| 1. |
- Adolfsson, Caroline, et al.
(author)
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Collaborative introspection as a methodological tool of reflexivity - from multidisciplinary to transdisciplinary co-production
- 2021
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In: International Transdisciplinarity Conference (ITD21), 13-17 Sept: Creating spaces and cultivating mindsets for learning and experimentation.
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This paper explores reflexivity through "collaborative introspection" as a methodological tool for transcending a multidisciplinary dialogue and achieving transdisciplinary co-production of knowledge. Reflexivity is argued to be applicable for critically addressing assumptions and ideologies of the research team (Popa et al., 2015), joint problem framing (Pearce & Ejderyan, 2019), experimentation (Popa et al., 2015), or more generally as a focal area to be used for addressing challenges in transdisciplinary projects (Jahn, et al., 2012; Polk, 2015). However, discussions on reflexivity rarely place focus on how a reflexive dialogue can be used to gather empirical material in a collaborative manner, making use of the participating researchers’ subjectivity, personal experiences and understandings of a specific topic. The authors of this text are part of a transdisciplinary research team exploring the role of tourism in multicultural societies. The team involves researchers from the fields of design, marketing, tourism studies, human-computer interaction, and migration studies. In the project we collaborate with each other across disciplines in different case studies. However, we have experienced a tendency to fall back into our disciplinary silos, where we explore the same topic from our own disciplinary lenses. As an attempt to bring ourselves together we decided to go personal. Instead of looking at the role of tourism in multicultural societies from our disciplinary viewpoints, we dug into our memories of acting as tourists ourselves in a reflective session. More specifically, inspired by the tool Tell your story by means of an object (td-net, 2021), we shared and reflected upon our own tourism experiences through our core project concepts, which are diversity, inclusivity and integration. The dialogue that emerged forced us to focus on our research topic not as researchers who are expected to maintain objectivity but rather as individuals allowing ourselves to be subjective. This created a feeling of working ‘together’ instead of ‘with’ each other. The reflections created genuine and honest dialogue highlighting our national, cultural, gender and racial differences. The differences and similarities of our personal experiences depend on the social categories and identities that we are part of. Thus, by bringing our personal stories as empirical material, we created an opportunity to listen to each other beyond our disciplinary boundaries. It made us understand the layers of hierarchy, privilege and disadvantages that we face in our lives as individuals, and to understand instances of inclusion and exclusion in tourism at a deeper level. From our experience, we propose what we term "collaborative introspection" as a reflexive methodological tool for transdisciplinary research and practice. Collaborative introspection exercises challenge the commonly held idea of neutrality. It can be used as a tool for a transdisciplinary group to come together, transform thoughts and develop empathy and ethics in research. References: Jahn, T., Bergmann, M. & Keil, F. (2018). Transdisciplinarity: between mainstreaming and marginalization, Ecological Economics 79 Pearce, B. J., & Ejderyan, O. (2020). Joint problem framing as reflexive practice: honing a transdisciplinary skill. Sustainability science, 15(3), 683-698. Polk, M. (2015). Transdisciplinary co-production: Designing and testing a transdisciplinary research framework for societal problem solving. Futures, 65, 110-122. Popa, F., Guillermin, M., & Dedeurwaerdere, T. (2015). A pragmatist approach to transdisciplinarity in sustainability research: From complex systems theory to reflexive science. Futures, 65, 45-56. Td-net (2021, April 7). Tell your Story by Means of an Object. Retrieved from: https://naturalsciences.ch/co-producing-knowledge-explained/methods/td-net_toolbox/_tell_your_story_by_means_of_an_object_
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Egan-Wyer, Carys, et al.
(author)
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Nerdery, Snobbery and Connoisseurship : Developing conceptual clarity within the area of refined consumption
- 2014
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- As consumers in Western consumer culture have increasingly turned from high cultural to low cultural consumption categories to cultivate themselves, the meanings of the traditional and socio-cultural concepts used to represent different forms of consumer expertise have been blurred or altered. Drawing upon sociocultural literature on taste and distinction we attempt to provide theoretical clarity to the concepts of connoisseurship, snobbery, and nerdery; concepts that are often used interchangeably and without rigor in both (contemporary) popular and academic discourse. The outcome of our conceptual analysis is concretised using a semiotic square to illustrate how the concepts differ from each other. Our analysis suggests that the democratisation of consumption through the imprinting of status meanings upon traditionally illegitimate cultural objects may lead to the “bastardisation” of taste regarding those same illegitimate cultural categories – a performance formerly restricted to high culture.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Jernsand, Eva Maria, 1967, et al.
