Helene Cherrier | Griffith Universtiy (original) (raw)
Papers by Helene Cherrier
Article usage statistics combine cumulative total PDF downloads and full-text HTML views from pub... more Article usage statistics combine cumulative total PDF downloads and full-text HTML views from publication date (but no earlier than 25 Jun 2011, launch date of this website) to 12 Feb 2013. Article views are only counted from this site. Although these data are updated every 24 hours, there may be a 48-hour delay before the most recent numbers are available.
Cambridge Prisms: Plastics
This paper highlights the limitations of the use of risk in plastic governance. First, plastic ri... more This paper highlights the limitations of the use of risk in plastic governance. First, plastic risk categorizations adapt, evolve, and shift, which creates ambiguities and insecurities for consumers about the responsible choices to be made. Second, the risk frame requires consumer agency to mitigate risk, a privilege many cannot afford. Third, the use of risk in plastic governance cedes power to dominant market actors who possess the capacity to blame others and use guilt appeal to alleviate their responsibility. The concluding remarks point to the importance of changing our minds about plastics. The argument is to stop thinking that plastics are flexible and malleable.
This paper explores the normative barriers to anti-consumption practices and highlights that not-... more This paper explores the normative barriers to anti-consumption practices and highlights that not-for-profit organisations have an important role to play in facilitating the rejection of consumption. The study is based on thirteen phenomenological interviews with individuals who engaged in one month of alcohol abstinence and illustrates three cultural barriers to rejecting alcohol consumption, namely: the collective obligation to participate in entrenched sharing practices, the collective expectation to reciprocate in gift-giving practices of alcoholic commodities and the identification of abstinence as deviant nonconformity. The study also discusses the role of non-profits as change agents within society, emphasizing their ability to mobilise disenfranchised groups, give voice to unpopular causes and facilitate community building that breeds trust and cooperation.
Based on phenomenological interviews with consumers who voluntarily engaged in the process of dis... more Based on phenomenological interviews with consumers who voluntarily engaged in the process of dispossession, the study develops an emerging processual theory of identity, which emphasizes four main stages: sensitization, separation, socialization, and striving. Each phase corresponds to evolving consumers ’ perceptions of the world and positioning of the self, and characterizes distinct meanings and experiences of consumption. Furthermore, our analysis shows that, although there is no possible self-making outside of consumer culture, its normative background is not fixed, but rather fluid, and can be deconstructed when it no longer operates within the realm of consumers ’ world-view.
2 Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to question the taken for granted assumptions that under... more 2 Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to question the taken for granted assumptions that underpin a liberal or lay view of consumer empowerment implicit to this special edition. In particular, the idea that it benefits consumers to have more choice is questioned. Design/methodology/approach – The key constructs of Michel Foucault – disciplinary power, governmentality and technologies of self – are used to argue that people can never escape from the operation of power. Rather it is shown how power operates to produce consumers. Findings – The liberal view of the empowerment of consumers through choice is questioned. Rather we suggest the opposite; that choice is a disciplinary power and that more and more choice can lead to choice paralysis. The contemporary phenomenon known as blogging is described as a Foucauldian technology of self. Managerial implications are discussed. Originality/value – The value of a Foucauldian inspired theory of empowerment is that it represents a more s...
A photo-elicitation and a collage construction technique provide insights on the Emirates’ awaren... more A photo-elicitation and a collage construction technique provide insights on the Emirates’ awareness of the negative effects of fast food consumption, the relationship between awareness and Emirates fast food consumption, and the discourses used by the Emirates when resisting fast food consumption. The study draws on two disciplinary backdrops: risk awareness and resistance to behavioral change. The findings show that risk awareness campaigns should not solely be linked to bodily concerns but need to develop messages that relate to the target audience within its social, political, and economic context. What this means conceptually is that health is no longer restricted to the individual micro-level dimension but rather emerge from the dialectical interplay between taking care of one’s self and taking care of one’s society.
Unmaking Waste in Production and Consumption: Towards the Circular Economy, 2018
Abstract Designing and manufacturing long-lasting things and minimizing the use of material resou... more Abstract Designing and manufacturing long-lasting things and minimizing the use of material resources are central concerns to the circular economy. Yet, repairing and repurposing objects, and the experiences and knowledge of those who extend the life of objects at the consumption level, are absent from discussions on the circular economy. Based on in-depth interviews focussing on practices of repair and repurposing within households, this article interrogates waste and its capacity to disturb, impede or provoke practices central to the circular economy. Re-considering waste within discussions on the circular economy is a way to bring to the surface the overlooked capacity of waste to enable or hinder household engagement in practices of repair and repurposing through waste’s heterogeneous and shifting components, sacredness and morality.
