An Enlargement of the Notion of Consumer Vulnerability

Abstract

Cataloged from PDF version of article.Consumer vulnerability has long been an important issue in public policy and macromarketing. The focus of a special issue of the Journal of Macromarketing (vol. 26, issue 1) underscores this importance. The articles in that special issue lend both conceptual and methodological clarity to the subject of consumer vulnerability, thus bringing to the fore the hitherto overlooked importance of this construct. The purpose of this article is to extend this renewed interest by introducing an integrative view of consumer vulnerability that is a sum of two components: a transient, state-based component dominant in some of the articles in the special issue, and a systemic, class-based component. The proposition is that such an integrative view provides a proactive tool for macromarketers and policy makers in their efforts to safeguard and to empower vulnerable consumers

Children as vulnerable consumers: a first conceptualisation

“…Commuri and Ekici (2008) believe so. They defend Andreasen's (1975) original class based definition of disadvantaged consumers arguing that Baker et al's (2005) conceptualization of consumer vulnerability ignores marketplace realities and prevents proactive policy responses.…”

“…Also, this individual focus would also make policy applications almost impossible, as observed by Commuri and Ekici (2008).…”

Poverty in consumer culture: towards a transformative social representation

“…Definitions of consumer vulnerability -often reflected in discourses of poverty -have been conflicted (e.g., Baker, Gentry, & Rittenburg, 2005;Commuri & Ekici, 2008). Historically, consumer vulnerability has been based on demographic and socioeconomic variables such as elderly (Benet, Pitts, & LaTour, 1993), young (Pechmann, Levine, Loughlin, & Leslie, 2005;Pechmann et al, 2011), minority (Sautter & Oretskin, 1997;Smith & Cooper-Martin, 1997), and poor (Andreasen, 1975;Hill, 2001), though empirical evidence does not support such indiscriminate characterisations of vulnerability (Baker et al, 2005;Hamilton & Catterall, 2006;Ringold, 2005).…”

Unpacking the interplay between organisational factors and the economic environment in the creation of consumer vulnerability

“…While the notion of vulnerability has been broken down into systematic and transient elements (Commuri & Ekici, 2008), 'time' or 'speed' are not usually considered as a source of financial vulnerability or other kinds of vulnerability. Yet, slow decisions can also be a source of distress and powerlessness in other contexts, such as in delaying access to life saving treatments or social security benefits.…”