Consumers behaving badly: deviation or innovation? Power struggles on the web

Abstract

*This paper sets out to conceptually explore emerging communication patterns online and apparently deviant behaviours they can sustain within the scope of consumerproducer relationships as power struggles. In addition it seeks to advance a conceptualisation of the balancing of power between consumers and producers on the web through contesting discourses labelling deviance. Theories in computer-mediatedcommunications (CMC) and cyber-cultural studies are first covered to describe why consumers might engage in apparently deviant behaviour. Following this, definitions of power are provided and the work of Foucault is borrowed in order to evaluate how strategies of power can be based on deviant behaviour online. This paper concludes that given the yet to be normalised nature of the Internet, the current balance of power between producers and consumers could be determined by the establishment of a discourse outlining what is the norm and what is deviant. Implications for producers and consumers are discussed.

Dark Side or Bright Light: Destructive and Constructive Deviant Content in Consumer Ideation Contests

“…This definition is in line with recent sociological definitions in which deviance is considered to be any departure from social situation expectations (Amine and Gicquel, ). It combines the normative (Denegri‐Knott, ; Moschis and Cox, ) and the reactive (Fullerton and Punj, ; Sandlin and Callahan, ) perspective on deviance. Both perspectives stress that deviant content is a relative phenomenon.…”

“…We suspect deviant innovators are inclined to reflect on, and defy, the institutional nature of ideation contests. They are creative and playful contributors who use the tools provided in a different way, to challenge the intention of the ideation contest (Cova and Dalli, ; Denegri‐Knott, ). Focused, exploratory research in this domain could study the personality traits and socio‐demographic characteristics of deviant contributors to reveal likely triggers of deviant behavior.…”

“…For example, consumer researchers note the characteristics of atypical consumers who proactively adapt, modify, transform (e.g., Berthon, Pitt, McCarthy, and Kates, ), or boycott proprietary offerings or marketing campaigns (e.g., Cova and Dalli, ). Other scholars examine the behavior of cynical (Chylinski and Chu, ), complaining, or abnormal (e.g., Denegri‐Knott, ) consumers. This literature again recognizes the role of social media.…”

“…Such contributors are not happy about participating in marketing campaigns camouflaged as ideation contests that invite their contributions but do not take them seriously. In reaction, contributors devise tactics to counteract the intentions of the contest's host, regarded as a powerful corporate player who tries to influence their credibility (Denegri‐Knott, ). Deviant contributors may show discontent by organizing anti‐branding communities, engaging in culture jamming, or creating satires within ideation contests that later spread via social media and other websites.…”

Downloading deviance

“…At stake, in other words, is more than downloading. It is this that had made their positions intractable for nearly a decade (Denegri-Knott, 2006). Nevertheless, after several years locked in this gridlock -with moral entrepreneurs such as the BPI and IFPI and representatives of illegal downloading both claiming the moral high-groundthere is now some evidence that things are changing.…”