Sustainable Consumption and the Quality of Life: A Macromarketing Challenge to the Dominant Social Paradigm

Abstract

This article argues that micromarketing cannot examine the relationship between sustainable consumption and the quality of life critically because the essence of the relationship lies in the dominant social paradigm. Only macromarketing can address this relationship effectively. It is within the intellectual purview of macromarketing to expand the domain of inquiry to include technological, political, and economic benefits and costs of consumption, thus challenging the paradigm itself

On the marketing implications of place narratives

“…In line with Kilbourne et al (1997), this illustrates the dominance of the notion of individuals as consumers rather than citizens. In order to facilitate such a theorising of place within marketing, a shift away from micro-marketing discourse is essential.…”

“…Further research should therefore expand attention on 'dissonant' narratives of place as these can reveal alternative experiences of place beyond place objectification and draw our attention to issues of quality of life, education, the arts, health and the natural environment (Kilbourne et al 1997). By dissonant narratives we refer to stories that contrast the dominant narratives (e.g.…”

“…These relate to the issue of quality of life and entail concerns over education, the arts, health and the natural environment (e.g. Kilbourne et al 1997).…”

Antecedents and outcomes of consumer environmentally friendly attitudes and behaviour

“…Ultimately, adopting a sustainable consumption perspective cannot only minimize environmental effects for current and future generations, but can also produce a better quality of life (Kilbourne, McDonagh, & Prothero, 1997). The thrust of this research is on both the quality and quantity of consumption in Western industrial societies, which are considered to be one of the causes of environmental problems.…”

Austerity Ireland, the New Thrift Culture and Sustainable Consumption

“…Debates within the literature are thus divisive: is it the planet that needs saving or the human life that lives on it (McDonagh and Prothero 2014)? Some scholars contend that sustainability should be a central concern for most western policy makers and citizens (Assadourian 2010;Belz and Peattie 2009) and that materialism has had detrimental impacts on the environment (Kilbourne et al 1997)-although there have recently been calls for a new materialism that champions sustainability (Scott, Martin and Schouten 2014). Consumption is held in many regions to be a panacea for abject poverty, sometimes even seen as a nascent form of democratic participation, allowing freedoms where others are denied (Miller 2012;Slater 1997).…”