(author)
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Tourism memories : a collaborative reflection on inclusion and exclusion
- 2023
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In: Tourism Recreation Resarch. - : Taylor & Francis. - 0250-8281 .- 2320-0308. ; 48:6, s. 820-830
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The purpose of this paper is to explore how people’s differentiated privileged and marginalised positions in society create instances of inclusion and exclusion in tourism. Eight authors utilised their diverse disciplinary and theoretical bases to engage in individual autoethnography and collaborative reflections of their personal experiences of being tourists and hosts. Through our Western and non-Western, White and non-White experiences, we reveal experiences from a multitude of perspectives, and problematise the dominant White racial frame. The methodology illustrates unquestioned privileges and feelings of discomfort when personally faced with exclusionary practices and creates an understanding of how individuals have different experiences of enchantment and the tourist gaze. The experience of marginalisation is serial and dialectical, which illustrates the complexity of tourism. The paper contributes to an enhanced and multifaceted understanding of tourism experiences and proposes measures to reveal issues of exclusion. Also, the use of autoethnography and collaborative reflection as methodological tools provide opportunities for researchers and practitioners to engage in reflexive conversation on discriminatory practices, and how they hinder certain individuals and groups from enjoying tourism products and services.
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| 8. |
- Klasson, Marcus, et al.
(author)
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Masculinising domesticity: an investigation of men’s domestic foodwork
- 2015
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In: Journal of Marketing Management. - 0267-257X. ; 31:15-16, s. 1652-1675
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study examines how men configure their gendered identity in relation to a traditionally feminised domain. Hegemonic masculinity is said to structure men’s dominance over women. We use the lens of hegemonic masculinity along with social fields of cultural production to understand new allocations of status capital in relation to gendered identity work. Sweden, a country permeated by an ideology of egalitarianism and having a history of high economic and symbolic incentives for the domestic field, has seemingly legitimised the domestic consumption field in the search for higher status. By exploring the transforming meanings of masculinity when men enter a traditionally feminine consumption domain in this particular cultural context, we identify how feminised masculinities are shaped into hegemonic masculinity. This in turn suggests that the currently most honoured way of being a man includes forms of masculinities that incorporate egalitarian relationships between men and women.
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| 9. |
- Koch, Christian, et al.
(author)
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Plant versus Cow: Conflict Framing in the Ant/Agonistic Relegitimization of a Market
- 2022
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In: Journal of Macromarketing. - : SAGE Publications. - 0276-1467 .- 1552-6534. ; 42:2, s. 247-261
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this article we focus on the cultural mechanisms of market evolution accompanying the marketplace discord between a market actor and a dominant industry. We situate our analysis in the intersection between marketing and institutional theory and engage specifically with the constructs of legitimacy and framing strategies, but also with Chantal Mouffe’s political philosophy concept of agonistics. To better understand the blurry impact of market-driven activism and conflict on the shaping of markets, we use the ongoing “milk-war” between plant- versus animal-based drink producers as backdrop, and empirically explore how a market actor and their supporting institutional actors frame a previously legitimate industry in an attempt to delegitimize it, without sacrificing its consumer market. We find a rhetorical juggling-act of attempted legitimization of the market alternative and delegitimization of the status quo, where the intricacy of framing strategies constitutes what we call conflict framing. In line with the market-critical fundaments of agonistics, this conflict framing can work to (partly) delegitimize the status quo industry and to relegitimize its market at the same time, but cannot radically disrupt the system. Drawing from research predicting a growing absorption of politicized conflict by the market in general, we problematize and critique a potential rise in presence of marketmediated conflict framing. Our insights contribute to ongoing conversations on market evolution, markets for alternatives, ethical consumption and the ideological functioning of markets.
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| 10. |
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| 11. |
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| 12. |
- Lucarelli, Andrea, 1982-, et al.
