Consumerism as an Element of On‐going Social Change

Abstract

Consumerism has become a fashionable area of concern, centred on the belief that there is a compelling need to strengthen the consumer's position in the market‐place. Consumerism is essentially a societal problem, based on the efforts of the average person to come to terms with everyday companies in everyday transactions. Yet the growth in size of business organisations, together with the increasing complexity of their offerings, is such that it is becoming ever more difficult for the ordinary individual to participate in transactions with any real hope of equality and satisfaction. It is this inequality of bargaining position that has become the “centrepoint” of consumer pressures on the community to provide for intervention and regulation in a socially constructive manner. Experience everywhere suggests, however, that it is not an easy area in which to operate. The issues of consumerism are complex and difficult to resolve, concerning as they do some of the most basic human relationships: those involving exchange.

Citation

Layton, R.A. and Holmes, G. (1974), "Consumerism as an Element of On‐going Social Change", Management Decision, Vol. 12 No. 5, pp. 313-328. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb001058