The Consumer Quest for Authenticity: The Multiplicity of Meanings Within the MG Subculture of Consumption

Abstract

Authenticity in the consumption context is an important topic within the marketing literature. This article explores authenticity's multiplicity of meanings within the MG brand subculture of consumption. An ethnographic approach guided data collection, which included participant observation, photo and document reviews, informal conversations, and formal, in-depth interviews with 58 MG owners. The data show that MG owners gain a sense of authenticity in the consumption context via the object and its ownership, consumer experiences, and identity construction and confirmation. As an object, an MG is authentic if it broaches an ideal standard and preserves the brand heritage. An MG experience is authentic when an owner interacts with the car through driving and self-work activities. Finally, an MG owner authenticates his or her identity through role performance and communal commitment. Implications are discussed in light of brand management.

Social Capital Production in a Virtual P3 Community

“…However, it is possible to discern differences in focus and experiential consequences. While virtual P3 activity does occur in brand communities (Muniz and Schau 2005), dialogue in these communities tends to revolve around brand-related narratives that emphasize expressive, hedonic, or social interaction (Cova and Cova 2001;Kozinets 1997;Leigh, Peters, and Shelton 2006). Virtual P3 communities, by contrast, often evolve from pragmatic origins (Bagozzi and Dholakia 2006;Nelson and Otnes 2005;Wasko and Faraj 2005) that do not necessarily relate directly to a specific brand.…”

Consumer-based strategy: using multiple methods to generate consumer insights that inform strategy

“…What they all have in common is that they can be used to generate data at the consumer level. Observational data (such as publicly available online data; Hennig-Thurau et al 2015; Thompson et al 2015), experiments (Heidenreich et al 2015;Xie et al 2015), surveys (Brocato et al 2015;Gallan et al 2013), customer purchase data (Carter and Curry 2013;Papies et al 2011), and qualitative data (Leigh et al 2006;Lemke et al 2011) can be used to generate consumer insights. An easy Blitmus test^is whether each row in one's dataset represents a consumer (as opposed to a firm or a market).…”

Consuming the Objectified Self: The Quest for Authentic Self

“…The research has conceptualized authenticity in consumers' perception based on the cues which consumers use to determine what is and is not authentic Leigh, Peters, & Shelton, 2006). Three types of authenticity are found: indexical, iconic, and existential (Grayson & Martinec, 2004;Leigh et al, 2006).…”

“…Handprints on the Hollywood Walk of Fame are perceived to be authentic because of the physical link to the actors (Grayson & Martinec, 2004). In a person's actions or expressions, authenticity is assessed by self-assurance about cultural ideas or identity that the actions or expressions embody, that is, how much the actions or expressions reflect who the person really is (Leigh et al, 2006). For example, a dance performance by members of an ethnic group is authentic when the dancers truly embrace their cultural heritage in their identity instead of simply going through a dance routine (Grayson & Marinec, 2004).…”

“…Iconic authenticity is embedded in the phrase "authentic reproduction" (Grayson & Marinec, 2004). When something physically resembles what is indexically authentic, the object is considered iconically authentic (Leigh et al, 2006). Assessment of iconic authenticity requires a basic sense of the original for comparison.…”