(author)
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Research contributions in interpretivist marketing and consumer research studies : A kaleidoscopic framework
- 2023
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In: Marketing Theory. - 1470-5931 .- 1741-301X.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Calls for research contribution and demands for original theories have become visibly and audibly louder in review processes over the last two decades. In interpretivist marketing and consumer research, such calls have been accompanied by an emphasis on the importance of theory and on drawing on context when crafting impactful research contributions. By investigating the rhetorical claims made by authors in 45 highly cited articles, published between 2005 and 2019 in three representative marketing journals, this paper provides a kaleidoscopic, three-dimensional framework that maps out and explores the rhetorical devices employed in interpretivist scholarship. Based on the framework, the paper suggests different pathways that researchers can follow to navigate through the complex process of shaping and developing relevant and impactful research contributions.
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| 13. |
- Osanami Törngren, Sayaka, et al.
(author)
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Comparing attitudes and preferences towards multiracial advertisement in Sweden and the US : Exploration through eye-tracking
- 2020
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This article is based on the results of a pilot study which examines and compares how multiracial and multiethnic advertisement is looked at and perceived in Sweden and the US. Research involving eye-tracking is growing in several disciplines but still underexplored in the Social Sciences. Eye trackers enable recording of eye movements both in a natural and isolated/experimental context. Combining eye-tracking data and other types of traditional data such as interviews or surveys has a great potential to analyze and challenge the data bias, such as social desirability needs and race of interviewer effect. Even though we did not find any statistically significant results due to the limited sample size, the results points to interesting trends and tendencies which need to be addressed in further studies. We did not find any statistically significant differences in the preference in monocultural advertisements among Swedish and American students. However higher prior interracial exposure had some significance in a higher preference in multicultural advertisement.
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| 14. |
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| 15. |
- Osanami Törngren, Sayaka, et al.
(author)
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Who Is Marketised in Colour-Blind Sweden? Racial and Ethnic Representation in Swedish Commercials 2008–2017
- 2020
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In: Genealogy. - : MDPI AG. - 2313-5778. ; 4:4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- From a social equality representation perspective, advertising should ideally mirror themulticultural composition at the national market, because mass-mediated identity representationsmay act as cultural resources for those with marginalised identities. To investigate the observanceto such an ideal in a context where the ethnic and racial composition of the population saw a rapidchange, this article examines 676 Swedish TV commercials in over the period 2008–2017, and analysesthe representation of non-White persons of colour (POC). Through this quantitative and qualitativeexamination, we find that POC are indeed visible in the commercials, but predominantly in thebackground or playing minor roles. With the, at times, unproportionally high representation ofracial and ethnic diversity in Swedish advertising, we find significant tokenism, or in other words,the structurally ineffectual approach common in market-based multiculturalism.
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| 16. |
- Rokka, Joonas, et al.
(author)
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Consumer Identity Work: Identity and Consumption
- 2023. - 2'nd
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In: Consumer Culture Theory : 2'nd Edition - 2'nd Edition. - 9781529609257 - 9781529609264 - 9781529614435 ; , s. 15-32
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Book chapter (peer-reviewed)
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| 17. |
- Shahriar, Hossain, et al.
(author)
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Assessing Theoretical Research Contributions in CCT
- 2022
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In: Research in Consumer Culture Theory : Proceedings of the Consumer Culture Theory Conference Oregon 2022 - Proceedings of the Consumer Culture Theory Conference Oregon 2022. ; 4
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The present manuscript assesses the rhetorical claims made by authors in a selected corpus of CCT articles (2005-2019) in three representative journals. Against the widespread mantras of “theoretical contributions”, it offers a humble, pluralist framework for CCT scholars to shape and develop relevant and impactful research contributions.
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| 18. |
- Shahriar, Hossain, et al.
(author)
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“THIS IS NOT INCLUSIVITY: Muslim Immigrant Consumers’ Negotiations of Market-Mediated Progressive Gender Ideologies”
- 2022
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In: Research in Consumer Culture Theory : Proceedings of the Consumer Culture Theory Conference Oregon 2022 - Proceedings of the Consumer Culture Theory Conference Oregon 2022. ; 4
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this research we explored consumer acculturation by examining Muslim immigrants’ negotiation of market-mediated progressive gender ideologies by studying Bangladeshi migrant consumers in Sweden. Our findings discerned various logics in the general critique and discursive resistance against commodification of market-mediated gender progressive “inclusivity”.
