Poverty in consumer culture: towards a transformative social representation

Abstract

In this article, we consider the representations of poverty within consumer culture. We focus on four main themes – social exclusion, vulnerability, pleasure and contentment – that capture some of the associations that contemporary understandings have made with poverty. For each theme, we consider the portrayals of poverty from the perspective of key agents (such as marketers, media, politicians) and then relate this to more emic representations of poverty by drawing on a range of contemporary poverty alleviating projects from around the world. We conclude with a set of guidelines for relevant stakeholders to bear in mind when elaborating their representations of poverty. These guidelines may act as a platform to transform marginalising representations of poverty into more empowering representations.

Keywords:

• poverty
• representation
• consumer culture
• transformative consumer research

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kathy Hamilton

This paper was produced as a result of the discussion taking place at the TCR conference Poverty and Vulnerability track. The first two authors led the session and the development of the article – all other participants are in alphabetical order.Kathy Hamilton is a reader in marketing at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. Her research focuses on issues relating to consumer vulnerability and poverty, specifically coping strategies, gender issues, and the concept of researcher vulnerability. Her work has been published in Sociology, Journal of Marketing Management, and European Journal of Marketing.

Maria G. Piacentini

Maria Piacentini is Professor of Consumer Research at Lancaster University Management School. Her research focuses on consumer vulnerability, and she is concerned with the strategies employed by consumers in difficult consumption contexts and situations. She has published her work in a number of academic journals, including Journal of Marketing Management, Journal of Business Research, Sociology of Health and Illness, Journal of Consumer Behaviour, and Advances in Consumer Research.

Emma Banister

Emma Banister is a senior lecturer in consumer research at Manchester Business School. Her research is mainly focused around issues of identity and consumption. Key current projects relate to young adults’ alcohol consumption and new mothers’ identity transitions. Her research has been published in Advances in Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing Management, European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Business Research, and Sociology of Health and Illness.

Andres Barrios

Andrés Barrios is an Assistant Professor in Marketing at Los Andes University Management School. His research interest focuses on the analysis of vulnerable consumers from different perspectives, including consumer culture theory, subsistence marketplaces, and transformative consumer research. His work has been published in the Journal of Business Research, Research in Consumer Behavior, Advances in Consumer Research, and the Transformative Consumer Research 2012 Book.

Christopher P. Blocker

Christopher P. Blocker (Ph.D., University of Tennessee) is an Assistant Professor at Colorado State University. Chris’ research focuses on what people value and desire within marketplace relationships. He explores these topics across a variety of contexts with increasing emphasis on global and domestic poverty, transformative consumer research, subsistence marketplaces, and social enterprises. Articles he has written have appeared in journals such as the Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and other outlets.

Catherine A. Coleman

Catherine A. Coleman (PhD, Institute of Communications Research, University of Illinois) is assistant professor of Strategic Communication at Texas Christian University. Her main research interests include issues of representation, ethics and construction of meaning – particularly of gender, race, and vulnerability – in marketing, advertising, and consumer cultures. She has published and forthcoming works in various outlets including Consumption, Markets & Culture, Journal of Popular Culture, Advertising & Society Review, and Advances in Consumer Research.

Ahmet Ekici

Ahmet Ekici is an assistant professor of marketing at Bilkent University. His research mainly focuses on issues related to Macromarketing (quality of life studies, consumer well-being, business ethics, developing markets, and poverty) and Public policy and marketing with a special emphasis on food safety, institutional trust, vulnerable groups, and poverty and consumption. His research has been published in Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Macromarketing, Journal of Business Ethics, Industrial Marketing Management, Social Indicators Research, Journal of Research for Consumers, and Advances in Consumer Research.

Hélène Gorge

Hélène Gorge is a PhD candidate in marketing at the Univ Lille Nord de France-SKEMA Business School. Her research focuses on the issues of social identity, consumption competences, and resources among poor consumers in France. Her research has been published in Journal of Macromarketing, Décisions Marketing, and other outlets.

Martina Hutton

Martina Hutton is a Senior Lecturer in Marketing at the University of Winchester. Her research explores the intersection of consumer stress, poverty, and resilient coping efforts from a gendered standpoint. As a feminist participatory researcher, she is particularly interested in active engagement with diverse groups of women experiencing poverty. Her work has appeared in the Journal of Business Research and the Journal of Research for Consumers.

Françoise Passerard

Françoise Passerard is a PhD candidate at HEC Paris, and Assistant Professor at ESG Management School. With a background in Social Sciences, she uses in-depth ethnographic investigations. Her research focuses on poverty alleviation, and on vulnerable consumers facing impoverishment.

Bige Saatcioglu

Bige Saatcioglu is Assistant Professor of Marketing at Ozyegin University, Istanbul, Turkey. Her research interests include theoretical and methodological issues in critical and transformative consumer research, consumer culture theory, and social problems and public policy implications. Her publications have appeared in Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, and Journal of Business Research.