Spinning the proverbial wheel? Social class and marketing

Abstract

Social class is one of the most fundamental dimensions of social organization, influencing almost every aspect of our lives, including market-mediated consumption. Despite this situation, the topic has a chequered history in marketing and consumer research. Significantly, a research program initiated by W. L. Warner in the 1930s in the United States, which emphasized the multifaceted nature of social class and highlighted concepts such as status, social networks, social comparison and class distinctive attitudes, was abandoned for over 30 years. Only relatively recently, consumer researchers (Allen and Anderson, 1994;Holt, 1998) revitalized this type of approach by highlighting the usefulness of Bourdieu's (1984) theory of social class and taste in explaining consumer behaviour. Strong parallels exist between the old and newer research programs, including similar conceptual underpinnings, matters of emphasis, and empirical findings. An intriguing question arises: 'Why the hiatus in the study of social class in the consumer research field?' To answer this question, we examine the history of social class in marketing and consumer research.

Final thoughts on amnesia and marketing theory

“…Some of the marketing literature may deserve to be forgotten, as Patterson et al (2008), tongue firmly-in-cheek, proposed. Other scholars, by contrast, agree with Wooliscroft (2008) that we would do very well to remember our history both because it is scholarly to cite the appropriate intellectual foundations for one's work, but also so that we can avoid reinventing various 'theoretical, conceptual and methodological wheels' as we move through our academic lifecycles (Tadajewski and Jones, 2008); an issue that was central to Henry and Caldwell's (2008) explication of W.L. Warner's research.…”

“…Far removed from Lyotard's gesture to the postmodern individual who switches clothes and tastes as the moment requires, Henry and Caldwell (2008) ask us to reflect on the importance of social class in structuring consumer behaviour. They remind us of a time when debates relating to structure versus agency, came down in favour of the former.…”

“…Instead, proper attention needs to be paid to the context in which marketing theories are deployed (Venkatesh, 1995). Where Holt (1997bHolt ( , 1998 and Henry and Caldwell (2008) focused on cultural and social class issues, devoting their attention to consumers in an affluent country, there have been a number of studies that focus their concentration on less affluent populations who are negatively affected by neoliberalism, which Böhm and Brei (2008), Schor (in Holt 2005) and Lauderdale (2008) have discussed in their accounts of the contentious nature of 'development' discourses (see also Wilk, 2001). As the aforementioned scholars have pointed out, throughout the world there are various powerful groups that strive to limit the definition of development, so that attempts 'to control and dominate nature' are considered a progressive force in terms of social and economic change (Lauderdale, 2008(Lauderdale, : 1837, and where those least powerful like the 'untouchables' in India suffer the consequences (Varman and Belk, 2008;Vikas, 2007a, 2007b).…”

Class talk: habitus and class in parental narratives of school choice

“…In consumer research, Henry and Caldwell (2008) observe a 'hiatus' in the study of social class, suggesting that this is in part attributed to the 'myth of social equality'. Such a myth fosters a widespread, if mistaken belief in 'classlessness' (Hall, 1958), which has subsequently rendered 'class' redundant as a unit of analysis.…”

“…1) dispels the myth of classlessness, arguing that consumption patterns remain inextricably consequential to the reproduction of social distinction. Holt (1998) and Henry and Caldwell (2008) therefore propose a reinvigoration of class study through the writings of Bourdieu to understand the socio-historical patterning of class distinction and how this is manifested in consumption activities. Our article follows this tradition, drawing on Bourdieu to further the understanding of class as a habituated disposition, in which individuals (parents) orient their practices (school selection) 'either toward the preservation of the distribution of capital or toward the subversion of this distribution' (Bourdieu & Wacquant, 1992, p. 108).…”