Working the limits of method: the possibilities of critical reflexive practice in marketing and consumer research

Social marketing: the state of play and brokering the way forward

“…A historical and still prominent critique of social marketing is that it represents a neoliberal approach that puts the focus on individuals to change (so-called victim-blaming), ignores the broader systems-level influences on behaviour and social change (Crawshaw, 2012;Langford & Panter-Brick, 2013;Wallack, 1989) and is a self-serving adaptation of the dominant neo-liberal capitalist marketing system (Bettany & Woodruffe-Burton, 2009;Hackley, 2009;Tadajewski, 2010). Brace-Govan (2015) and Tadajewski et al (2014) point out that issues of power are largely ignored in the social marketing literature and Gurrieri et al (2013) identify that gender perspectives are also absent from social marketing discourse.…”

Liminal mothers’ negotiation of conflicting service consumption

“…Mosse (2001, p. 161) suggests that in ethnography one 'engages in "observant participation" rather than "participant observation"'. This approach makes experiential reflexivity an essential aspect of the analysis (Bettany and Woodruffe Burton, 2009). While there are different conceptions of reflexivity, experiential reflexivity emphases the co-creation of meaning, fusing the experience of informants with one's own lived experience in a way that can enhance public knowledge (ibid).…”

“…First, by allowing women to talk about issues not directly related to the research I was able to achieve a greater level of engagement with the topic allowing fuller understanding of the vulnerabilities and strengths associated with the liminal experience. Second, the conversation allowed my experiences and emerging interpretations to be shared with respondents encouraging additional insights (Bettany and Woodruffe-Burton, 2009) and helping 'balance the exchange between researcher and informant' (Pavia and Mason 2004, p. 444) In the first interview I explored women's experiences of becoming pregnant, their pregnancy-related consumption experiences and anticipation of birth and motherhood. In the second we reflected again upon the experience of becoming and being pregnant but also upon birth and early motherhood while also considering both ante and postnatal consumption.…”

Reflexive introspection: Methodological insights from four ethnographic studies

“…According to Lynch (2000) "reflexivity is a central and yet confusing topic" (p.26) because it can be difficult to establish just what is being claimed. While reflexivity has been discussed across a range of disciplines, such as philosophy (Foucalt, 1970), anthropology (Latour, 1988), sociology (Ashmore, 1989), and psychology (Clifford & Marcus, 1986) the discussion of reflexivity within consumer research has been scarce to date (Bettany & Woodruffe-Burton, 2009;Takhar & Chitakunye, 2012). In fact, the discussions of reflexivity within consumer research have tended to be around introspection (Hirschman, 1986;Holbrook, 1995;Wallendorf & Brucks, 1993), and centred on the significance of the researcher maintaining reflexivity (Bettany & Woodruffe-Burton, 2009) within the research process.…”

“…While reflexivity has been discussed across a range of disciplines, such as philosophy (Foucalt, 1970), anthropology (Latour, 1988), sociology (Ashmore, 1989), and psychology (Clifford & Marcus, 1986) the discussion of reflexivity within consumer research has been scarce to date (Bettany & Woodruffe-Burton, 2009;Takhar & Chitakunye, 2012). In fact, the discussions of reflexivity within consumer research have tended to be around introspection (Hirschman, 1986;Holbrook, 1995;Wallendorf & Brucks, 1993), and centred on the significance of the researcher maintaining reflexivity (Bettany & Woodruffe-Burton, 2009) within the research process. While we are not arguing against this trend, we argue for an in-depth account of informants' inner voices through the use of a multiple methods approach (Takhar & Chitakunye, 2012) and by immersing informants in the research encounter and data collection phase over a longer period of time.…”