Competing orders of worth in extraordinary consumption community

ABSTRACT

This article argues that tension and conflicts during consumption can be analysed through the lens of convention theory, which is preoccupied with the justification of action under the condition of fragmented institutional environments. Central to the perspective is the co-presence of consumption regimes with incompatible orders of worth which result in disagreements about the legitimacy of modes of justification in consumption communities. Whereas prior research tends to focus on protagonist–antagonist tensions or disputes over how to consume, our results from studying an extraordinary consumption community contribute to an understanding of how heterogeneity emerges when consumers dispute over multiple criteria for justification. We discuss how the order of worth perspective contributes with mundane controversies to a research field that tends to focus on “grand” conflicts and, as such, extend what it might mean to understand consumption communities and their tensions and conflicts.

KEYWORDS:

• Order of worth
• consumption heterogeneity
• consumption regime
• CCT
• consumption community
• extraordinary experience

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Frank Lindberg, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Marketing at Nord University Business School, Norway. His current research focuses on experience economy, consumer research, tourist experiences, especially related to Consumer Culture Theory. In the academic year 2016-17, he was engaged as a visiting scholar at Gothenburg University, Sweden, granted by the MORE research mobility programme run by Region Västra Götaland.

Lena Mossberg, Ph.D., is Professor of marketing at the School of Business, Economics and Law, Gothenburg University, Sweden, and holds a position as Adjunct Professor at Nord University Business School, Norway. Her research covers consumer behaviour and consumption, consumer experiences, service encounters, and destination image.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for Research, Technological Development and Demonstration [grant number 608743] and Research Council of Norway [grant number 195306].