Pursuing fitness: how dialectic goal striving and intersubjectivity influence consumer outcomes

ABSTRACT

Consumers increasingly engage expert service providers in their goal pursuits. While the literature focuses primarily on goal attainment, this presents just one stage of extended goal striving. Using Bagozzi and Dholakia’s [(1999). “Goal Setting and Goal Striving in Consumer Behavior.” Journal of Marketing 63 (Special Issue): 19–32] goal-striving framework as the foundation, this qualitative research examines the client–trainer interactions in the goal-striving process. We find that goal striving with the aid of expert service providers entails intersubjectivity. The consumer wrestles with multiple understandings of fitness to determine and pursue a goal. This considers the individual’s perceptions and desires, cultural and societal discourses, and trainer’s views. Effective goal pursuit requires shared understanding between client and trainer. It entails a moment of release when consumers accept their inability to translate goals into actions alone. This occurs at multiple stages of the process. By examining the influence of service providers on goal strivers, this research extends our understanding of goal striving as an accepted agreement between the Self and Other.

KEYWORDS:

• intersubjectivity
• witnessing
• goal pursuit
• identity
• dialectical goal setting and goal striving
• personal training

Acknowledgements

The authors extend their appreciation to the editor – Jonathan Schroeder, and the three anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments. In addition, the authors would like to thank Kelly Tian, Linda Price, and Russell Belk for their guidance and support with earlier renditions of this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.