Consumption in Action. Mapping Consumerism in International Academic Literature


Abstract


The consumer-citizen and more generally, the emergence of active forms of citizenship mediated by consumption point to a change in the relations of production, consumption and distribution. These forms of citizenship come to encompass opposite poles of consumption such as hedonism and social responsibility. When consumption choices are associated with the social and environmental issues connected to manufacturing and distribution processes, the space claimed by the active consumer comes to represents a form of social identity recognition. This ‘political’ sphere, made up of individual and/or collective claims mediated by consumer society comes in the wake of a long period of market de-politicization. On the basis of these assumptions, this article surveys and evaluates the topics related to critical consumption that are most discussed in the social sciences. Such forms of socially oriented consumption – enacted in the form of individual or collective consumer choices – represent a new form of political participation and are understood as practices of active-citizenship promotion. The findings of this article are based on data gathered from 478 peer-reviewed articles published between 2004 and 2013. The articles were selected from Scopus on the basis of their broad connection to critical consumerism and forms of socially oriented consumerism. A software-based content analysis run through T-Lab software was used to generate an analytical model of the main research axis of the most recent international literature on these arguments. The heterogeneous body of scholarly literature on socially oriented consumption reflects the rich diversity of perspectives adopted to understand the political and ethical role of consumers in contemporary societies

DOI Code: 10.1285/i20356609v9i3p1015

Keywords: Active consumer; citizenship; critical consumerism; social participation; software-based content analysis

References


Acik N. (2013), “Reducing the participation gap in civic engagement: Political consumerism in Europe”, European Sociological Review, 29(6): 1309-1322.

Adams M., J. Raisborough (2008), “What Can Sociology Say About FairTrade? Class, Reflexivity and Ethical Consumption”, Sociology, 42(6): 1165-1182.

Adams M., J. Raisborough (2010), “Making a difference: ethical consumption and the everyday”, The British Journal of Sociology, 61(2): 256-274.

Assefa S. G., A. Rorissa (2013), “A Bibliometric Mapping of the Structure of STEM Education using Co-Word Analysis”, Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 64(12): 2513-2536.

Baek Y. (2010), “To buy or not to buy: who are political consumers? What do they think and how do they participate?”, Political Studies, 58(5): 1065–1086.

Barnett C., P. Cloke, N. Clarke, and A. Malpass (2005), “Consuming Ethics: Articulating the Subjects and Spaces of Ethical Consumption”, Antipode, 37(1): 23-45, doi: 10.1111/j.0066-4812.2005.00472.x

Bolasco S. (2004), L’analisi multidimensionale dei dati: metodi, strategie, e criteri di interpretazione, Roma: Carocci.

Boström M., A. Føllesdal, M. Klintman, M. Micheletti and M.

Sørensen (2005), “Studying Political Consumerism”, in M. Boström, A. Føllesdal, M. Klintman, M. Micheletti and M. Sørensen (eds.), Political Consumerism: its Motivations, Power, and Conditions in the Nordic Countries and Elsewhere. Proceedings from the 2nd International Seminar on Political Consumerism, Oslo August 26-29, 2004, Nordisk Ministerråd, København: TemaNord, pp. 9-24.

Capone V., G. Petrillo (2013), “Health Promotion in International Documents: Strengths and Weaknesses from the Perspective of Community Empowerment”, Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 23(2): 98-114, doi: 10.1002/casp.2103.

Ceccarini L. (2004), “Political consumerism: forma emergente di partecipazione? Appunti sull'evoluzione dei repertori di azione politica”, InformaSOIS, 2: 3-18.

Cherrier H. (2009), “Anti-consumption discourses and consumer-resistant identities”, Journal of Business Research, 62(2): 181-190. doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2008.01.025

Cohen L. (2000), “Citinzens and consumers in the United States in the century of mass consumption. In M. Daunton, M. Hilton (eds.), The Politics of Consumption: Material Culture and Citizenship in Europe and America, Oxford, Uk: Berg, pp. 203-222.

Connolly J., A. Prothero (2008), “Green Consumption: Life-politics, risk and contradictions”, Journal of Consumer Culture, 8(1): 117-145.

D'Souza C., M. Taghian, and P. Lamb (2006), “An empirical study on the influence of environmental labels on consumers”, Corporate communications: an international journal, 11(2): 162-173.

De Pelsmacker P., L. Driesen, and G. Rayp (2005), “Do Consumers Care about Ethics? Willingness to Pay for Fair-Trade Coffee”, The Journal of Consumer Affairs, 39(2): 363-385.

De Tavernier J. (2012), “Food Citizenship: Is There a Duty for Responsible Consump-tion?” Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, 25(6): 895-907.

Delacote, P., C. Montagné-Huck (2012), “Political consumerism and public policy: Good complements against market failures?”, Ecological Economics, 73: 188-193.

Dixon J., B. Isaacs (2013), “Why sustainable and ‘nutritionally correct’ food is not on the agenda: Western Sydney, the moral arts of everyday life and public policy”, Food Policy, 43.