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| 19. |
- Shahriar, Hossain, et al.
(author)
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Towards an Ecotopia – Digital Utopia or Dystopia?
- 2023
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In: Research in Consumer Culture Theory : Proceedings of the Consumer Culture Theory Conference Lund 2023 - Proceedings of the Consumer Culture Theory Conference Lund 2023. ; 5
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The paper embarks on an exploration of how technological advancements are poised to reshape the landscape of future consumption and marketing practices and extend our understanding of whether this trajectory is potentially leading toward a future digital utopia or a dystopia. Drawing upon the theoretical understanding from Marshall McLuhan, this research investigates the metaverse as a novel technological medium, delving deep into the multifaceted implications these technological developments carry for consumption, marketing, and society.
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| 20. |
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| 21. |
- Ulver, Sofia, et al.
(author)
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Brand as Violence
- 2017. - 1
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In: Brand Theories : Perspectives on Brands and Branding - Perspectives on Brands and Branding. - 9789144116242 ; , s. 281-298
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Book chapter (other academic/artistic)
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| 22. |
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| 23. |
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| 24. |
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| 25. |
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| 26. |
- Ulver, Sofia
(author)
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Den Nygröna Människan : En översikt av landsbygdens status i förändring
- 2012
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Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Dikotomin mellan den urbanisering och landsbygd har de senaste åren blivit starkare. Denna rapport sammanfattar samhällsvetenskaplig forskning om samt utforskar empiriskt hur denna dikotomi har konstruerats socialt och kulturellt. Flera sociala trender identifieras och diskuteras.
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| 27. |
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| 28. |
- Ulver, Sofia, et al.
(author)
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Emerging Market (Sub)Systems and Consumption Field Refinement
- 2013
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In: Advances in Consumer Research. - 0098-9258. ; 41, s. 311-315
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this conceptual paper, we introduce a meso-level theoretical framework (Consumption Field Refinement) to explain the development of market systems and suggest methods for researching this development. Our framework centres on the idea that the market system consists of interlinked subsystems (consumption fields), each focused on a particular consumption activity.
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| 29. |
- Ulver, Sofia
(author)
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Encouraged Intrusion and the Entering of a Subordinate Consumption Field
- 2015
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In: Advances in Consumer Research. - 0098-9258. ; 43, s. 415-420
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In order to explore consumer culture’s potential to change social relations, this investigation immerses into the growing consumer culture of foodies occupying the historically feminine space of domestic cooking. It offers a tentative theory on the entering of subordinate consumption fields in contexts where the entering is sanctioned by cultural authorities.
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| 30. |
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| 31. |
- Ulver, Sofia, et al.
(author)
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Exploring the Everyday Branded Retail Experience-The Consumer Quest for ‘Homeyness’ in Branded Grocery Stores
- 2011
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In: Advances in Consumer Research. - 0098-9258. ; 38
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper extends theories of retail branding and consumer experience of retail stores by bringing consumer culture theory into the field of retailing. Using ethnographic data collection methods (photo-diaries, participant observations, long interviews, artifact collections) we studied the grocery shopping habits and life at home among Swedish middle-class working women with children. The analysis suggests that McCracken’s (1989) ‘homeyness’ framework succeeds to understand the orientations inflected in the everyday branded retail experience, as opposed to the ‘mythotypic’ (see Kozinets 2002) that explicates the power of the more spectacular. The studied consumers held strong ties to their favorite grocery retailer brand where the ‘homeyness’ constellation, executed power over these women that went beyond mere convenience. Still, in terms of retail brand ideology, where the immersion into marketplace myths supports the agendas of ideologies. The myths conveyed in these everyday marketplaces rather supported unreflected dominant ideologies, than paradigm-breaking and emerging ideology which more spectacular arenas may strive for in their quest for an overwhelming consumer experience. Thus, the powerful and distinctive experience of ‘homeyness’ demands an ideology-neutral surrounding supported by marketplace-crafted myths. Additional research is needed to see if and how the constellation of ‘homeyness’ is applicable in other national, gender, class, ethnic and lifestyle contexts. Hence, the conceptual implications of our analysis for consumer research concern on one hand the possible transferability and appropriation of the specific constellation of ‘homeyness’ to other important consumer cultural contexts, and on the other hand more generally the importance for consumer cultural researchers to not primarily always aim for the spectacular but also direct their eyes towards experiences of the more ordinary, yet culturally rich, kind.
