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Paradoxical Consumption Practices and Creative Identity Work in Consumption Styles – The Concept of Reflexive Bricolage

Mavruk, Cihan Koray LU and Weller, Julian LU (2017) BUSN39 20171
Department of Business Administration
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to explore the underlying reasons that drive consumers, belonging to a particular consumption style, to engage in paradoxical consumption practices and attempt to explain these practices. For the purpose of this study, the non-static hipster youth style was used as the empirical example of a postmodern consumption style.

Methodology
This study is based on eight unstructured phenomenological interviews that were conducted with individuals identified by a snowball sample with entry points in Stockholm, Cologne and Berlin. The resulting natural language data was subjected to a narrative analysis that was guided by an iterative, bottom-up approach, designed as a combination of hermeneutics and... (More)
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to explore the underlying reasons that drive consumers, belonging to a particular consumption style, to engage in paradoxical consumption practices and attempt to explain these practices. For the purpose of this study, the non-static hipster youth style was used as the empirical example of a postmodern consumption style.

Methodology
This study is based on eight unstructured phenomenological interviews that were conducted with individuals identified by a snowball sample with entry points in Stockholm, Cologne and Berlin. The resulting natural language data was subjected to a narrative analysis that was guided by an iterative, bottom-up approach, designed as a combination of hermeneutics and grounded theory.

Theoretical perspective
The Material was scrutinised under consideration of the linguistic concepts of irony and cynicism as ways to create distance, and the concepts of bricolage and semiotics to highlight the meaning that is created through novel style compositions.

Empirical foundation
Eight interviews with mid-to-high-cultural-capital Swedish and German members of the hipster style, that resulted in seven and a half hours of audio transcripts and 102 double-spaced pages of text.

Conclusion
This study presents the concept of reflexive bricolage as a method for consumers to create reflexive distance towards their own fashion discourse by (1) using paradoxical objects to create ironic or cynical distance or by (2) performing role-play in order to disappear into a virtual self. Reflexive bricolage represents a way for consumers to (a) innovate the style, (b) avoid the ridiculousness of simply acting out the style, (c) create opportunities for identity work (d) and accomplish a sense of freedom from fashion discourse. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Mavruk, Cihan Koray LU and Weller, Julian LU
supervisor
organization
course
BUSN39 20171
year
type
H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
subject
language
English
id
8921596
date added to LUP
2017-08-11 08:18:58
date last changed
2017-08-11 08:18:58
@misc{8921596,
  abstract     = {{Purpose 
The purpose of this study was to explore the underlying reasons that drive consumers, belonging to a particular consumption style, to engage in paradoxical consumption practices and attempt to explain these practices. For the purpose of this study, the non-static hipster youth style was used as the empirical example of a postmodern consumption style.

Methodology 
This study is based on eight unstructured phenomenological interviews that were conducted with individuals identified by a snowball sample with entry points in Stockholm, Cologne and Berlin. The resulting natural language data was subjected to a narrative analysis that was guided by an iterative, bottom-up approach, designed as a combination of hermeneutics and grounded theory.

Theoretical perspective 
The Material was scrutinised under consideration of the linguistic concepts of irony and cynicism as ways to create distance, and the concepts of bricolage and semiotics to highlight the meaning that is created through novel style compositions.

Empirical foundation 
Eight interviews with mid-to-high-cultural-capital Swedish and German members of the hipster style, that resulted in seven and a half hours of audio transcripts and 102 double-spaced pages of text.

Conclusion 
This study presents the concept of reflexive bricolage as a method for consumers to create reflexive distance towards their own fashion discourse by (1) using paradoxical objects to create ironic or cynical distance or by (2) performing role-play in order to disappear into a virtual self. Reflexive bricolage represents a way for consumers to (a) innovate the style, (b) avoid the ridiculousness of simply acting out the style, (c) create opportunities for identity work (d) and accomplish a sense of freedom from fashion discourse.}},
  author       = {{Mavruk, Cihan Koray and Weller, Julian}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Paradoxical Consumption Practices and Creative Identity Work in Consumption Styles – The Concept of Reflexive Bricolage}},
  year         = {{2017}},
}