A consumer culture theory perspective of the marketplace: An integrative review and agenda for research

Abstract

In the last decades, the focus of studies on consumer behavior has changed from the individual to the group. Classical theories based on economic utility are insufficient to understand this phenomenon. Therefore, a new theoretical and postmodern approach seems necessary. Despite the increasing popularity of consumption communities, the investigation in the field is still dispersed. This study represents one first attempt to synthesize findings on the topic, in light of the consumer culture theory (CCT) tradition. CCT provides a useful framework to understand the social, cultural, experiential, and symbolic aspects of consumption. In this paper, we perform a systematic literature review on consumption communities. We also suggest an agenda for future research on the topic, consisting of its emerging themes and a set of propositions of study.

Scientific procedures and rationales for systematic literature reviews (SPAR‐4‐SLR)

“…Hungara and Nobre's (2021) review on consumer culture theory using 48 articles across 24 different journals explains the typology of consumption communities (e.g., small vs. large groups), concepts (e.g., assemblage thinking and consumption experiences) and theories (e.g., service dominant logic; social capital, exchange, network, and practice theories), as well as the antecedents (e.g., anti‐brand community participation; attachment or ownership to brands, products, and services; and hedonic and utilitarian community factors), mediators/moderators (e.g., community type and sociocultural issues), and consequences (e.g., ephemerality, identity co‐creation, and subcultural antagonism) often studied using consumer culture theory.…”

Consumer cynicism: Interdisciplinary hybrid review and research agenda

“…Based on the size and strength of the articles' citations and/or occurrences, a bibliometric review well complements other literature reviews (Gupta & Dhingra, 2022;Halder et al, 2021;Paul & Criado, 2020;Rawat et al, 2022) in showing a topic's origin, evolution, influence, and advancements at a macro level (Chakma et al, 2021). Following the SPAR-4-SLR protocol of , we conduct a comprehensive and conceptual (Rawat et al, 2022) hybrid review (Paul & Criado, 2020) by integrating bibliometric review and systematic literature review, as adopted by earlier business management researchers (Chakma et al, 2021;Das et al, 2022;Harju, 2022;Hungara & Nobre, 2021;Paul & Bhukya, 2021) (Figure 1). SPAR-4-SLR, which has been designed to conduct systematic literature reviews specifically (Paul et al, 2021, p. 6), provides a rationale, topical, consistent, transparent, and robust protocol (Harju, 2022;Khatri & Duggal, 2022;Lim et al, 2022;Rawat et al, 2022) to assemble, arrange, and assess vast literature in a systematic and exhaustive way (Gupta & Dhingra, 2022).…”

“…Based on the size and strength of the articles' citations and/or occurrences, a bibliometric review well complements other literature reviews (Gupta & Dhingra, 2022; Halder et al, 2021; Paul & Criado, 2020; Rawat et al, 2022) in showing a topic's origin, evolution, influence, and advancements at a macro level (Chakma et al, 2021). Following the SPAR‐4‐SLR protocol of Paul et al (2021), we conduct a comprehensive and conceptual (Rawat et al, 2022) hybrid review (Paul & Criado, 2020) by integrating bibliometric review and systematic literature review, as adopted by earlier business management researchers (Chakma et al, 2021; Das et al, 2022; Harju, 2022; Hungara & Nobre, 2021; Paul & Bhukya, 2021) (Figure 1).…”

Predicting young Chinese consumers’ intentions to purchase Western brands: Structural model analysis

“…Furthermore, consumer culture frames consumers' feelings, thoughts, and emotions to form certain behavioral tendencies and patterns that are divergent from other people [23,32]. Although CCT, as a collection of theoretical perspectives rather than an ultimate theory, does not directly establish nomothetic models, it facilitates researchers and practitioners comprehending the complex and dynamic relationship among cultural values, consumer behaviors and the marketplace [30,34]. Based on prior research, ethnocentrism and cosmopolitanism are identified as critical consumer values determining consumers' decision-making process and consumption behaviors [4,5,7,35].…”