Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine consumer emotions and the social science and observation measures that can be utilised to capture the emotional experiences of consumers. The paper is not setting out to solve the theoretical debate surrounding emotion research, rather to...

Purpose – This study aims to understand the meaning of web site connectedness from the consumer's point of view, and uncover the underlying meaning of emotional ties between visitors and web sites. Design/methodology/approach – The study, conducted a netnography which uses three qualitative...

Purpose – The consumer competence concept is loaded with ambiguity in the academic as well as in the public use of the term. The purpose of this paper is to examine the concept theoretically and empirically. Design/methodology/approach – Consumer socialization theories were compared and...

Purpose – Since it is hard for consumers to express their feelings and views regarding brand images, market researchers increasingly use projective and enabling techniques to collect rich and meaningful data. The purpose of this paper is to describe the development and use of two methods of...

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to expand existing qualitative parameters in current marketing research discourse by integrating Barthesian theory into the study of subcultural marketplaces. Design/methodology/approach – While essentially conceptual in nature, this paper adopts a...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce the contents of the special issue and to clarify and extend conceptual and managerial debates concerning interpretive consumer research (ICR). Design/methodology/approach – A discursive approach is adopted. The arguments are supported by...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance and utility of introspective accounts to ethnography when it deals with consumption experiences. Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews the changes in the way “reflexive consumers” write introspective narratives...

Purpose – Based on Greimas' contributions in 2002 and on qualitative research, this paper aims to focus on a semiotic analysis of the meaning of nostalgia related to products and brands. Design/methodology/approach – This paper involves a two‐stage interview process. Informants were...

Purpose – The aim of the paper is to discuss a possible extension of narrative analysis to a new medium of expression of consumer behaviour, specifically YouTube. Design/methodology/approach – Marketing and consumer behaviour studies often apply narrative analysis to understand consumption....

Purpose – In community research, there is a large gap between theoretical developments and empirical proves. Especially, in micro‐macro contexts, where the interaction between micro‐ (the community member) and macro‐(the community) level variables have significant effects, no...