How is consumer desire transformed by contemporary technology? Most extant theory holds that technology rationalizes and reduces passion. In our investigation of networks of desire-complex open systems of machines, consumers, energy, and objects-we find technology increasing the passion to consume. Effects depend upon participation in the network, which can be private, public, or professional. Private participation tends to discipline passion into interests reflecting established cultural categories. Public and professional participation build new connections between extant desires and a wider network, decentering ties and deterritorializing flows that limit hungers to emplaced bodies. Public and professional participation drive consumption passion to transgressive extremes. We use ethnography and netnography to study online food image sharing, a broad field that includes everything from friend networks to food bloggers. Using and extending Deleuze and Guattari's desire theory, we conceptualize desire as energetic, connective, systemic, and innovative. Critically examining the role of technocapitalism in the realm of consumption passion, we question the emancipatory possibilities of unfettered desire. Networks of desire create a passionate new universe of technologically enhanced desire, one that challenges the way we think about consumer collectives, capitalism, emancipation, and posthuman consumption.
Purpose-To investigate which resources and capabilities are most important to enable large manufacturers undergoing servitization to develop and deliver successful services. Design/methodology/approach-A survey of 155 UK-based manufacturers provided the basis for the study. Data analysis was undertaken using confirmatory factor analysis and multiple regression. Findings-Five constructs ('resource configurations') which enable the development and delivery of successful services and a construct to measure services performance ('Success of Services') were developed from the literature. A measurement model based on these constructs was empirically tested and verified. Two resource configurations; 'Leaders and Services Personnel' and 'Services Methods and Tools' were found to make a unique and statistically significant contribution to 'Success of Services'. Research implications/limitations-The study highlights the importance of corporate leaders and service employees in developing and delivering success. Service-specific methods and tools are important for developing compelling customer offerings. The study demonstrates the utility of a resource-based perspective in terms of understanding the factors that enable successful services, but also exposes the limitations of using such broad measures, with common lower order resources underpinning multiple resource configurations. The study was conducted from the manufacturer's perspective, and future studies could also include the customer's perspective. Practical implications-The research identifies important factors in developing a greater service orientation in manufacturing companies. Originality/value-This is one of the first studies to develop and test a model of services success, generalizable to the population of large manufacturers.
Both the trade press and academic research document the shift in consumption practices instigated by the rise of web-based 'participatory culture' where each user can be a producer, influencer and/or consumer of information (Han, 2011;Jenkins, 1992). Naturally, a growing stream of research is busy re-evaluating the applicability of long-established models and constructs in this new digital reality (Abstract The Engel, Kollatt, & Blackwell (EKB) decision-making model has long been a core theory of consumer behaviour. This paper conceptually unpicks it to explore if it can continue to be as relevant in today's participatory online culture, where shopping is increasingly a decision-making process that is driven by a powerful social collective. In order to illustrate the digital world in which the EKB model now operates, we present two fictional, yet realistic, scenarios that illustrate the effects of participatory culture. We conclude that the old EKB model, with some minor tweaks, still provides valuable insights into and explanations of consumer decision making. We conclude by setting a path for future research in this area.Rachel Ashman is a Lecturer in Marketing and early career researcher at the University of Liverpool, UK. She holds a BSc (hons) in Fashion and Textile Retailing, and a PhD in Digital Consumption from the University of Manchester, UK. Her research interests include fashion retailing, digital marketing and cultural aspects of consumption. And although she does not like to brag, she is also a fabulous baker, a culinary genius, an inspirational yoga teacher, an award-winning lecturer, a quiltmaking machine, a website designer and a proud vegan.
This paper explores the impact of the ‘mobilization’ of employed mothers by the UK government to home‐school and care for children while performing paid work at home, in order to limit Covid‐19 transmission. Drawing upon actor network theory (ANT), we extend John Law's (1994) concept ‘modes of ordering’ (or strategic shifts in response to change when power relations are unequal) to illuminate how employed mothers’ networks were re‐ordered. In this netnography, we observe how they re‐ordered personal and local networks to combine home‐working, home‐schooling and childcare. We learn how, when mothers’ usual networks broke down, they employed three novel modes of re‐ordering: retentive, retrogressive and reformative. These modes capture the complex relationships between work and family – an area of concern that has previously received limited attention in relation to actor networks. Our findings reveal the gendered nature of the mandatory imposition of home‐working during the pandemic. Through developing Law's modes of ordering, we demonstrate the potential of ANT to understand the impact on mothers of home‐working and highlight important practical contributions for organizations and governments.
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