Journal of Business Research, 2020
Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 2018
Whereas most anticonsumption research focuses on middle- to upper-class consumers who reduce, avo... more Whereas most anticonsumption research focuses on middle- to upper-class consumers who reduce, avoid, or control consumption, this study analyzes anticonsumption among materially deprived consumers. Such an anticonsumption focus runs contrary to the conventional subordination of homeless people to the status of inferior and deficient, whose survival is dependent on social housing support and food charities. Findings from an ethnographic study in Australia show that materially deprived consumers avoid social housing and food charities as a tactical response against institutionalized subordination, which specialized homeless services reinforce. In this context, anticonsumption is thus not about projecting a self-affirming identity or generating a collective force to change consumer culture. Rather, anticonsumption among materially deprived consumers aims at overcoming institutionalized subordination and represents tactics of survival rather than strategies for illusionary emancipation.
Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 2018
Journal of Consumer Affairs, 2016
Tous à Poil! (Everybody Gets Naked!), a book for children, aimed at countering images of the idea... more Tous à Poil! (Everybody Gets Naked!), a book for children, aimed at countering images of the ideal body, often undressed, elicited austere reactions. This study considers the mythic elements of the clothed body as explicative of such austerity. An analysis of clothing absence in the context of social nudism reveals that the myth of the clothed body cannot easily be remythologized or adapted to suit individual preferences. Rather, social interactions in contemporary societies remain largely locked in material presence. This study calls for public policymakers and social marketers to consider dominating myths as possible constraints to anticonsumption and consumer well‐being.
Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, 2013
Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 2016
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is: to explore the impact of religiousness (i.e. intrinsic re... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is: to explore the impact of religiousness (i.e. intrinsic religiousness, extrinsic religiousness) on purchase intention of luxury brands, affective attitude, and self-presentation; and, to explore the mediating effect of affective and self-presentation attitudes towards luxury brand purchase intention. Design/methodology/approach – Data were derived using convenience sampling at three large universities (i.e. one public and two private universities) in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Researchers hand-delivered approximately 600 questionnaires to students in classrooms and public spaces (e.g. canteens and lounge rooms) of the universities. However, of the 525 questionnaires returned, only 491 were usable thereby offering an overall response rate of 81 per cent. Findings – The study found that intrinsic religiousness was related positively to affective attitudes towards luxury brands while extrinsic religiousness was positively related to self-presentation ...
Journal of Marketing Management, 2014
Abstract This study investigated how the rapid transformation of Dubai has affected the forms and... more Abstract This study investigated how the rapid transformation of Dubai has affected the forms and shape of Emiratis’ consumption. Analysis of participant observations, projective techniques and existential phenomenological interviews with Emirati women living in Dubai uncovered ambivalence about economic power and loss of traditions and strategies for going global including embracing local capital, brand selection and spatiotemporal restrictions. The discussion notes that the global is something that is locally constructed whereby the locals play a key role in developing global structures of common difference.
Research in Consumer Behavior, 2014
Abstract Purpose Based on Latour’s view that humans and non-humans swap properties, this paper ex... more Abstract Purpose Based on Latour’s view that humans and non-humans swap properties, this paper explores whether objects embody similar properties as human beings and whether these properties per se orient dispossession practices. Methodology/approach This study adopts Latour’s pragmatogonies as a theoretical perspective to explore the complex interplay between humans and non-humans in the context of dispossession. Thirty-two in-depth interviews focus on the object itself (its characteristics, qualities, and capacities in association with its endo and exo relations) to understand how objects act on dispossession. Findings The results depict objects as consisting of various material elements and possessing symmetrical properties as humans to facilitate, hinder, and channel dispossession. Objects emerge as having genealogies, undergoing physical changes, adapting to misfortunes, and having citizenship duties. Research Limitations/implications Our analyses reveal a complex network of people and things; all acting in the course of dispossession. We call for further research on object–subject networks/assemblages as dynamic and co-productive. We suggest that research focus should be on what objects might become or how they connect and evolve as they deteriorate, shift, and renew in interaction with their environment. Originality/value of paper Our study challenges the dichotomy between material objects and human beings. We underline that objects are not ephemeral and transient but they are moving and circulating as they deteriorate, transform, enact new roles, and construct evolving identities.