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| 32. |
- Ulver, Sofia
(author)
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From Mundane to Socially Significant Consumption : An Analysis of How Foodie Identity Work Spurs Market Formation
- 2019
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In: Journal of Macromarketing. - : SAGE Publications. - 0276-1467 .- 1552-6534. ; 39:1, s. 53-70
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- How does dull turn into cool? Every now and then new markets emerge and consumption that used to be mundane and insignificant transforms into something socially significant. Using the theoretical lens of cultural system transformation, this research set out to analyze how consumers, through their identity work, unintentionally transform a market by negotiating its symbolic boundaries and expanding its borders in relation to their social surroundings. The results showed that consumer identity work contributes to forming the market by providing it with new symbolic meanings (epistemic, entertainment and erotic), by extending it with new discursive and material content (through epistemic refinement), and by expanding it through the provision (active and unintentional promotion of the consumption field to confirm their own identity) of new consumers. This research added to at least three ongoing conversations in marketing research; (i) to the macromarketing research stream on marketing systems by taking a cultural system perspective and recognizing the subtle but transformative impact of symbolic consumer meanings and identity work, (ii) to the consumer culture theory (CCT) research stream on market formation by highlighting consumers’ unintentional change of a market through intense identity struggle in their immediate social circle, and (iii) to both above streams by highlighting what makes identity struggle distinct at a mundane rather than more controversial or extraordinary market.
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| 33. |
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| 34. |
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| 35. |
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| 36. |
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| 37. |
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| 38. |
- Ulver, Sofia, et al.
(author)
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Moving up, down or sideways? : Exploring consumer experience of identity and status incongruence
- 2014
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In: European Journal of Marketing. - 0309-0566 .- 1758-7123. ; 48:5-6, s. 833-853
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose - The purpose of this article is to argue that consumers experience conflict not only when in identity transitions or social status transitions but also in-between these two, and that the relationship between these two is becoming increasingly important to address. First, this is done by identifying how status transitions (vertical movements) overlap but differ in some important respects from identity transitions (horizontal movements), and second, the consumption strategies used by people when these movements lead to an experience of conflict between one's (new/old) identity role and (new/old) status position have been demonstrated. Design/methodology/approach - In this multi-sited, qualitative data collection, the phenomenological and ethnographic interviews have been conducted with 35 urban middle-class consumers in their homes at three culturally and historically different sites (Sweden, Turkey and the USA). Findings - The importance and kind of a consumption strategy to resolve the status-identity incongruence relates if it is mainly a vertically or horizontally determined transition. To consumers with a main focus on status change - characterised by hierarchical and competitive dimensions that identity role transitions are free from - the engagement in consumption becomes more important and intense. Practical implications - Marketers have historically mainly been engaged in static categorisation and segmentation of consumer lifestyles. By instead emphasising consumers' life transitions and their accompanying status-identity conflicts, marketers may consider the implications for market communication. Social implications - Given that liquid modernity (Bauman, 2001) and its loose social structures forces the middle-class to become increasingly socially mobile, matches and mismatches between identity and status positions ought to become more common and the resulting consumption strategies more sophisticated. This research offers a first, tentative framework for understanding these conflicts in relation to consumption. Originality/value - Although lifestyle transitions have often been elaborated on in consumer research, the differences between social status transitions and identity transitions, and especially the conflict in-between these two, have not been paid its deserved attention. Based on multi-sited, qualitative data collection, concrete consumption strategies following the experience of status-identity incongruence have been identified. The results also contribute to a better understanding of the growing uncertainty and volatility of social status positions in contemporary middle-class consumer culture.
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| 39. |
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| 40. |
- Ulver, Sofia, et al.
