some degree by intensity

In recent years, growing attention has been devoted to consumer engagement with brands through emerging technological (e.g., social media/artificial intelligence-based) platforms. However, despite important advances, much remains unknown regarding the effect of consumers’ technology-facilitated brand engagement (CTFBE) on their wellbeing, thus posing an important research gap. To explore this gap, we first define CTFBE as a consumer’s boundedly volitional resource investment in technology-mediated brand interactions. We next outline two approaches to CTFBE and its effect on wellbeing. First, adopting a positivist approach, we propose a framework that incorporates the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM)-informed CTFBE antecedents of consumer-perceived technology usefulness and -ease-of-use, in addition to goal salience and network position. In turn, we contend that CTFBE affects the PERMA-based consumer wellbeing facets of Positive Emotions, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishments. Second, in adopting Consumer Culture Theory (CCT), we address CTFBE-related wellbeing from sociological, anthropological, and cultural perspectives. We outline CCT’s importance for CTFBE 1 in the following areas: (i) brand/consumption communities, (ii) consumption myths, rituals, and practices, and (iii) consumption and identity issues. Finally, we introduce the papers contained in this Section and offer an agenda for further research.

Rituals, particularly religious rituals, may play a significant role in times of crises. Often, these rituals undergo revision to adapt to the changing needs of the time. This article investigates recent unofficially revised Hindu religious rituals as performed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The multifarious creative interplay between Hindu tradition and change is illustrated through four cases: the religious festival of Durga Puja, the devotional songs or bhajans, the ritual of lighting lamps or diyas, and the fire rituals or havans. The authors offer a systematic discourse analysis of online news articles and YouTube posts that illuminate several aspects of ritual revision during unsettled times. They focus on the changes that were made to ritual elements: who controlled these alterations, how these modifications were made, and what potential benefits these revisions offered to the community of ritual participants. The authors highlight public policy implications regarding the involvement of diverse social actors, the creation of faith in science, the creation of feelings of unity and agency, and the amplification of local ritual modifications on a national scale.

Purpose This paper aims to examine the role of technology in shaping the interplay between intimate and economic relations in collaborative consumer networks (CCNs). Design/methodology/approach This research is based on a three-year participatory netnographic and ethnographic field study of hosts, guests and community members within the Airbnb home-sharing network in New Zealand. The data consist of interviews, online and offline participant observations and brief discussions onsite (large-scale Airbnb events, host meetups and during Airbnb stays). Findings The findings reveal how technologies shape the relational work of home-sharing between intimate and economic institutions through grooming, bundling, brokerage, buffering and social edgework. This paper proposes a framework of triadic relational work enacted by network actors, involving complex exchange structures. Research limitations/implications This study focusses on a single context – a market-mediated home-sharing platform. The findings may not apply to other contexts of economic and social exchanges. Practical implications The study reveals that the construction of specific relational packages by Airbnb hosts using their digital technologies pave a path for home-sharing to skirt the norms of the home as a place of intimacy and the market as a place for economics. This allows these two spheres to flourish with little controversy. Originality/value By augmenting Zelizer’s relational work, this study produces theoretical insights into the agentic role of technology in creating and stabilising a CCN.

Marketing lays dying, felled by two fatal blows: 1) the shift in control of brands from marketer to consumer; and 2) the shift of many marketing functions from marketing to Big Data, algorithms, and data analytics. To resurrect marketing, we need to fundamentally refocus on marketing in a digital age.

Dominant perspectives on technology adoption and consumption tend to be cognitive, instrumental, and individualistic. We offer a desire-centered, future-oriented, and culturally grounded alternative model called the Disenchanted Enchantment Model (DEM). Drawing on historical evidence and revised interpretations of theories of enchantment and disenchantment by Weber and Saler, we show that desire is at the heart of technology consumption’s enchantments, and how its fulfilment is temporary, skeptical, and ironic. We provide an important cultural counterbalance to models such as the Technology Acceptance Model, which replace wonder with reason. Instead we theorize the process that drives contemporary technology adoption as centering on desirous senses of wonderment and anticipation. We offer current and recent examples of the DEM process and discuss the implications this model holds for a new understanding of technology, consumption, desire, and broader consumer culture.

This study advances an unconventional perspective on the experiential essence of luxury, with the aim to uncover different types of luxury moments and shed light on their shared qualities and momentousness, independent of consumption styles or contexts. The findings of an interpretive study identify five types of luxury moments: interrupting, climactic, disrupting, ritualistic, and terminating. They differ in their temporal focus and degree of contrast to ordinary life, created through shared experiential qualities. These qualities set moments of luxury apart from other pleasurable moments, since moments of luxury are freeing, happy, perfect, scarce, caring, and exciting. The concept of luxury moments helps illuminate the essence of experiential luxury and unfolds in themes of growth and advancement, bliss and Eudaimonia, unity with the other, and awe and self-transcendence, thus adding to the understanding of the meaning of luxury in liquid times.

How is luxury conceived in a modern and changing world? While luxury is a well-researched area in the domain of consumer goods, research on more consumer-focused forms of luxury is still nascent. Yet today luxury experiences drive the development of luxury markets and inconspicuous, private consumption of luxury is rising. In order to address these developments, this special issue moves beyond conventional understandings of luxury as involving conspicuous status consumption of tangible goods, and focuses instead on how consumers may experience, give, produce, or share luxury, and what luxuriousness implies. The various articles in the special issue addresses topics such as intangible services, hedonic escapes, and everyday pleasures. They also include alternative understandings of exclusivity, and of common goods that have become scarce over time. Together, the articles in the special issue combine to present a broader understanding both of what luxury can be and of what luxury might do for consumers. While previous conventional luxury understanding focus on exclusive status consumption, the different articles in this special issue instead introduce consumer perceptions of luxury for which conventional luxury attributes look markedly or even entirely different.