Article usage statistics combine cumulative total PDF downloads and full-text HTML views from pub... more Article usage statistics combine cumulative total PDF downloads and full-text HTML views from publication date (but no earlier than 25 Jun 2011, launch date of this website) to 12 Feb 2013. Article views are only counted from this site. Although these data are updated every 24 hours, there may be a 48-hour delay before the most recent numbers are available.
Cambridge Prisms: Plastics
This paper highlights the limitations of the use of risk in plastic governance. First, plastic ri... more This paper highlights the limitations of the use of risk in plastic governance. First, plastic risk categorizations adapt, evolve, and shift, which creates ambiguities and insecurities for consumers about the responsible choices to be made. Second, the risk frame requires consumer agency to mitigate risk, a privilege many cannot afford. Third, the use of risk in plastic governance cedes power to dominant market actors who possess the capacity to blame others and use guilt appeal to alleviate their responsibility. The concluding remarks point to the importance of changing our minds about plastics. The argument is to stop thinking that plastics are flexible and malleable.
This paper explores the normative barriers to anti-consumption practices and highlights that not-... more This paper explores the normative barriers to anti-consumption practices and highlights that not-for-profit organisations have an important role to play in facilitating the rejection of consumption. The study is based on thirteen phenomenological interviews with individuals who engaged in one month of alcohol abstinence and illustrates three cultural barriers to rejecting alcohol consumption, namely: the collective obligation to participate in entrenched sharing practices, the collective expectation to reciprocate in gift-giving practices of alcoholic commodities and the identification of abstinence as deviant nonconformity. The study also discusses the role of non-profits as change agents within society, emphasizing their ability to mobilise disenfranchised groups, give voice to unpopular causes and facilitate community building that breeds trust and cooperation.
Based on phenomenological interviews with consumers who voluntarily engaged in the process of dis... more Based on phenomenological interviews with consumers who voluntarily engaged in the process of dispossession, the study develops an emerging processual theory of identity, which emphasizes four main stages: sensitization, separation, socialization, and striving. Each phase corresponds to evolving consumers ’ perceptions of the world and positioning of the self, and characterizes distinct meanings and experiences of consumption. Furthermore, our analysis shows that, although there is no possible self-making outside of consumer culture, its normative background is not fixed, but rather fluid, and can be deconstructed when it no longer operates within the realm of consumers ’ world-view.
2 Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to question the taken for granted assumptions that under... more 2 Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to question the taken for granted assumptions that underpin a liberal or lay view of consumer empowerment implicit to this special edition. In particular, the idea that it benefits consumers to have more choice is questioned. Design/methodology/approach – The key constructs of Michel Foucault – disciplinary power, governmentality and technologies of self – are used to argue that people can never escape from the operation of power. Rather it is shown how power operates to produce consumers. Findings – The liberal view of the empowerment of consumers through choice is questioned. Rather we suggest the opposite; that choice is a disciplinary power and that more and more choice can lead to choice paralysis. The contemporary phenomenon known as blogging is described as a Foucauldian technology of self. Managerial implications are discussed. Originality/value – The value of a Foucauldian inspired theory of empowerment is that it represents a more s...
A photo-elicitation and a collage construction technique provide insights on the Emirates’ awaren... more A photo-elicitation and a collage construction technique provide insights on the Emirates’ awareness of the negative effects of fast food consumption, the relationship between awareness and Emirates fast food consumption, and the discourses used by the Emirates when resisting fast food consumption. The study draws on two disciplinary backdrops: risk awareness and resistance to behavioral change. The findings show that risk awareness campaigns should not solely be linked to bodily concerns but need to develop messages that relate to the target audience within its social, political, and economic context. What this means conceptually is that health is no longer restricted to the individual micro-level dimension but rather emerge from the dialectical interplay between taking care of one’s self and taking care of one’s society.
Unmaking Waste in Production and Consumption: Towards the Circular Economy, 2018
Abstract Designing and manufacturing long-lasting things and minimizing the use of material resou... more Abstract Designing and manufacturing long-lasting things and minimizing the use of material resources are central concerns to the circular economy. Yet, repairing and repurposing objects, and the experiences and knowledge of those who extend the life of objects at the consumption level, are absent from discussions on the circular economy. Based on in-depth interviews focussing on practices of repair and repurposing within households, this article interrogates waste and its capacity to disturb, impede or provoke practices central to the circular economy. Re-considering waste within discussions on the circular economy is a way to bring to the surface the overlooked capacity of waste to enable or hinder household engagement in practices of repair and repurposing through waste’s heterogeneous and shifting components, sacredness and morality.
