Instability and consumer alienation in France

Abstract

As modern marketing institutions spread among advanced industrial countries, it is reasonable to expect similar social reactions across culture. One hard to measure aspect of new and changing distribution methods is the dysfunctional or negative consequences evoked in consumers. In the study by Pruden and Leonardi, an effort is made to empirically link a social condition of increased instability in the market to an increased sense of alienation from the marketplace among a sample of citizens in a medium sized city in France. In earlier and related studies Pruden, Longman and Shuptrine found significant associations among social conditions, alienation in the marketplace and a demand for political intervention. The present study sought answers to four questions: 1.) Is the French consumer alienated from the marketplace? 2.) Do increasing instability in the geographical, economical or marketplace patterns of the French family increase feelings of alienation? 3.) Does the French consumer support the French consumer movement? 4.) Does support of the French consumer movement increase with increasing alienation? In sum, the evidence was mixed with regard to the degree of alienation of the consumer. The most striking characteristic of the findings was the high level of stability present among respondents.