We offer a unified conceptual, behavioral, and econometric framework for optimal fundraising that deals with both synergies and discrepancies between approaches from Economics, Marketing, Psychology, and Sociology. The purpose is to offer a framework that can bridge differences and open a dialogue between disciplines in order to facilitate optimal fundraising design. The literature is extensive, and our purpose is to offer a brief background and perspective on each of the approaches, provide an integrated framework leading to new insights, and discuss areas of future research.

This study investigates the impact of systemic oppression on a marginalized group and their response to it through market-based choices of careers. The marginalized group consists of single, semi-c...

Even in a world that is saturated with the digital, we still seek out analogue objects. Drawing on concepts of postdigital aesthetics, we examine the use of analogue objects to escape the omniprese...

In this article, we explore how the history and myths about Artificial Life (AL) inform the pursuit and reception of contemporary AL technologies. First, we show that long before the contemporary fields of robotics and genomics, ancient civilizations attempted to create AL in the magical and religious pursuits of automata and alchemy. Next, we explore four persistent cultural myths surrounding AL—namely, those of Pygmalion, Golem, Frankenstein, and Metropolis. These myths offer several insights into why humanity is both fascinated with and fearful of AL. Thereafter, we distinguish contemporary approaches to AL, including biochemical or “wet” approaches (e.g., artificial organs), electromechanical or “hard” approaches (e.g., robot companions), and software-based or “soft” approaches (e.g., digital voice assistants). We also outline an emerging approach to AL that combines all three of the preceding approaches in pursuit of “transhumanism.” We then map out how the four historical myths surrounding AL shape modern society’s reception of the four contemporary AL pursuits. Doing so reveals the enduring human fears that must be addressed through careful development of ethical guidelines for public policy that ensure human safety, dignity, and morality. We end with two sets of questions for future research: one supportive of AL and one more skeptical and cautious.

The initial hype and fanfare from the Meta Platforms view of how the metaverse could be brought to life has evolved into an ongoing discussion of not only the metaverse's impact on users and organizations but also the societal and cultural implications of widespread usage. The potential of consumer interaction with brands within the metaverse has engendered significant debate within the marketing-focused discourse on the key challenges and transformative opportunities for marketers. Drawing on insights from expert contributors, this study examines the marketing implications of the hypothetical widespread adoption of the metaverse. We identify new research directions and propose a new framework offering valuable contributions for academia, practice, and policy makers. Our future research agenda culminates in a checklist for researchers which clarifies how the metaverse can be beneficial to digital marketing and advertising, branding, services, value creation, and consumer wellbeing. Metaverse marketing: How the metaverse will shape the future of consumer research and practice

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a design fiction diegetic prototyping methodology and research framework for investigating service innovations that reflect future uses of new and emerging technologies. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on speculative fiction, the authors propose a methodology that positions service innovations within a six-stage research development framework. The authors begin by reviewing and critiquing designerly approaches that have traditionally been associated with service innovations and futures literature. In presenting their framework, authors provide an example of its application to the Internet of Things (IoT), illustrating the central tenets proposed and key issues identified. Findings The research framework advances a methodology for visualizing future experiential service innovations, considering how realism may be integrated into a designerly approach. Research limitations/implications Design fiction diegetic prototyping enables researchers to express a range of “what if” or “what can it be” research questions within service innovation contexts. However, the process encompasses degrees of subjectivity and relies on knowledge, judgment and projection. Practical implications The paper presents an approach to devising future service scenarios incorporating new and emergent technologies in service contexts. The proposed framework may be used as part of a range of research designs, including qualitative, quantitative and mixed method investigations. Originality/value Operationalizing an approach that generates and visualizes service futures from an experiential perspective contributes to the advancement of techniques that enables the exploration of new possibilities for service innovation research.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine local consumers’ acculturation process as they observe, encounter and shop with an influx of outsiders. Design/methodology/approach The multi-year qualitative study (involving in-depth interviews and netnography) investigates Hongkongers’ adaptation to encounters with Mainland Chinese shoppers in Hong Kong. Findings The authors focus on the world of luxury brand consumption, which plays a key role in signaling a newfound status for Mainlanders, and a change in identity construction for Hongkongers. Hongkongers’ acculturation process in response to large numbers of Mainland luxury shoppers includes emotional responses, behavioral adaptation and identity negotiation. Research limitations/implications This research has theoretical implications for consumer acculturation theory. Practical implications This research has managerial implications for consumers’ luxury consumption experiences. Originality/value First, the authors extend the consumer acculturation literature by focusing on the adaptation of locals to visitors. Unlike other acculturation studies that focus on poorer immigrants from less industrial countries to a wealthy nation, the study focuses on local perspectives of elite Hong Kong consumers about Mainland Chinese visitors who are economically well-off but lack cultural capital. Second, emotions are found to be an important component of acculturation and their causes and consequences are analyzed.

In January 2021, the ETHOS Research Center at Bayes Business School, along with the CRIS Research Center at Royal Holloway University of London, hosted an event entitled Decolonizing the Business School. Over 500 attendees participated, from all business disciplines, testifying to the strong levels of interest in this topic. Marketing was particularly active, with over 100 participants. In this article, I (Giana Eckhardt, one of the organizers of the event) speak with the marketing break out room facilitators–Russ Belk, Tonya Bradford, Susan Dobscha, Güliz Ger and Rohit Varman–in a wide-ranging conversation about what decolonization means to the field of marketing, and what marketing academics can do if they would like to explore these ideas further. First, we offer a brief introduction to decolonization. Also, a list of resources for the interested reader is presented as well as ideas for further exploration in this nascent domain at the end. © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.