Abstract
Articles
This issue of the journal represents a collection of scholarship broadly addressing changing tastes and preferences in consumption. Readers will notice the breadth of the influences on these changing tastes and preferences including 1) religious influences, 2) global competitive influences, as well as 3) a variety of ethically-driven consumer and marketer initiatives.
Three elements of this issue represent contributions to macromarketing resulting from the special issue on Religion and Macromarketing edited by Raymond Benton, Jr. These are 1) “Harnessing the Power of Religion: Broadening Sustainability Research and Practice in the Advancement of Ecology” by Hounaida A. El Jurdi, Wided Batat and Aliakbar Jafari, 2) “Religion-motivated Enterprises in the Marketplace: A Macromarketing Inquiry” by Thomas A. Klein, Gene R. Laczniak, and Nicholas J. C. Santos, and 3) a book review of Fr. Gregory Jensen’s The Cure for Consumerism by Eve K. Geroulis and Raymond Benton, Jr.
In “Harnessing the Power of Religion: Broadening Sustainability Research and Practice in the Advancement of Ecology”, authors Hounaida A. El Jurdi, Wided Batat and Aliakbar Jafari review environmental ethics from the perspectives of three of the world’s prominent religions: 1) Judaism, 2) Christianity, and 3) Islam. The authors assert that each of these religious perspectives offer a strong connection to ecological conservation as seen in three cases offered by the authors in 1) Tanzania, 2) Lebanon, and 3) China. The authors perceive that religious frameworks can be useful in supporting the sustainability discourse and opposing the materialistic ethos of the Dominant Social Paradigm. The authors call macromarketers and policy makers to appreciate the common ground that is shared with religious worldviews when it comes to sustainability.
The second article in the issue “Building Competing Fashion Textile Fairs in Europe, 1970 – 2010: Première Vision (Paris) vs. Interstoff (Frankfurt)”, authors Ben Wubs and Thierry Maillet offer a historical analysis of two trade fairs that have endured for decades in the now globalized fashion and textile industries. Together, the recounting of the stories of these two trade fairs highlight the paradoxical importance of geographical location in globalized commerce, as Paris retains pre-eminence in fashion, but China (one of the locales where Interstoff’s organization has set up similar trade fairs) has assumed more relevance in textiles. Macromarketers interested in competitive forces and globalization will find this article valuable for understanding how marketers change over time in seeking to satisfy customers in a profitable way for themselves.
In the third article of this issue “Revisiting Consumer Empowerment: An Exploration of Ethical Consumption Communities” authors Eleni Papaoikonomou and Amado Alarcón use a variety of qualitative research techniques in their examination of ethical consumption communities in Spain, known as responsible consumption communities (RCCs). RCC participants create their micro-versions of participatory democracies in which they are required and expected to act as informed and active citizens. In this way, these participants demonstrate that freedom in consumption is not enough for those who crave freedom in more realms of their lives. Macromarketers interested in ethics, quality of life and cooperative systems (of consumers) will find this article of particular value.
Ethical consumption is also the focus of the fourth article in the issue “Hippies, Hummer Owners, and People Like Me: Stereotyping as a Means of Reconciling Ethical Consumption Values with the DSP” by Michelle Barnhart and Jenny Mish. These authors offer timely research on how American consumers utilize stereotyping to reconcile environmental and social values with the “more is better” idea characterizing the Dominant Social Paradigm (DSP). Using in-depth interviews with 22 informants, Barnhart and Mish examine stereotypes of two groups: 1) consumers who are exceptionally concerned about environmental and social effects of their consumption, and 2) unconcerned consumers. Macromarketers interested in the prospects for a Green Commodity Discourse (that might lead to consumers giving more favor to consumption practices that would effectively address environmental and social issues) will benefit from understanding the sobering implications of this study.
“The Discourse of the Consumer Resistance Movement: Adversarial and Prognostic Framings through the Lens of Power” by Carmen Valor, Estela M. Díaz, and Amparo Merino is the fifth article in this issue. Using a set of 12 Spanish consumers who regard themselves as responsible consumers, these researchers used a grounded-theory approach to delve into consumers’ ideas of resistance. The results suggest consumers have a variety of framings for their resistance that can be characterized as being similar to a kaleidoscope. This study broadens the most commonly held notions about power (domination and control possessed by distinctly identifiable agents) to perceptions of power as a set of influences that shift and exert influence in a reticular, shifting, and productive manner. Such a view highlights the relational aspect of this view of power that can result in individual consumers undertaking non-greedy relationships and closing ranks with other like-minded consumers in a movement to oppose a materialistic ideology they refuse to accept.
The sixth and final article in this issue is “Entrepreneurship, Identity, and the Transformation of Marketing Systems: Medical Cannabis in California” by Kenji Klein. This study looks at how entrepreneurs in underground markets perceive laws governing controlled substances, such as cannabis (marijuana), as illegitimate and deserving of these entrepreneurs’ efforts to undermine these laws. The study features the analysis of interviews with 27 cannabis dispensary founders who retell their paths to selling medicinal cannabis. Macromarketers interested in competition and markets will find knowledge in Klein’s article about how entrepreneurs in the informal economy work to change public support for laws controlling such substances as cannabis.
The commentary in this issue is “Religion-motivated Enterprises in the Marketplace: A Macromarketing Inquiry” by Thomas A. Klein, Gene R. Laczniak, and Nicholas J. C. Santos. This essay examines a variety of religiously-affiliated or inspired enterprises operating in otherwise secular marketplaces the authors term ‘‘religion-motivated enterprises’’ (RMEs). The commentary addresses the environmental factors that led to the establishment of many RMEs, prospects for the future of such RMEs, and the importance of mission statements to their operations. The authors call macromarketing researchers to further investigate the seven propositions they offer about how RMEs function in markets today. The durability of RMEs in markets suggest the relevance of religious values and religious organizations to the marketplace.
Book and Media Reviews
Eve K. Geroulis and Raymond Benton, Jr review Fr. Gregory Jensen’s 2015 book The Cure for Consumerism. This book is the second in the series on Orthodox Christian Social Thought by the Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty. Those macromarketers interested in ethical consumption and the role of religion in the marketplace will find the lively critique of Jensen’s book stimulating. In short, Geroulis and Benton take exception to Jensen’s treatment of consumerism merely as a personal issue which individuals must resist. These reviewers assert that there is a suppliers’ side to the consumerism phenomenon for which firms and policymakers must take responsibility.
The Journal is committed to maintaining a strong book and media review section that advances the field of macromarketing. Suggestions for book reviews, or inquiries about what the book review editor may have available, should be sent to Marilyn Liebrenz-Himes (