scholarly journals Belk’s (1988) “Possessions and the extended self” revisited

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 184-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Ladik ◽  
Francois Carrillat ◽  
Mark Tadajewski

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to revisit Russell Belk’s (1988) landmark paper “Possessions and the extended self”. The authors provide a prehistory of related ideas and then examine the controversy it triggered regarding the different paradigms of research in marketing (Cohen, 1989) some 26 years ago. Design/methodology/approach – This paper takes Belk seriously when he argues that his work is a synthesis and extension of prior studies leading to the novel production of the “extended self” concept. Via a close reading of the history of self-constitution, the authors highlight a number of thinkers who were grappling with similar issues now associated in our disciplinary consciousness to the idea of the “extended self”. To assess the contribution of Belk’s work, the authors engage in citation and interpretive analyses. The first analysis compared scholarly citations of Belk (1988) with the top ten most-cited Journal of Consumer Research (JCR) papers published in the same year. The second citation analysis compared Belk (1988) to the top ten most-cited JCR papers in the history of the journal. The authors follow this with an interpretive analysis of Belk’s contribution to consumer research via his 1988 paper. Findings – Belk (1988) had the most citations (N = 934) of any paper published in JCR in 1988. When compared to all papers published in the history of JCR, Belk (1988) leads with the most overall citations. Moreover, Belk (1988) is the most prominent interpretive paper that appeared in JCR and one of the top three, regardless of paradigm. The analysis illustrates diversity in topic and methodology, thus indicating that Belk’s contribution impacted a wide variety of scholars. Interpretive analysis indicates the importance of Belk’s work for subsequently impactful consumer researchers. Originality/value – The authors offer a prehistory of the “extended self” concept by highlighting literature that many consumer researchers will not have explored previously. With citations spanning over three decades, consumer behavior scholars recognize Belk (1988) as an important paper. Our analysis reveals that contrary to received wisdom, it is not only important for interpretive researchers or scholars within the consumer culture theory, but it is significant for the entire discipline, irrespective of paradigmatic orientation. The research presented here demonstrates that Belk’s (1988) paper is arguably one of the most influential papers ever published in JCR.

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 144-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morris B. Holbrook

Purpose This paper describes the personal history and intellectual development of Morris B. Holbrook (MBH), a participant in the field of marketing academics in general and consumer research in particular. Design/methodology/approach The paper pursues an approach characterized by historical autoethnographic subjective personal introspection or HASPI. Findings The paper reports the personal history of MBH and – via HASPI – interprets various aspects of key participants and major themes that emerged over the course of his career. Research limitations/implications The main implication is that every scholar in the field of marketing pursues a different light, follows a unique path, plays by idiosyncratic rules, and deserves individual attention, consideration, and respect … like a cat that carries its own leash. Originality/value In the case of MBH, like (say) a jazz musician, whatever value he might have depends on his originality.


2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 303-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Tadajewski

Purpose – This paper aims to provide a history of a number of intellectual debates in marketing theory and consumer research. It outlines the key arguments involved, highlights the politics and acrimoniousness that often accompanied the competition for academic prestige or practitioner remuneration. It weaves the contents of the special issue into its narrative. Design/methodology/approach – This article engages in a broad historical survey of the history of marketing thought, as it pertains to intellectual debate and disputation. Findings – While scholars often articulate objectivity as an intellectual ideal, many of the debates that are explored reveal a degree of intellectual intolerance and this is refracted through the institutional system that structures marketing discourse. Originality/value – This account provides an introduction to the intellectual debates of the last century, highlighting the ebb and flow of marketing thought. It calls attention to debates that are largely under explored and highlights the politics of knowledge production in marketing and consumer research.


2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 379-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russell Belk

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review the 1985-1991 project called “The Consumer Behavior Odyssey”, including a retrospective assessment of its context and role in influencing consumer research paradigms. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on personal recollections, introspective fieldnotes from the Odyssey and various publications and videos that emerged from the project. It also reflects on several subsequent “inside” and “outside” accounts of the project and its impact. Findings – The paper concludes that the Odyssey was a critical event within a nexus of other critical events that helped precipitate what is now widely called Consumer Culture Theory. It was a highly visible project that acted as a lightning rod that attracted both supporters and opponents at the time, but that ultimately helped carve out a place for interpretive, qualitative, visual and ethnographic consumer research within business schools. Originality/value – Although there were a number of methodological and research outputs from the Odyssey during the 1980s and early 1990s and there have been several recent “outside” appraisals of its influence since then, there has been only one subsequent “inside” account of its ontological and epistemological impact − a 2011 video made for the 50th anniversary of the major funding organization for the project, the Marketing Science Institute. This paper offers a more extensive appraisal by one of the project’s leaders.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 118-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Tadajewski ◽  
D.G. Brian Jones

Purpose This paper aims to introduce a special issue of the Journal of Historical Research in Marketing which includes autobiographical sketches by leading scholars in the history of marketing and consumer research. Design/methodology/approach A brief review of the (auto)biographical tradition in marketing scholarship leads to a commentary on the four accounts in this issue. Findings Highlights of the four portraits are presented and insights into their authors’ lives and careers are offered. Originality/value The authors hope this introductory article whets readers’ appetites to learn more about the four contributors whose careers and personal lives are explicated for their consumption.


2006 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 84-86
Author(s):  
Jennifer Paustenbaugh

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to provide a tribute to the life and work of library fund‐raiser Gwen Leighty.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses personal knowledge and references to Academic Libraries Advancement and Development Network (ALADN) and LIBDEV web sites.FindingsThe paper finds that fundraising is connecting with people and the journey that each development officer must make while raising funds for their library.Originality/valueThe paper presents a brief history of ALADN and the valuable contribution one person made to the cause of library fund‐raising.


