Abstract
This paper develops the Möbius strip as an ‘ordering theory’ (Sandberg and Alvesson, 2020) that brings CCT studies into dialogue with mainstream marketing approaches. The aim is to work toward a transdisciplinary understanding of market spatiality, a topic that has become increasingly important for theorists and practitioners (Warnaby and Medway, 2013; Castilhos et al., 2016; Chatzidakis et al., 2018). Building on psychosocial interpretations of the Möbius strip as a ‘tactical’ way of thinking, a range of insights and ideas are organized along a single strip of theorization. This paper maps a continuous plane of logic between the concepts of space, place, emplacement, spatiality, implacement, and displacement. The potential applications of the Möbius strip are then demonstrated by showing how the transdisciplinary topic of ‘atmosphere’ can be theorized from multiple perspectives. The paper concludes by exploring how the Möbius strip might also be employed in other areas of marketing theory and practice, potentially generating further transdisciplinary conversations between CCT and the marketing mainstream.
Highlights
“Increasing emphasis is being put on the fact that all social processes take place somewhere, and that where this somewhere is makes a major difference.”
Adopting a more open definition of Consumer Culture Theory (CCT) helps to discern ways in which this body of knowledge can enter into transdisciplinary conversations and collaborations with the marketing mainstream (Arnould et al, 2019)
One area that would certainly benefit from scholarly cross-pollination is market spatiality, a term which encompasses a range of research addressing the relationships between geographical processes and marketing practices (Castilhos et al, 2016)
Summary
“Increasing emphasis is being put on the fact that all social processes take place somewhere, and that where this somewhere is makes a major difference.”. When Arnould and Thompson (2005, p.868) first introduced the “academic brand” of Consumer Culture Theory (CCT) they described it as “a flurry of research addressing the sociocultural, experiential, symbolic, and ideological aspects of consumption”, contrasting this with the “microeconomic theory, cognitive psychology, experimental design, and quantitative analytical methods” (p.869) found elsewhere in the marketing discipline. The marketing literature addressing these topics can certainly be described as multi-disciplinary, but rarely are the terms cross-disciplinary, interdisciplinary, or transdisciplinary as applicable This conceptual paper seeks to propose an ‘ordering theory’ (Sandberg and Alvesson, 2020) that helps to reorganize the existing body of research on market spatiality and, in doing so, highlights hitherto unseen opportunities for future research that cuts across disciplinary divides. The remainder of this paper is structured as follows: the section details the notion of the Möbius strip as an ordering theorization in general terms before proposing the Möbius strip of market spatiality as a more specific formulation; the subsequent sections move along the Möbius strip of market spatiality by addressing 6 common concepts (space, place, emplacement, spatiality, implacement, and displacement) that can be applied to studies from the CCT tradition and the marketing mainstream; the paper returns to the topic of ‘atmosphere’ to provide a more concrete example of how the Möbius strip of market spatiality might be applied by future researchers; the conclusion considers the broader issue of CCT’s relationship with the marketing mainstream, proposing that other Möbius strips might be mobilized in order to facilitate transdisciplinary conversations, insights, and theorizations
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