Ferre Fons M. (2006), “Un’analisi comparativa del consumerismo politico in Europa: differenze nazionali e determinanti individuali”, in S. Tosi (ed.), Consumi e partecipazione politica. Tra azione individuale e mobilitazione collettiva, Milano: Franco Angeli, pp. 109-129.

Forno F. (2006), “La protesta nei consumi: nuove forme (e luoghi) di partecipazione” in S. Tosi (ed.), Consumi e partecipazione politica. Tra azione individuale e mobilitazione collettiva, Milano: Franco Angeli, pp. 91-107.

Forno F., R. Graziano (2014), “Sustainable Community Movement Organization”, Journal of Consumer Culture, 14(2), 139-157.

Freestone, O. M., P. J. McGoldrick (2007), “Motivations of the Ethical Consumer”, Journal of Business Ethics, 79: 445-467.

Giddens A. (1991), Modernity and Self-Identity: Self and Society in the Late Modern Age, Cambridge: Polity.

Hall S. M. (2011), “Exploring the ethical everyday: An ethnography of the ethics of family consumption”, Geoforum, 42(6): 627-637.

Inglehart R. (1977), The Silent Revolution. Changing Values and Political Styles among Western Publics. Princeton University Press.

Jansson J., A. Marell, and A. Norlund (2010), “Green consumer

behavior: Determinants of curtailment and eco-innovation adoption”, Journal of Consumer Marketing, 27(4): 358-370.

Krier J. M. (2001), Fair Trade in Europe 2001: Facts and Figures on the Fair Trade Sector in 18 European Countries, Maastricht: EFTA Research Report.

Lancia F. (2004), Strumenti per l'Analisi dei Testi. Introduzione all'uso di T-LAB, Milano: FrancoAngeli.

Lancia F. (2014), User’s Manual T-lab – Tools for Text Analysis,

http://www.mytlab.com/Manual_en.zip.

Lee, M. S., J. Motion, and D. Conroy (2009), “Anti-consumption and brand avoidance”, Journal of Business Research, 62(2): 169-180.

Leonini L. (2008), “Introduzione”, in L. Leonini, R. Sassatelli (eds.), Il consumo critico. Significati, pratiche e reti, Roma: Laterza.

Leonini, L., R. Sassatelli (eds.) (2008), Il consumo critico. Significati, pratiche e reti, Roma: Laterza.

Littler J. (2005), “Beyond the Boycott. Anti-consumerism, cultural change and the limits of reflexivity”, Cultural Studies, 19(2): 227-252.

Lu L., D. Bock, and M. Joseph (2013), “Green marketing: what the Millennials buy”, Journal of Business Strategy, 34(6): 3-10.

Luzio J.P.P., F. Lemke (2013), “Exploring green consumers' product demands and consumption processes: The case of Portuguese green consumers”, European Business Review, 25(3): 281-300.

Maturo A., L. Lombi, P. Canestrini, A. Manca, and M. Moscatelli (2012), “In the double digits. Salute e Società ten years later”, Salute e Società, XI(2): 177-188.

Mazar N., C-B. Zhong (2010), “Do Green Products Make Us Better People?”, Psychological Science, 21(4): 494-498.

Micheletti M. (2003), Political Virtue and Shopping. Individual, Consumerism and Collective Actions, New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Micheletti M., A. Follesdall, and D. Stolle (eds.) (2011), Politics, Products and Markets. Exploring Political Consumerism Past and Present, New Brunswick: Transaction Publisher.

Minestroni L. (2003), L'alchimia della marca. Fenomenologia di un moltiplicatore di valore, Milano: FrancoAngeli.

Moisander J., S. Pesonen (2002), “Narratives of Sustainable Ways of Living: Constructing the Self and the Other as a Green Consumer”, Management Decision, 40(4): 329-342.

Newman, B. J., B. L. Bartels (2010), “Politics at the Checkout Line: Explaining Political Consumerism in the United States”, Political Research Quarterly, 64(4): 803-817.

Nigris D. (2003), Standard e non-standard nella ricerca sociale, Milano: Franco Angeli.

Noor N.A.M., C.Z.M. Jamil, N.A, Mat, N. Mat, A. Kasim, A. Muhammad, and H.S. Salleh (2012), “The relationships between environmental knowledge, environmental attitude and subjective norm on Malaysian consumers green purchase behaviour”, Malaysian Journal of Consumer and Family Economics, 15(1): 1-20.

Odou P., P. de Pechpeyrou (2011), “Consumer Cynicism: from Resistance to Anti‐consumption in a Disenchanted World?”, European Journal of Marketing, 45(11/12): 1799-1808.

Olson E. L. (2012), “It's Not Easy Being Green: The Effects of Attribute Tradeoffs on Green Product Preference and Choice”, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 41(2): 171-184.

