Situational liminality: Mis-managed consumer experience in liquid modernity

Abstract

The purpose of the paper is to explore experience economy events from an abductive interpetivist perspective. The empirical part of the study is based on the self-reflective anthropologic inquiry method. This study sets out to propose that the awkwardness and setback experienced by the client, customer or visitor, may generate his/her agency to establish a more clear-cut construction of the experiential framework. However, if attempted the disambiguation demands significant emotional and, sometimes, physical labour, typically not undertaken willingly, and potentially resulting in the subject's avoidance of exposure to similar experiences in future. Introducing the notion of ‘situational liminality’, the paper re-focuses the critical edge of inquiry away from agency-reducing aspects of experience economy, towards reflecting on their enforced, albeit not deliberate, agency-inducing consequences. By exploring the ‘liquid’ underpinnings of situational liminality, this study contributes to the ongoing discussion on liquid modernity in organizational context.