When Differences Unite: Resource Dependence in Heterogeneous Consumption Communities

Abstract

Although heterogeneity in consumption communities is pervasive, there is little understanding of its impact on communities. This study shows how heterogeneous communities operate and interact with the marketplace. Specifically, the authors draw on actor-network theory, conceptualizing community as a network of heterogeneous actors (i.e., individuals, institutions, and resources), and examine the interplay of these actors in a mainstream activity-based consumption community -the distance running community. Findings, derived from a multimethod investigation, show that communities can preserve continuity even when heterogeneity operates as a destabilizing force. Continuity preserves when community members depend on each other for social and economic resources: a dependency that promotes the use of frame alignment practices. These practices enable the community to (re)stabilize, reproduce, and reform over time. The authors also highlight the overlapping roles of consumers and producers and develop a dimensional characterization of communities that helps bridge prior research on brand communities, consumption subcultures, and consumer tribes.Bryan is a serious runner and a member of the distance running consumption community. He is sponsored by a major athletic brand and is integral to his local running community. In addition to running competitively for almost 30 years, he is also a coach who evangelizes the benefits of running to novices and recruits and is proud of how community members interact with and support each other, regardless of their speed or how much they run. At the same time, he struggles with the participatory nature of the sport, longing for the "good old days" when only a competitive mentality prevailed. B ryan embodies the complexities and paradoxes of a strong, heterogeneous, activity-based consumption community that is able to align the differences between members. Over the past three decades, Bryan has witnessed a radical transformation of the running community from a small, competitive, tight-knit, male-dominated group to a mainstream, popular activity-based consumption community with mass participation. As outlined in appendix A, throughout these 30 years, heterogeneity has emerged in terms of the actors present within the community, the roles they play, and the resources they use and exchange. The purpose of this study is to enhance understandings of how complex heterogeneous communities manifest and interact Accetta and Paul Connell for assistance recruiting informants.

The Taste Transformation Ritual in the Specialty Coffee Market

“…Turner's ritual process theory describes the individuals' transformation through the rite of passage explained by Van Gennep (1960) and explains the formation of communitas. It has also been used by many consumer culture studies to understand the role played by consumption ritual (e.g., Belk, Sherry, & Wallendorf, 1988;Kozinets, 2001;Thomas, Price, & Schau, 2013). Using Turner's theoretical lens, Belk and Costa (1998) introduced the ritual of transformation; Belk, Wallendorf, and Sherry (1989) explained sacralization through ritual; and Kozinets (2002a) investigated the self-transformative ritual power provided at Burning Man festivals.…”

Understanding the Impact of Opinion Leaders’ Characteristics on Online Group Knowledge-Sharing Engagement from In-Group and Out-Group Perspectives: Evidence from a Chinese Online Knowledge-Sharing Community

“…The influences of online groups (also called online group influence) have been associated with a variety of constructs, such as social influence [76], crowd wisdom [77], brand identification [78], consumption communities [79], and reference groups [80]. Marketers and investors are particularly interested in online group influence because of its ability to rapidly disseminate experience and professional knowledge and influence users' choices [77,81].…”

Intertextual Virality and Vernacular Repertoires: Internet Memes as Objects Connecting Different Online Worlds

“…Many of the consumer collectivities that have been studied in the previous literature share some characteristics, such as the constitution of a consumer's identity as deviant because cultural practices in the consumer collectivity are subcultural, the worship of specific consumer objects or brands, and the shared ethos and rituals that take place in this (not necessarily physical) locus (Fournier & Lee, 2009;Stratton & Northcote, 2014;Thomas et al, 2012). These characteristics are typical of consumer collectivities called subcultures.…”

“…Given the importance of this phenomenon, it is surprising to note that this theme, has only been scarcely addressed in the consumer and marketing research (Rosenthal, 2014;Wu & Ardley, 2007). This lack of work is surprising when one considers that memes are present in the literatures of two of the most explored theoretical areas in consumer research: (1) consumer collectivities, a term that we here use to address a variety of online social groups usually sharing cultural repertoires that span from fora to communities, and from brand publics to interest groups (Arvidsson & Caliandro, 2015;Muñiz & Schau, 2011;Schau, Muñiz, & Arnould, 2009;Schouten & Mcalexander, 1995;Thomas, Price, & Schau, 2012), and (2) the phenomenon of viral marketing and word-of-mouth promotion (Brown, Broderick, & Lee, 2007;Dellarocas, 2006;Godes & Mayzlin, 2004;Groeger & Buttle, 2014;Kozinets, Valck, Wojnicki, & Wilner, 2010;Miles, 2014;Phelps, Lewis, Mobilio, Perry, & Raman, 2004).…”