Ozcaglar-Toulouse N. (2007), “Living for ‘Ethics’: Responsible Consumption in Everyday Life”, in R.W. Belk, J. F. Sherry (eds.), “Consumer Culture Theory”, Research in Consumer Behavior, 11: 421-436.

Paltrinieri R. (2012), Felicità responsabile. Il consumo oltre la società dei consumi, Milano: FrancoAngeli.

Papaoikonomou E., G. Ryan, and M. Valverde (2011), “Mapping Ethical Consumer Behavior: Integrating the Empirical Research and Identifying Future Directions”, Ethics and Behavior, 21(3): 197–221.

Pattaro C. (2015), “New Media and Youth Identity. Issues and Research Pathways”, Italian Journal of Sociology of Education, 7(1): 297-327.

Pattaro C., F. Setiffi (2014), “Social work education. Orientamenti di studio nella letteratura internazionale”, Salute e Società, 13(2): 191-205.

Portilho F. (2010), “Self-Attribution of Responsibility: Consumers of Organic Foods in a Certified Street Market in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil”, Etnográfica, 14(3): 549–565.

Rastier F. (1987), Sémantique interprétative, Paris, PUF.

Reinert M. (1986), “Un logiciel d'analyse lexicale: Alceste”, Cahiers de l'Analyse des Données, 4: 471-484.

Rezai G., Teng P. K., Mohamed Z., and M. N. Shamsudin (2013), “Is it easy to go green? Consumer perception and green concept”, American Journal of Applied Sciences, 10(8): 793.

Sassatelli R. (2006), “Virtue, Responsibility and Consumer Choice: Framing Critical Consumerism” in J. Brewer and F. Trentmann (eds.), Consuming Cultures, Global Perspectives, Oxford: Berg, pp. 219-250.

Sassatelli R. (2007), Consumer culture. History, Theory and Politics, London: Sage Publications.

Sassatelli R. (2011), “Tamed Hedonims”, in D. Southerton (ed.), Encyclopedia of Consumer Culture, London: Sage Publications, pp. 1428-1430.

Schor J. B. (1993), The Overspent American. Upscaling, Downshifting, and the New Consumer, New York: Basic Books.

Schor J. B. (2005), “Prices and Quantities: Unsustainable Consumption and the Global Economy”, Ecological Economics, 55(3): 309-320.

Schor J. B. (2007), “In Defence of Consumer Critique: Revisiting the Consumption Debates of the Twentieth Century”, The Annals of the American Academy of Political Science, 611(1): 16-30.

Sharp, A., S. Høj, and M. Wheeler (2010), “Proscription and its impact on anti-consumption behaviour and attitudes: the case of plastic bags”, Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 9(6): 470–484.

Secondulfo D. (2012), Sociologia del consumo e della cultura materiale, Milano: FrancoAngeli.

Setiffi F. (2013), Il consumo come spazio di riconoscimento sociale, Milano: FrancoAngeli.

Setiffi F. (2014), “Becoming Consumers: Socialization into the World of Goods”, Italian Journal of Sociology of Education, 6(3): 6-25.

Sofer K. (2007), “Re-thinking the ‘Good Life’. The Citizenship Dimension of Consumer Disaffection with Consumerism”, Journal of Consumer Culture, 7(2): 205-229.

Spaargaren G., S. Martens (2005), “Globalisation and the Role of Citizen-Consumers in Environmental Politics”, in M. Boström, A. Føllesdal, M. Klintman, M. Micheletti and M. Sørensen (eds.), Political Consumerism: its Motivations, Power, and Conditions in the Nordic Countries and Elsewhere. Proceedings from the 2nd International Seminar on Political Consumerism, Oslo August 26-29, 2004, Nordisk Ministerråd, København: TemaNord, pp. 9-24.

Tosi S. (2006), “Dai consumi alla politica”, in S. Tosi (ed.), Consumi e partecipazione politica. Tra azione individuale e mobilitazione collettiva, Milano: Franco Angeli, pp. 15-55.

Tuzzi A. (2003), L’analisi del contenuto, Roma: Carocci.

Uusitalo O., R. Oksanen (2004), “Ethical Consumerism: A View from Finland”, International Journal of Consumer Studies, 28(3): 214–221.

Vihalemm, T., M. Keller, and M. Kiisel (2015), From Intervention to Social Change. A guide to Reshaping Everyday Practices, London: Ashgate.

Waltman, L., N. J. van Eck, and E.C.M. Noyons (2010), “A Unified Approach to Mapping and Clustering of Bibliometric Networks”, Journal of Informetrics, 4(4): 629–635.

Warde A. (2015), “The Sociology of Consumption: Its recent Development”, Annual Review of Sociology, 41: 117-34. doi: 10.1146/annurev-soc-071913-043208

Willis, M. M., J. B. Schor (2012), “Does Changing a Light Bulb Lead to Changing the World? Political Action and the Conscious Consumer”, The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences, 644(1): 160-190.


Full Text: PDF

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.
کاغذ a4
Bookmark and Share


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribuzione - Non commerciale - Non opere derivate 3.0 Italia License.