(author)
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Political Ideology in Consumer Resistance: Analyzing Far-Right Opposition to Multicultural Marketing
- 2020
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In: Journal of Public Policy & Marketing. - : SAGE Publications. - 0743-9156 .- 1547-7207. ; 39:4, s. 477-493
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Political ideologies of the far-right are gaining ground in world politics and culture, not least by way of market forces. It has therefore become urgent to understand how these ideologies manifest themselves in the fields of marketing and consumption at a sociocultural level. The authors explore the discursive efforts in far-right consumer resistance to advance a political agenda through protests directed at brands’ multicultural advertising and analyze how these consumers conceptualize their adversaries in the marketplace. In contrast to previous framings of adversaries identified in consumer research, where resistance is typically anticapitalist and directed toward firms’ unethical conduct or the exploitation by the global market economy per se, the authors find that the following discursive themes stand out in the far-right consumer resistance: the emphasis on the state as main antagonist, the indifference to capitalism as a potential adversary, and overt contestation of liberal ethics. The article concludes with a discussion of research contributions as well as the public policy and marketing implications in light of a growing far-right consumer culture.
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| 41. |
- Ulver, Sofia, et al.
(author)
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Restaurangens nya guldålder
- 2017
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In: Konsumtionsrapporten 2017 [Inga bekymmer?]. - 2002-8164 .- 2002-8156. ; , s. 32-46
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Book chapter (other academic/artistic)
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| 42. |
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| 43. |
- Ulver, Sofia
(author)
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Status Spotting- A Consumer Cultural Exploration into Ordinary Status Consumption of "Home" and Home Aesthetics
- 2008
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- When lumping the notions of “status” and “consumption” together, people often think of expensive brands, conspicuous luxury, bling-bling and spectacular extravaganza. Not least in the case of the “home,” such associations go to Hollywood stars, spacious mansions, famous architects, swimming pools, and high-priced furniture design frenzy. But given that most people don’t have the means, and perhaps more importantly don’t want, to consume in opulent and spectacular ways, how do “ordinary” consumers compete for status through the home and home decoration? And how do they relate to the idea of status as regards their homes without making it so visible? In this book I explore the shadowy existence of status competition in ordinary (Western) consumer culture, where consumers are often said to claim status in ever more subtle ways. By interviewing urban middle-class consumers inside their homes in Sweden, Turkey, and the USA, I discover sophisticated home decoration practices, emotions, conversation techniques and narratives, which work to camouflage and disguise status concerns on one hand, and claim aspired status on the other. All in all, my findings show how status is an ever-present dimension in people’s consumption, albeit seldom admitted by consumers themselves. This is a book for consumer researchers, social and cultural critics, business managers, marketers, lifestyle commentators and—not least—for consumers themselves, who want to know more about disguised status competition, the home, and consumption that is not exactly what it appears to be.
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| 44. |
- Ulver, Sofia, et al.
(author)
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Symbolic Interactionism
- 2020
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In: Theories and Perspectives in Business Administration. - 9789144127088
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Book chapter (peer-reviewed)
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| 45. |
- Ulver, Sofia
(author)
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The conflict market polarizing consumer culture(s) in counter-democracy
- 2022
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In: Journal of Consumer Culture. - : SAGE Publications. - 1469-5405 .- 1741-2900. ; 22:4, s. 908-928
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- At the beginning of the millennium, consumer culture researchers predicted that people would increasingly demand that marketplace actors subscribe to contemporary ethics of liberal democracy. Although their prediction indeed came true, they did not foresee that an algorithm-powered media ecosystem in combination with growing authoritarian movements would soon come to fuel an increasingly polarized political landscape and challenge the very fundament of liberal democracy per se. In this macroscopic, conceptual article, I discuss three assumption-challenging logics—counter-democratic consumer culture, de-dialectical algorithmic manipulation, and growing illiberal consumer resistance—according to which the market increasingly monetizes the conflicts accompanying this polarization and, thereby, reinforces it. I call this new logic a conflict market and illustrate it through three, historically situated and currently conflicting, consumer ideoscapes—the neoblue, the neogreen, and the neobrown—between which consumers engage in marketized conflicts, not in a de-politicizing way, but in an increasingly un-politicizing, de-dialectical, and polarizing way. At the technologically manipulated conflict market, the role of marketers is to monetize politically sensitive topics by creating conflict, knowingly renouncing large groups of consumers, and giving fodder to the political extremes.
