The Health-Related Market in Czech Republic and Denmark: An Exploration of Consumption Experiences

Abstract

Due to the rise in consumers' "health-conciousness", the health-related market has become one with the most potential. However, most studies on health-related consumption have been carried out within the Western world, while the evolution of health management in Central and Eastern Europe has been radically different. This paper builds on two separate qualitative studies of consumers' perception and practices in the sphere of health and food in Denmark and the Czech Republic. Each of these studies explored in its own way, how consumers in each of the two cultural settings deal with consumption through different forms of governmentality. It shows how in the Danish setting the notion of agency and the reflexive self unfold as a theme where consumers depend on an inner voice and a "gut feeling", while in the Czech context consumers increasingly seek guidance from expert systems. These findings thus enlighten the meanings and processes behind consumer choices, having significant implications for marketing of companies operating on these growing markets.