Authenticity in the consumption context is an important topic within the marketing literature. This article explores authenticity's multiplicity of meanings within the MG brand subculture of consumption. An ethnographic approach guided data collection, which included participant observation, photo and document reviews, informal conversations, and formal, in-depth interviews with 58 MG owners. The data show that MG owners gain a sense of authenticity in the consumption context via the object and its ownership, consumer experiences, and identity construction and confirmation. As an object, an MG is authentic if it broaches an ideal standard and preserves the brand heritage. An MG experience is authentic when an owner interacts with the car through driving and self-work activities. Finally, an MG owner authenticates his or her identity through role performance and communal commitment. Implications are discussed in light of brand management.
Research on risk is built on a complex array of diverse and sometimes inconsistent definitions, constructs, models, and outcomes. This study examines various literatures to formulate an integrated framework for the conceptualization of perceived-risk processing. The framework specifies three phases (framing, assessment, and evaluation) and their accompanying outcomes of risk attention, perceived risk, and risk-taking propensity. Explicit linkages are specified between situational and individual characteristics. Perceived-risk evaluation is identified as conceptually distinct from assessment of perceived risk, and the construct of risk-taking propensity is separated from those of risk affinity and perceived risk. The framework further presents points of intersection between the literatures on perceived risk and the literatures on consumer decision-making, information search, and satisfaction. Finally, it serves as an anchor for framing future research to promote conceptual and methodological consistency, and to guide progress in directions that are consistent with some leading edge paradigms outside of marketing.
To date, the marketing literature on gift giving has focused on two approaches or paradigms-economic and relational exchange. This study adopts a different perspective, proposing a community paradigm to provide a holistic view of gift giving. The data (based on 20 in-depth interviews and 2 group interviews) suggest that, on the Internet, social networks of relationships cohere into gift-giving communities that influence the purchasing of gifts. A gift is defined as an exchange in which the transfer of goods or services that, although regarded as voluntary by those involved, is part of cultural and social behavior (Belk, 1976). Gift exchange is a social activity confirming relationships and social interactions. Here, a holistic perspective of the evolution of the gift-giving literature within the field of marketing is presented, outlining three distinctive paradigms. The first paradigm evolves from an economic exchange model, describing the transfer of goods. The second paradigm introduces a relational model, explor-
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