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| 46. |
- Ulver, Sofia, et al.
(author)
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The empty body : exploring the destabilised brand of a racialised space
- 2023
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In: Journal of Marketing Management. - : Routledge. - 0267-257X .- 1472-1376. ; 39:15-16, s. 1477-1501
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this paper we understand cities today as commodified spaces which must struggle at the intersection of cultural, ideological and historical tensions. In order to explore and problematise a contested city brand’s marketing effort, we engage in multiple rounds of in-situ introspective reflections about a racialised city’s place branding material. Based on the two authors’ separate analyses of the same marketing material deriving from two separate theoretical starting points, we engage in agonistic conversation about how visible and invisible racialised tensions are represented. We highlight how absences and (in)visibilities can be predominantly understood as either colour-blindness or ideological fantasy. We find, despite our contrasting theoretical orientations, that a city brand is inevitably fractured and ruptured into ‘a’ non-identity or – to paraphrase Deleuze and Guattari – an empty body. We argue how achieving inclusive branding becomes an oxymoron as narratives surrounding a city are themselves more or less diverse, contested and polarised.
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| 47. |
- Ulver, Sofia, et al.
(author)
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The new work ethics of consumption and the paradox of mundane brand resistance
- 2011
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In: Journal of Consumer Culture. - : SAGE Publications. - 1741-2900 .- 1469-5405. ; 11:2, s. 215-238
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In terms of consumer resistance and marketplace ideologies, consumer researchers have called for a more nuanced conceptualization of consumption moralism in order to avoid the simplistic trope of inside/outside the marketplace (e.g. Arnould, 2007; Luedicke et al., 2010; Penaloza and Price, 1993; Thompson, 2004). With the aim of contributing to this quest, this article brings together two originally separate ethnographic studies on food consumption and brands in Scandinavia in order to provide new insights regarding the increasingly complex arena of consumer morality. Instead of focusing on highly pronounced consumer resistance - such as activist communities or specific brand antagonists or protagonists - we focus on ordinary Scandinavian consumers whose identities are not centered around resisting the marketplace. Through a pluri-methodological combination of field observations, interviews, symbol elicitation, photo diaries and artefact collections, we propose an empirically informed model illustrating the paradox of ordinary consumers' brand resistance: embracing myths of craftsmanship. We show how ordinary middle-class consumers bridge 'bad' with 'good' brand consumption in various ways to legitimize the former, and how they make the evaluations according to traditional work ethics rather than (post) modern consumption ethics.
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| 48. |
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| 49. |
- Ulver, Sofia
(author)
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Tickling tensions : Gazing into the parallax gap of the multicultural imaginary
- 2021
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In: Marketing Theory. - : SAGE Publications. - 1470-5931 .- 1741-301X. ; 21:3, s. 391-413
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article explores why cultural branding – ideo-affective market communication addressing intense political tensions – paradoxically seems to lead to political inertia rather than political mobilization. I critically analyse advertising addressing political tensions related to race, ethnicity and immigration, but instead of only following the traced-out trajectory of postcolonial theory, I use the lens of Žižek’s radicalized Lacanian psychoanalysis and treat the therapeutic visuality in cultural branding as ideological fantasies of the market’s multicultural imaginary. Through critical visual methodologies, I situate four ‘multicultural’ commercials in their culture- and idea historical contexts, and juxtapose a postcolonial with a Žižekian reading for each of them. I come to argue that the market’s multicultural imaginary (unconsciously) serves important ideological functions in sustaining the political status quo not foremost because it placates anxiety, but because it doesn’t. Tapping into previous discussions in critical marketing on fetishistic disavowal and inversion, I offer yet another explanation. The political inertia following from ideo-affective dimensions of cultural branding does not primarily come from therapeutic sedation, but from the opposite, namely the parallax object’s upholding of gruesome tension and suspense; a fetishistic tickling. This article ends by critiquing the compulsory use of postcolonial theory in research on racial and ethnic relations. From the Žižekian reading, it appears that the postcolonial gaze is now a punishing agency like any dominant ideology, where the social inequality of global capitalism is deemed a more bearable alternative than the traumatic horror of visible racism, which, subsequently, closes the circuit from radical politics.
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