Guest editorial

Citation

Henry, P. (2006), "Guest editorial", Qualitative Market Research, Vol. 9 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/qmr.2006.21609baa.001

Guest editorial

Dr Paul HenrySenior Lecturer at the University of Sydney. His work focused around issues of macro-social consumption and consumer lifestyles has been published in journals such as, the Journal of Consumer Research, Psychology & Marketing, Academy of Marketing Science Review, and Journal of Sociology. Paul was previously Strategic Planning Director at Ogilvy & Mather in New York City and he has also had an extensive career in Marketing Management.

Special issue on consumption, culture and consumer life-choices in Australia

While there is now an extensive literature on consumption theory found in journals such as Consumption, Markets and Culture and the Journal of Consumer Research virtually none of this work draws from Australian consumers. Most of the work is North American. Hence, the goal of this special issue lies in spotlighting consumer culture and consumption in the Australian setting. In many ways the country follows the dominant social and economic trends of other developed nations. For example, fashion, films, and frenetic uptake of new technologies and consumer products. With an economy that has boomed over the last ten years Australians have gone on a buying binge. Despite the stereotype of Australians being relaxed and easygoing our average weekly working hours are now amongst the highest in the Western World. Despite the egalitarian image that Australians like to hold of themselves, the reality is that we have one of the most unequal distributions of income of all the OECD countries.

Having acknowledged that Australia is, indeed, heavily influenced by global trends it is also obvious that this society is a product of distinctive socio-historical conditions. For example, at the most basic level it is located near the end of the earth and its scale comprises largely empty arid terrain. It has a small population compared to Western industrialized economies that continues to depend on a flow of immigrants drawn from across the globe. The distinctive aspects of Australian social character make it an interesting site of enquiry.

The article on “Adapting ethnographic research methods to ad hoc commercial market research” by Agafonoff is written from the viewpoint of a commercial ethnographic market researcher. He championed the use of participant (over non-participant) ethnographic methods for ad hoc commercial projects. Illustrations were drawn from projects he has conducted when multiple ethnographic methods are employed. Best practices for the use of video ethnography were discussed. Agafonoff also detailed a wide range of ways in which learning from these projects could guide marketing planning at both the tactical and strategic levels.

Each of the articles in this special issue seeks to illuminate some broader theoretical issue. For example, the article by Caldwell, Blackwell and Tulloch examined cosmopolitan consumer orientation finding only partial support for previous seminal papers. Expatriate Australians were found to embrace the products and culture of the new country that they had moved to, and at the same time, they seek to maintain close ties to their cultural roots. It was not the either/or proposition laid out in the literature reviewed by Caldwell et al.

Arthur delved into Australian Hip Hop culture concerning its authenticity and culture, finding that it was not simply an imitation of the originating American culture. Brands, styles and symbols were not automatically accepted, but had been adapted to an Australian interpretation. Arthur used this site to explore the effects of an underlying drive for authenticity that have implications for broader branding strategies.

Pettigrew sited her work in a much more traditional Australian institution – the pub. In looking at the case of Australian pubs and symbolic double-coding she extended the work on symbolic meaning past the tangible product arena and into consumption locations. The idea of symbolic-double coding is employed to illustrate how this consumption location was simultaneously regarded positively by women for its Australian iconic characteristics. Yet these same women also described these locations as being daunting in that they were still seen as male-dominated. This work on pubs holds interesting implications for management of iconic brands. There is the danger that while warm feelings are generated towards the iconic object, care must be taken to ensure that this also translates into brand approachability – that iconic does not equate to being distanced.

Henry’s article on magnetic points for lifestyle shaping explored a notion of self-fulfillment that constituted a fundamental human need. Experiencing fulfillment is deeply satisfying, acting to energize the individual. Sources of fulfillment were found to influence preferences for lifestyle, interests and preferred activities. Individuals were attracted to lifestyle options where opportunities for fulfillment were perceived. While all people seek some form of fulfillment, distinctive aspirations and capabilities shape direction of fulfillment. These mechanisms form an additional layer in understanding the patterning behind the apparent diversity of modern lifestyles.

In the final article exploring a specific lifestyle-related product, that of wine, Charters and Pettigrew found that a consumer’s involvement level was associated with differing criteria for assessing wine quality. This work synthesized two areas of consumer research: notions of quality and effects of involvement. Perception of “quality” was found to differ between high, medium and low involvement consumers. This propelled fundamentally different ways of product evaluation and affective reaction to wines.

Paul HenryGuest Editor