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Conceptualizing consumer resistance in global consumer culture: framework and research agenda

Cover: International Marketing Review
  • SEB research

Authors:

  • Agneszka Małecka, University of Economics in Katowice
  • Gregor Pfajfar, University of Ljubljana, School of Economics and Business

Keywords:

Consumer resistance | Global consumer culture | Anticonsumption | Market shaping behavior | Consumer dispositions | Glocalization | Cultural resistance | Consumer culture theory | Boycotts | International marketing | Systematic literature review | ADO framework 

Purpose

The research article aims to delineate and place into context consumer resistance within the realm of global consumer culture (GCC). It delves into exploring its fundamental forms, establishing a conceptual foundation and outlining implications for future inquiry.

Design/methodology/approach

The article adopts a comprehensive conceptual outlook by amalgamating existing insights from a systematic analysis of 110 articles spanning diverse fields like sociology, psychology, marketing and economics. It devises an innovative framework that encapsulates the varying manifestations of consumer resistance based on intensity and target, while proposing an integrative antecedents-decisions-outcomes (ADO) model to elucidate the stimuli, forms and repercussions of resistance within the GCC landscape.

Findings

The article categorizes and delineates different consumer dispositions that underpin resistance, showcasing a spectrum of consumer resistance at micro, meso and macro levels and distinguishing between passive and active behaviors. The ADO framework uncovers identity-based, culture-based and socio-economic motivations as pivotal triggers of resistance, various resistance actions as decisions, and multifaceted outcomes that influence consumers, brands, businesses, markets and the GCC itself. Additionally, the study acknowledges notable research gaps and sets forth a comprehensive research agenda for future exploration.

Originality/value

This research offers a distinctive theoretical contribution by furnishing an exhaustive and unified framework for comprehending consumer resistance within the realm of GCC. It establishes connections between diverse disciplinary perspectives, introduces crucial new conceptualizations of resistance manifestations and delineates a research roadmap to enhance the comprehension of this increasingly salient phenomenon in the domain of international marketing.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) addressed in the article are:

  • SDG 8 – Decent work and economic growth
  • SDG 10 – Reduced inequality
  • SDG 12 – Responsible consumption and production

The article is published in:
International marketing review (Emerald)

The content is freely accessible at:

Conceptualizing consumer resistance in global consumer culture: framework and research agend

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