Intracommunity Gifting at the Intersection of Contemporary Moral and Market Economies

Abstract

Consumer research on gifting has primariiy focused on the interpersonai meanings and behavior patterns associated with dyadic giffs that are specifically given from one individuai to another and in which the centrai goai is interpersonal relationship maintenance. Yet we find another type of gifting when community members in one social position give to community members in another position in which the central goal is intracommunity, rather than interpersonai, relationship wori<. This ethnographic research detaiis the ritual practices, structural components, and meanings associated with intracommunity gifts employing the empirical context of the postKatrina New Orleans' community celebration of iVlardi Gras. Through this context, we detail how intracommunity gifting gives prominence to the iogics of the moral economy while still drawing from those of the market economy. Beyond this context, we use our conclusions about the intersection of the market and moral economies to understand contemporary ambivalence to corporate sponsorships of iocai community events.C onsumer research on gifting rituals has primarily focused on the personal meanings and bebaviors associated witb dyadic gifts, gifts tbat are specifically targeted from one person to another to maintain or deepen their exisdng relationship. Papers on dyadic gifdng have contributed substantially to consumer researcb by detailing the meanings and practices through which dyadic gifting rituals communicate and solidify intimate relationships (Belk 1976;

Unmanageable multiplicity: consumer transformation towards moral self coherence

“…Further, Weinberger and Wallendorf (2012) illustrate the embodiment of morality in consumption when revealing the importance of the intersections between moral and market economies to social cohesion. More recently, Saatcioglu and Ozanne (2013) have explained how morality is a mechanism of social stratification for working class consumers.…”

The Taste Transformation Ritual in the Specialty Coffee Market

“…Belk et al (1989) describe sacralization rituals, and Sherry (1983) explains interaction rituals in the gift-giving process. Ritual also plays an important role in understanding the consumption of the American Thanksgiving holiday (Wallendorf & Arnould, 1991), activities within consumption subcultures (Schouten & McAlexander, 1995), the creation of fantasy consumption enclaves (Belk & Costa, 1998), brand communities (Muniz & O'Guinn, 2001), Burning Man consumption (Kozinets, 2002a), intracommunity gifts (Weinberger & Wallendorf, 2012), death and identity (Bonsu & Belk, 2003), the wedding harmonization process (Nguyen & Belk, 2013), the lavish wedding (Otnes & Pleck, 2003), and the meaning of alcoholic beverages to college students (Wolburg & Treise, 2004).…”

The Relationship between Access Practices and Economic Systems

“…That is, hybrid forms of economies between nonmarket and market can exist. An example would be intracommunity gifts, where corporations "gift" a parade to a community via sponsorship (Weinberger and Wallendorf 2012), or when a software developer gives away software for free (freeware), but consumers choose to pay for it in the guise of a donation, to enable upkeep and upgrades of the software (Scaraboto 2015). These studies articulate the view that various spheres of exchange can coexist without much conflict between market and nonmarket logics (Parry and Bloch 1989).…”