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The purpose of this paper is to consider the use of beauty blogging selfies in conveying consumer authenticity. The authors used an under-researched consumer-based authenticity approach.

The authors adopt a practice theory approach to selfies as both objects and practices. The study combines depth-interviews with a review of the participants’ blogs and selfies.

This research shows that bloggers use selfies as records of product trial, success and failure via specific sub-types. These selfies function as authenticating consumer acts, intertwined with key life narratives and as records of communal events, where bloggers identify as a community.

This research is limited to beauty bloggers. Further research on consumer authenticity could be extended to other product categories and other media channels. The widened definition of selfies proposed enables further research on self-representational practices in consumption contexts. Likewise, the practice theory approach could be extended to other online contexts.

As social media and peer endorsement become ever more important to marketers, brands are seeking to leverage bloggers as brand ambassadors as well as the authenticity they convey. Maintaining this authenticity and credibility among peer networks and audiences is crucial for influencers and for marketers.

This study contributes to the understanding of consumer-based authenticity, self-representational practices using selfies and beauty blogging communities. Practice theories are applied in an online context, suggesting an opening for further research into mediated practices.

Examines the array of areas within society that are having an impact and are likely to be affected by transition to a new, green world. Focuses on a research project currently under way in the cosmetics and toiletries industry, examining the impact of environmentalism on this industry; discusses specifically the role of marketing. Considers reasons for adopting a case‐based research methodology and explores the research questions adopted in the study. Discusses one of the case companies, placing emphasis on the research issues raised in the study.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the challenges and opportunities of collaboration in interpretive consumer research.

The paper reviews literature on research teamwork, particularly on qualitative and international projects. It also provides an account of research collaboration on an interpretive research project across four countries, involving eight researchers.

Despite the cult of individualism in academic life, most articles in leading marketing journals are now written by multi‐author teams. The process and implications of research collaboration, particularly on qualitative and international projects, have received little attention within the marketing literature. Qualitative collaborations call for another layer of reflexivity and attention to the politics and emotions of teamwork. They also require the negotiation of a social contract acceptable to the group and conducive to the emergence of different perspectives throughout the research process.

While issues surrounding the researcher‐research participant relationship are well explored in the field, this paper tackles an issue that often remains tacit in the marketing literature, namely the impact of the relationships between researchers. The paper draws on accounts of other research collaborations as well as authors' experiences, and discusses how interpersonal and cross‐cultural dynamics influence the work of interpretive research teams.

Discussion around authenticity has grown in marketing and consumption discourse in the last two decades. Consumers are viewed as seeking authenticity, and brands have responded to this. This chapter identifies three foundational categories of authenticity: personal, expressive and material. The main elements of each category are outlined. Key tensions are identified between authenticity as experienced by consumers and authenticity as leveraged for instrumental purposes by the marketplace.

Provides an overview of ecological feminism (ecofeminism) and discusses the implications for marketing. Shows how ecofeminist perspectives demand that we question not only the destruction of the environment but also our fundamental social relations and structures. Illustrates marketing’s contribution to ecopatriarchy with examples from the marketing academy and the advertising world. Concludes by asking marketers to rethink certain basic marketing principles.

This paper adopts a photo-essay approach in examining the Austerity Project within the Republic of Ireland, and considers the intersection between consumer culture and the austerity visuals we experience daily.

A visual, photo-essay method is adopted. Visual images taken in urban and rural parts of Ireland – under the key themes of ghost housing estates, failed commercial property developments, failed business, and art representations are explored.

The visual representations and subsequent consumption activities of the authors illustrate how austerity has become a complex act of production and consumption, and the authors consider how these various representations play a role in creating austerity as a state of mind amongst consumers, and the subsequent impact this has on consumption practices, consumer experiences, ideals and identities.

This paper adopts an under-represented research methodology (a photo-essay) to explore the Austerity Project and its intersections with consumer culture.

This paper explores consumer understanding and perception of organic food, with specific reference to the relatively new concept of organic farmed salmon. Key themes associated with the term “organic” and its meaning, as determined by consumers, are explored and the role of labelling and regulatory authorities considered. Focus groups in five countries (UK, Germany, Spain, Norway and France) consisting of 196 participants showed that most consumers are confused about the meaning of the term organic and are largely unaware of the organic certification and labelling process. Many consumers were unsure, even sceptical about the concept of organic farmed salmon and display a large amount of distrust in the regulatory process. The implications for the concept of organic food and salmon production and directions for further research are discussed.

This study presents a cross-cultural analysis of environmental information on packaging. We used judges and packages from four countries (Australia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States) and we asked judges to determine their own environmental information. Results suggest that whilst there is some consistency in judges' views, there are also important information differences across countries. Judges were found to infer environmental information from material that has not been considered to be environmental in nature. Our results may have important connotations for advertising, where environmental information might be offered as part of the array of product benefits being presented to consumers.

The aim of this article is to explore children's understanding of television advertising intent.

A different perspective on advertising intent is offered in this paper, as evidenced in an interpretive study of Irish children, aged between seven and nine years. A qualitative approach was employed, involving a series of focus group discussions and in‐depth interviews with 52 children.

The findings indicate that the participating children view advertising as serving interests including, but not limited to, the advertiser. The existence of other interested parties is suggested by the children, namely the agendas of viewers and television channels. The authors assert that these children view advertising as being larger and more complex than the advertiser's perspective, which has been the traditional focus in the extant research.

Adopting an advertising literacy perspective, the authors seek to explore children's “reading” and understanding of advertising. Advertising literacy is an approach to understanding advertising that has not received substantial attention in the child‐advertising literature. The literature to date has tended to focus on the following question – do children understand the persuasive intent of advertising? This question is suggestive of a “yes/no” answer. In contrast, the authors view the concept of understanding as being more complex and multi‐faceted, and accordingly, seek to develop this concept by way of a classification that suggests four different levels of understanding that children may exhibit towards advertising

This paper aims to explore the impact intentional non-consumption has on consumer practices, the resulting consumption experiences and meanings attached to the actions of participants and what is learned from this relative to voluntary simplicity, most specifically when participants are asked to become voluntary simplifiers versus volunteering to do so.

A phenomenological approach was applied utilising unstructured interviews and autoethnography. Data were analysed through the theoretical lens of voluntary simplicity within the contexts of contemporary Irish consumer culture and the collapse of the Celtic Tiger.

The study highlights findings in four key areas: self-imposed parameters of intentional non-consumption and subsequent voluntary simplicity categories; motivations, practices and experiences of participants; the role intentional non-consumption plays relative to personal satisfaction, fulfilment and happiness; and how participant consumption practices reverted to “normal” once the study was complete.

This study focuses on an all-female group of participants; future research is warranted that explores the issue from a male perspective.

Findings are of particular interest to policy makers seeking to develop initiatives that reduce consumption practices and contribute to discussions that explore the role of consumption in modern society – in particular the wide-ranging debate on whether consumption leads to happiness and how consumers might be persuaded to consume in a more sustainable manner.

This study adopts an innovative methodology that explores voluntary simplicity and contributes to an understanding of consumption culture by exploring what happens when consumers are asked to reduce their consumption and become voluntary simplifiers. An extension of Huneke’s definition of voluntary simplicity is offered, which recognises the role non-material consumption plays in consumption practices, and explores voluntary simplicity relative not only to individuals’ values and beliefs, as discussed in the literature, but also to their lifestyle activities and wider sociocultural and institutional factors.