2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 204-213
Author(s):  
Lucie Soucková ◽  
Dana Kominkova

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the historical pollution of the Hostivar Reservoir (largest reservoir in Prague) sediment by metals, polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) and identify the trends in pollution of aquatic environment. Design/methodology/approach Core samples, 140 cm long, recording the 45-year history of the reservoir, were separated to 5 cm width subsamples (approximately 1.5 years of sedimentation) and analyzed for metals (Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn, Cr, Ni, Al), PAH and PCB. Following methods were used: US EPA 3051 for metals, US EPA 505 and US EPA 8082 A for PCB, and ISO 18287:2006 for PAH. Findings Most of the contaminants had the highest concentration at the beginning of the existence of the reservoir, suggesting that the contamination results from construction activities. Significant decrease of Pb occurred in the second half of the 1990s. It was caused by termination of the addition of lead as a detonation suppressant to the gasoline. Most concentrations of PAHs, PCBs and metals, except copper do not present eco-toxicological risk. Practical implications The results show the volume of priority pollutants removed from the reservoir by sediment extraction, and point risk to the terrestrial environment due to application of the sediment in the construction of a noise protecting wall. Originality/value The paper presents unique data about historical contamination of the largest reservoir in Prague, the capital of Czech Republic. It shows how the watershed and the construction phase of the dam cause a pollution of the reservoir sediment and possible environmental risk for aquatic biota.


2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 219-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin O'Sullivan ◽  
Richard Kemp ◽  
David Bright

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to lay the groundwork for a narrative study of desistance that is both qualitative and quantitative. Design/methodology/approach – The review traces the strands of research that have made self-story an important theme in the study of desistance with particular reference to work since 2001. Findings – The importance of an agentic self-story in the process of desistance from crime came to prominence in the work of Shadd Maruna (1997, 2001). Since then authors have attempted to formulate: first, an integrated theoretical view of desistance incorporating agency; and second, a clinically useful understanding of how self-story is important. The clinical studies have almost always been qualitative, relying on extensive life history interviews which yield great richness of detail but few, if any, testable hypotheses. To date, such studies have not provided the empirical foundation on which to develop policy in correctional environments. Practical implications – If it is found that a measure of self-belief correlates with desistance from crime, it may be possible to devise psychological interventions to enhance and change self-belief. Originality/value – The paper proposes adding a quantitative approach to the measurement of self-concept in order to estimate the likelihood of desistance.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-124
Author(s):  
Chunchun Wang

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the transformations of prosthetic practices in China, as well as the daily experiences and dilemmas arising from the everchanging practices since 1949. On the basis of materials, this paper explores an everyday perspective to review the history of technology.Design/methodology/approachEthnography was collected with the application of participant observations, informal interviews and in-depth interviews during a 13-months study at a rehabilitation center in Chengdu, China. The literature on prosthetic manufacturing was also reviewed for this paper.FindingsChina's prosthetic technology seems to evolve from traditional to modern. However, this progressive narrative – innovation-based timeline (Edgerton, 2006, xi) – has been challenged by daily practices. Due to institutional pressures, prosthetists are in a dilemma of selectively using their knowledge to create one kind of device for all prosthesis users with a certain kind of disability, thereby regulating the physical and social experiences of prosthesis users. Besides, prosthesis users are accustomed to prostheses made with old techniques, and must correct themselves from old experiences to the daily practices recognized by the selected techniques.Originality/valueThis paper provides a cross-cultural case to reexamine Edgerton's criticism of the progressive and orderly innovation-centric technological narrative. More importantly, it reviews the history and practices of China's prosthetics from daily experiences rather than Edgerton's concentration on technology; therefore, it provides an everyday perspective for future research on technological transformations.


2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 793-806 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduard Bonet

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how the boundaries of rhetoric have excluded important theoretical and practical subjects and how these subjects are recuperated and extended since the twentieth century. Its purpose is to foster the awareness on emerging new trends of rhetoric. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology is based on an interpretation of the history of rhetoric and on the construction of a conceptual framework of the rhetoric of judgment, which is introduced in this paper. Findings – On the subject of the extension of rhetoric from public speeches to any kinds of persuasive situations, the paper emphasizes some stimulating relationships between the theory of communication and rhetoric. On the exclusion and recuperation of the subject of rhetorical arguments, it presents the changing relationships between rhetoric and dialectics and emphasizes the role of rhetoric in scientific research. On the introduction of rhetoric of judgment and meanings it creates a conceptual framework based on a re-examination of the concept of judgment and the phenomenological foundations of the interpretative methods of social sciences by Alfred Schutz, relating them to symbolic interactionism and theories of the self. Originality/value – The study on the changing boundaries of rhetoric and the introduction of the rhetoric of judgment offers a new view on the present theoretical and practical development of rhetoric, which opens new subjects of research and new fields of applications.


2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 538-547 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franck Cochoy

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the sociological process behind the development of the American Marketing Association (AMA). It shows how the shift from isolated endeavors to an organized movement happened in marketing, how and why marketing pioneers merged to build a professional body and what this body provided to its community and to society at large. Design/methodology/approach – This paper studies the history of the AMA from the perspective of the sociology of science and relies on the marketing literature and other written sources. Findings – The paper shows that the AMA is both the result and the center of a coupling procedure. Isolated pioneers in the marketing field found it useful to communicate with those who were engaged in endeavors similar to their own. The meeting resulted in a dialog, and the dialog had necessitated the establishment of the AMA as a common reference point. The AMA provided the marketing community with a language and an institution that could help them to exist and move forward together. Originality/value – This paper provides an up to date account of the history of the AMA as well as a sociological analysis of its development.


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