Quality‐of‐life as chronotopefication and futurization: Subsistence consumer experiences in India

Abstract

In the poverty‐ridden settings in neo‐liberal India, we explore how subsistence consumers construct their quality‐of‐life (QOL). Drawing on the concepts of chronotope and futurization, we posit two additional dimensions of subsistence consumers' construction of QOL namely, chronotopefication and futurization. Our findings suggest that chronotopefication and futurization are defining processes of subsistence consumers' construction of QOL perceptions; their sacrifices, efforts, and costs, however painful they may be, would be perceived as QOL enhancing from the prism of chronotopefication and futurization; and subsistence consumers chronotopize and futurize QOL for the whole extended household within the intergenerational temporal space by focusing on stable input–outcome pathways. Based on the evidence, we propose QOL as chronotopefication and futurization framework (QOL‐CFF). The framework suggests that subsistence consumers construct QOL as chronotope building, futurized and having a symbolic effect. They consider current agonies as a foundation for future building.

Pandemics and consumer well‐being from the Global South

“…During this period, as the marketplaces of Global South crack under life circumstances that are precarious and extreme, the consumer concerns from these spaces reflect the marginal voices, deriving implications for a range of previously unaddressed topics, particularly of consumer affairs. While much of the existing literature about consumer well-being and consumer affairs of the subsistence marketplace explores such conditions under "normal" situations (Chaplin et al, 2014;Farrell & Hill, 2018;Hill, 2002;Hill & Adrangi, 1999;Jagadale et al, 2020), pandemics (particularly COVID-19) offers a fresh look at the "new normal" consumption from the margins of the Global South. Western neoliberal market policies and strategies, meant for the upliftment of the poor, already have their critics.…”

Exploring unheard voices: Best practices in interviewing women prosumers in Indian subsistence contexts

“…To address transformative goals through empowering subsistence‐level prosumers and bringing about increased well‐being, methods that privilege their knowledge systems are crucial (Viswanathan, Chakrabarti, et al, 2021; Viswanathan, Umashankar, et al, 2021). Therefore, a micro‐level bottom‐up approach is required that allows “views and voice from below” to inform the development of inclusive marketing systems, and effective public policy that reflects the subsistence populace's multilayered socio‐economic and cultural needs of the subsistence populace (Jagadale et al, 2021).…”

“…Subsistence marketplaces, where prosumers struggle daily to maintain necessities of life and socio‐cultural survival (Viswanathan and Sreekumar, 2019; Venugopal & Viswanathan, 2017, 2021), are of growing interest to marketing and consumer researchers (e.g., Hill & Martin, 2014; Jagadale et al, 2021; Venugopal & Viswanathan, 2021). Those living at the subsistence level and where large numbers of the population occupy the lowest level of the economic pyramid (Viswanathan, Chakrabarti, et al, 2021; Viswanathan, Umashankar, et al, 2021) are found in multiple geographical locations and cultures, usually in developing and emerging countries and especially those least developed (Viswanathan, Chakrabarti, et al, 2021; Viswanathan, Umashankar, et al, 2021).…”

Exploring Subsistence Marketplaces Through a Feminist Perspective

“…A central pillar of subsistence marketplace literature is the importance of thoroughly understanding the experiences of individuals and communities living in poverty and to map out the struggles these individuals face in meeting their basic needs (Jagadale et al, 2020). To capture the complexity inherent in poverty, subsistence marketplace studies use a bottom-up approach.…”