Strategic Communication and The Negotiation of Authenticity in Informal Market:Evidence from Onitsha Main Market
(2026) SKOM12 20261Department of Strategic Communication
- Abstract
- This study examines how authenticity is constructed, interpreted, and negotiated through strategic communication in informal market contexts, with a focus on the Onitsha Main Market in Nigeria. While existing research often treats authenticity as a property of products or a matter of consumer perception, less attention has been paid to how it is produced through everyday market interactions.
Adopting a qualitative, interpretative approach, the study draws on interview data with sellers and consumers to explore how actors make sense of authenticity-related communication situations where original and imitation goods coexist. The analysis is guided by a communicative-constructivist framework integrating social constructionism, symbolic... (More) - This study examines how authenticity is constructed, interpreted, and negotiated through strategic communication in informal market contexts, with a focus on the Onitsha Main Market in Nigeria. While existing research often treats authenticity as a property of products or a matter of consumer perception, less attention has been paid to how it is produced through everyday market interactions.
Adopting a qualitative, interpretative approach, the study draws on interview data with sellers and consumers to explore how actors make sense of authenticity-related communication situations where original and imitation goods coexist. The analysis is guided by a communicative-constructivist framework integrating social constructionism, symbolic interactionism, framing theory, and signaling theory.
The findings show that authenticity is not a fixed or verifiable attribute, but a communicative achievement shaped through strategic interaction. Rather than operating as a clear distinction between fake and original, authenticity emerged as a flexible and graded judgment shaped by consumers’ expectations, intended use, and practical considerations. Sellers actively deploy communicative strategies to frame products, signal quality, and establish credibility, while consumers interpret and evaluate these claims based on experience, context, and purchasing priorities. As a result, authenticity remains negotiated, relational, and embedded in trust and everyday market conditions.
By situating authenticity within communicative practices, the study contributes to research on authenticity, strategic communication, and informal markets by demonstrating how meaning, value, and trust are produced in everyday exchange beyond formal institutional settings. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9244816
- author
- Ikechukwu-Alimigbe, Martha Kika LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- SKOM12 20261
- year
- 2026
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Authenticity, strategic communication, informal market, imitation goods, market interaction, Onitsha Main Market
- language
- English
- id
- 9244816
- date added to LUP
- 2026-06-30 17:29:03
- date last changed
- 2026-06-30 17:29:03
@misc{9244816,
abstract = {{This study examines how authenticity is constructed, interpreted, and negotiated through strategic communication in informal market contexts, with a focus on the Onitsha Main Market in Nigeria. While existing research often treats authenticity as a property of products or a matter of consumer perception, less attention has been paid to how it is produced through everyday market interactions.
Adopting a qualitative, interpretative approach, the study draws on interview data with sellers and consumers to explore how actors make sense of authenticity-related communication situations where original and imitation goods coexist. The analysis is guided by a communicative-constructivist framework integrating social constructionism, symbolic interactionism, framing theory, and signaling theory.
The findings show that authenticity is not a fixed or verifiable attribute, but a communicative achievement shaped through strategic interaction. Rather than operating as a clear distinction between fake and original, authenticity emerged as a flexible and graded judgment shaped by consumers’ expectations, intended use, and practical considerations. Sellers actively deploy communicative strategies to frame products, signal quality, and establish credibility, while consumers interpret and evaluate these claims based on experience, context, and purchasing priorities. As a result, authenticity remains negotiated, relational, and embedded in trust and everyday market conditions.
By situating authenticity within communicative practices, the study contributes to research on authenticity, strategic communication, and informal markets by demonstrating how meaning, value, and trust are produced in everyday exchange beyond formal institutional settings.}},
author = {{Ikechukwu-Alimigbe, Martha Kika}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Strategic Communication and The Negotiation of Authenticity in Informal Market:Evidence from Onitsha Main Market}},
year = {{2026}},
}