Consumer Culture Theory
- Eric J. Arnould - Aalto University, Finland
- Craig J. Thompson - Univesity of Wisconsin-Madison, USA
- David Crockett - University of Illinois Chicago, USA
- Michelle F. Weinberger - Northwestern University, USA
*NOW FULLY UPDATED AND EXPANDED WITH SIX NEW CHAPTERS*
Over the past forty years, Consumer Culture Theory (CCT) has emerged as a distinctive field of study that synthesizes diverse subjects such as anthropology, cultural studies, marketing, political theory and sociology to provide new insights into consumers’ relationships to the marketplace and the influence of commercial action on culture.
This book, edited by leading scholars in CCT, contains contributions by many of its leading researchers, and distills this interdisciplinary field into a concise accessible overview for students and early career researchers. It describes the key themes, concepts and theoretical areas of CCT; explains why they are useful in understanding consumption and marketplace phenomena; and shows how they can be applied to a wide range of research contexts.
Drawing on real-world scenarios, reflective tasks and international case studies to help aid theoretical understanding and critical thinking, the text is designed to support a course in CCT, supplement related study, and guide undergraduate and postgraduate students in writing a CCT-related dissertation/thesis. It is the go-to text for anyone who is curious about, new to CCT, or looking for an integrative compendium of CCT research and its implications.
Eric J. Arnould is Emeritus Professor of Marketing at the Aalto University Business School, Finland.
Craig J. Thompson is the Churchill-Bascom Professor of Marketing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA.
David Crockett is Professor of Marketing at the University of Illinois Chicago, USA.
Michelle F. Weinberger is Associate Professor at the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University, Illinois, USA.
‘Edited by the luminary co-founders of the CCT movement, this book is more than mere reference work, it's a rallying cry! Explaining the fundamentals of consumer culture theory in a sophisticated and rigorous, yet accessible, tone and format, this volume speaks to a new generation of CCT scholars - educating, engaging, and informing them like no other book in the field. I can't wait to bring this into my classroom!’
‘Consumer Culture Theory is one of the most exciting areas of interdisciplinary inquiry today. This textbook offers the definitive review of CCT by the leading scholars in the field. Each chapter tackles a complex theoretical issue in CCT and brings it to life with verve. The volume delivers a range of challenging theories in an accessible and exciting manner without in any way diluting the power of the ideas. A book that readers will be eager to turn to again and again.’
‘Consumer Culture Theory (CCT) made easy – in terms of access and overview. This book gives a solid overview of some of the most important sources and insights provided by the research community of Consumer Culture theorists. Curious marketing practitioners, students and scholars, sociologists and anthropologists interested in consumption… Indeed, everybody grabbling to understand consumer culture… you can all start here!’
‘Right from the opening pages it is clear that this is no run-of-the-mill textbook. It is a collection of lively and engaging works that illuminate the kind of innovative and challenging research, as well as the diverse positions and contexts that have helped shape this dynamic discipline. It is bound to become a major resource for CCT scholars and students at all levels of their career.’
‘In this well-curated volume, the editors bring coherence to the eclectic CCT field and make it approachable for a broad audience. The different chapters represent a wide variety of theoretical traditions, methodological orientations, and empirical settings and manages to give room for necessary stylistic idiosyncrasies, without ever compromising the consistency of the book as a whole.’
‘A sociologically informed view of the theoretics of consumer culture, this engaging collection of essays by a distinguished group of international scholars orients readers to the interplay of ideology and materiality in the contemporary world. Replete with compelling examples and provocative pedagogy, the text is classroom friendly and sure to promote discussion.’
‘This user-friendly textbook is most informative for students of consumer research who want to find out what Consumer Culture Theory (CCT) is and how CCT’s sociocultural perspective complements conventional consumer psychology. The chapters, which provide simple yet lucid synopses of recent research and make theory accessible with cases are most welcome.’
‘This collection of essays by highly reputable CCT scholars provides an exciting textbook for understanding consumption as primarily a social and cultural activity, rather than as an individual psychological process. This second edition includes six completely new chapters that pair with the revised chapters from the first edition to consider consumption as an active process that produces and structures cultural meaning.’
This is an essential book for any consumer culture module.
A good collection of topics and chapter that covers the history of CCT research