Purpose This paper aims to examine how socio-economic status (SES) shapes consumers’ purchase behavior of genuine brands and counterfeits. It also forms a typology based on the decision-making processes of these two groups by exploring neutralization processes and emotional outcomes related to their behaviors. Design/methodology/approach Data are collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 42 users and non-users of counterfeits from different SES groups. Findings This paper develops a consumer typology based on the customer behavior of counterfeit and genuine brand users, as well as emotional outcomes and neutralization strategies used to justify their actions according to their SES group. These categories are defined as the black chameleons, the counterfeit owners, the genuine brand owners and the authenticity seekers. Originality/value This paper contributes to the counterfeit literature by examining the consumption practices of each SES group of users and non-users of counterfeits by focusing on motivations, emotional outcomes and neutralization processes. The study shows how consumers’ end consumption practices and their SES group explains the mix findings on the counterfeit literature.

The house is one of the most important possessions in individuals' lives and consumers perform several practices in order to turn this spatial product into a home.Building on the existing research on home and home possessions, the article challenges the western romantic notion of home by investigating poor migrant consumers' lived experiences with a spatial product that has material deficiencies and it is perceived as inferior by the members of the dominant host culture. Accordingly, this study explores how migrant and at the same time poor consumers turn the squatter house into a home. Through an ethnographic research, the research findings show how spatial, material, symbolic, social, and temporal dimensions shape the private sphere of home and how consumers individually and collectively negotiate all these of forces in order to turn the stigmatized dwelling into a home.

Consumer brand engagement enhances consumer loyalty and consumer satisfaction, empowerment, connection and emotional bonds, trust, and commitment. Given the consequences of consumer brand engagement, this chapter explores consumers' online engagement with a political party, its online content creators, and other community members. The findings reveal that the developed strategies engage consumers differently with regard to the affective, cognitive, and behavioral dimensions of consumer brand engagement, creating different forms of consumer communities.

For the past twenty years, internal branding has gained academic interest as the interactions between employees and customers shape brand values and brand experiences. As a component of internal branding, external brand communication can have a powerful influence on employees’ motivation, attitudes, identification and subsequent behavior. The purpose of this research is to explore external brand communication strategies in times of risk. Working non-remotely during the pandemic was a major threat for employees’ overall well-being. Advertisements run during the first six months of the pandemic that directly or indirectly focus on internal stakeholders formed the sample. Data was collected from the websites of two national marketing magazines. The findings reveal how employees’ responsibilities were extended during the pandemic and how expressing solidary during the crisis enabled the communication of these new responsibilities. The study contributes to extant research on internal branding and advertising in crisis.

Ethnography is a research approach that deals with the study and representation of culture. Although it has its roots in anthropology and sociology, it has attracted the attention not only of scholars from different disciplines, but also of practitioners. Several research textbooks discuss the principles and the strategies for carrying out an ethnography. Instead of focusing on the principles of the research approach, the chapter explains its application by focusing on personal experiences for an ethnography carried out in a sensitive research context – the squatter neighborhood and the dwellings of poor urban migrants. The chapter explains the problems encountered before and upon entry into the field and presents the strategies employed to overcome these challenges. Eventually, it aims to help researchers and practitioners that are interested in the adoption and the use of this research approach.