Abstract
This paper investigates consumer identity negotiation via product disposition, specifically analyzing disposition as a means of identity separation, management, and incorporation within the context of tattoo removal in the United States. Evidence for separation and management functions of disposition replicate previous studies and demonstrate tattoo removal is a valid consumer domain for analyzing disposition. Motivations conceptually tied to identity incorporation are proposed, expanding upon previous disposition research. This work focuses on how the process, rather than the object, of disposition can symbolically alter a person’s self‐concept by allowing him or her to further incorporate an identity into, rather than separate it from, his or her self‐concept. Implications for disposition, the transfer of personal meanings, and self‐authentication are discussed.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Drs. Russell Belk and Leonard Martin for their comments on earlier drafts of this article.