Journal of Business Research, 2020
Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 2018
Whereas most anticonsumption research focuses on middle- to upper-class consumers who reduce, avo... more Whereas most anticonsumption research focuses on middle- to upper-class consumers who reduce, avoid, or control consumption, this study analyzes anticonsumption among materially deprived consumers. Such an anticonsumption focus runs contrary to the conventional subordination of homeless people to the status of inferior and deficient, whose survival is dependent on social housing support and food charities. Findings from an ethnographic study in Australia show that materially deprived consumers avoid social housing and food charities as a tactical response against institutionalized subordination, which specialized homeless services reinforce. In this context, anticonsumption is thus not about projecting a self-affirming identity or generating a collective force to change consumer culture. Rather, anticonsumption among materially deprived consumers aims at overcoming institutionalized subordination and represents tactics of survival rather than strategies for illusionary emancipation.
Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 2018
Journal of Consumer Affairs, 2016
Tous à Poil! (Everybody Gets Naked!), a book for children, aimed at countering images of the idea... more Tous à Poil! (Everybody Gets Naked!), a book for children, aimed at countering images of the ideal body, often undressed, elicited austere reactions. This study considers the mythic elements of the clothed body as explicative of such austerity. An analysis of clothing absence in the context of social nudism reveals that the myth of the clothed body cannot easily be remythologized or adapted to suit individual preferences. Rather, social interactions in contemporary societies remain largely locked in material presence. This study calls for public policymakers and social marketers to consider dominating myths as possible constraints to anticonsumption and consumer well‐being.
Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, 2013
Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 2016
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is: to explore the impact of religiousness (i.e. intrinsic re... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is: to explore the impact of religiousness (i.e. intrinsic religiousness, extrinsic religiousness) on purchase intention of luxury brands, affective attitude, and self-presentation; and, to explore the mediating effect of affective and self-presentation attitudes towards luxury brand purchase intention. Design/methodology/approach – Data were derived using convenience sampling at three large universities (i.e. one public and two private universities) in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Researchers hand-delivered approximately 600 questionnaires to students in classrooms and public spaces (e.g. canteens and lounge rooms) of the universities. However, of the 525 questionnaires returned, only 491 were usable thereby offering an overall response rate of 81 per cent. Findings – The study found that intrinsic religiousness was related positively to affective attitudes towards luxury brands while extrinsic religiousness was positively related to self-presentation ...
Journal of Marketing Management, 2014
Abstract This study investigated how the rapid transformation of Dubai has affected the forms and... more Abstract This study investigated how the rapid transformation of Dubai has affected the forms and shape of Emiratis’ consumption. Analysis of participant observations, projective techniques and existential phenomenological interviews with Emirati women living in Dubai uncovered ambivalence about economic power and loss of traditions and strategies for going global including embracing local capital, brand selection and spatiotemporal restrictions. The discussion notes that the global is something that is locally constructed whereby the locals play a key role in developing global structures of common difference.
Research in Consumer Behavior, 2014
Abstract Purpose Based on Latour’s view that humans and non-humans swap properties, this paper ex... more Abstract Purpose Based on Latour’s view that humans and non-humans swap properties, this paper explores whether objects embody similar properties as human beings and whether these properties per se orient dispossession practices. Methodology/approach This study adopts Latour’s pragmatogonies as a theoretical perspective to explore the complex interplay between humans and non-humans in the context of dispossession. Thirty-two in-depth interviews focus on the object itself (its characteristics, qualities, and capacities in association with its endo and exo relations) to understand how objects act on dispossession. Findings The results depict objects as consisting of various material elements and possessing symmetrical properties as humans to facilitate, hinder, and channel dispossession. Objects emerge as having genealogies, undergoing physical changes, adapting to misfortunes, and having citizenship duties. Research Limitations/implications Our analyses reveal a complex network of people and things; all acting in the course of dispossession. We call for further research on object–subject networks/assemblages as dynamic and co-productive. We suggest that research focus should be on what objects might become or how they connect and evolve as they deteriorate, shift, and renew in interaction with their environment. Originality/value of paper Our study challenges the dichotomy between material objects and human beings. We underline that objects are not ephemeral and transient but they are moving and circulating as they deteriorate, transform, enact new roles, and construct evolving identities.