Different Ways of Saying Goodbye: Outlining Three Types of Abandonment of a Product Category

Abstract

AU:1 Little attention has been directed to investigating abandonment that refers to the deliberate choice of giving up something previously consumed. In this chapter, we look into meanings that motivate the abandonment of a product category and also the meanings abandonment gives rise to. The research used a qualitative methodology to collect and analyze data obtained from in-depth interviews with 16 Brazilian consumers who gave up automobile ownership. This category was chosen due to its intense symbolic dimension. In the literature, abandonment is described as the act of giving up something previously consumed, thus presupposing that a deliberate choice was made (Hogg, 1998; Hogg, Banister, & Stephenson, 2009). The interviews, however, suggest that, rather than being a discrete event, an action or decision that is circumscribed by a given moment, abandonment is in fact a process. The analysis also outlines three types of abandonment: contingent, positional and

Cultural Meanings and Consumers' Discourses about Their Brand Abandonment

“…Contingent brand abandonment is similar to the concept presented by Suarez and Chauvel (2012) for category abandonment, since ex-consumers share with consumers the positive meanings repertoire related to consumption. The main difference is that the first is related to a specific brand, while the second occurs when the consumer distances him/herself from the entire category.…”

“…In the same fashion, as one of the most enduring and important brands in the Brazilian automotive market, the Fiat brand also carries several distinct meanings associated with the category, such as masculinity, independence, achievement and wealth (DaMatta, Vasconcelos, & Pandolfi, 2010). Automobiles are also at the center of debates about urban mobility, which are now being contested by groups concerned about sustainability (Suarez & Chauvel, 2012).…”

“…Loss of customers has always haunted companies. In marketing literature, this topic has been treated from a variety of perspectives and terminologies: termination of the association, withdrawal, disengagement, discontinuation, uncoupling and break-ups (Dwyer, Schurr, & Oh, 1987); churn (Lemmens & Croux, 2006); switching behavior (Jiang et al, 2014); exit (Hulbert, Pitt, & Ewing, 2003); customer defection (Prentice, 2014); skip (Anderson & Jaggia, 2012); disadoption (Fournier, Alvarez, & Avery, 2012;Lehmann & Parker, 2012); and abandonment (Hogg, Banister, & Stephenson, 2009;Suarez, 2014;Suarez & Chauvel, 2012).…”

“…In every case, however, disadoption is always supported by prior experiences as consumers know what they are disadopting. Suarez and Chauvel (2012) present a broader concept, defining abandonment as the process of giving up something previously consumed. While the term disadoption suggests a decision that was made by the consumer, abandonment also includes non-reflective dynamics; e.g.…”

“…Although we know a lot about how meanings are created through interest, consumption and affiliation, remarkably little work has been done in the marketing field to understand cultural meanings spotlighted in consumers' discourses about their brand abandonment. Suarez and Chauvel (2012) define abandonment as the process of giving something up which was previously consumed. As such, brand abandonment refers to the process of reducing or eliminating consumption of previously valued and consumed brands.…”