Report on the Task Force
on Transformative Consumer Research

by
David Mick, University of Virginia
Past President of ACR (2005)

Introduction

Scholarship in our association has rarely been purposely designed for and directly conveyed to consumers.  Consequently, several members of ACR worked diligently to develop the 2005 North American conference to include contributions that would center around a theme of transformative consumer research.  The mission of transformative consumer research via ACR is to make a beneficial difference in the lives of consumers, both present and future generations, through the chosen focus and conduct of specific research, and in the communicating of its implications and usefulness.  The key word “transformative” signifies important and constructive influence, including the potential for uplifting change. 

There are many questions to be addressed and much advice to be garnered to accomplish a successful inauguration and continuation of transformative consumer research through ACR.  To begin this dialogue, I received support from the ACR Board of Directors to convene a task force to begin addressing some crucial issues surrounding transformative consumer research, with the intent of sharing the output of that task force with our ACR members and friends.  This report summarizes the design and main insights of the task force.

The Purpose And Design Of The Task Force

To maximize insights from the task force, I recruited a purposeful sample of individuals whose motivations and knowledge would be high in regard to consumer research in the service of quality of life.  Thus, this task force was not assembled to gauge interest in transformative consumer research from a representative sample of ACR members and others.  Rather, it was intentionally designed to collect frank, thoughtful, and experienced feedback on a number of potentially significant issues facing the nature and role of transformative consumer research via ACR.  Thereby, in the spring of 2005 I contacted 60 scholars of wide-ranging orientations and invited them to serve on the related task force. 

The task force was managed on an email basis, as a two-stage Delphi-type technique.  First, I emailed the task force a small set of open-ended questions that covered these main issues: (a) identifying and prioritizing topics for transformative consumer research; (b) considering how ACR can best communicate and disseminate the implications to make the research most accessible and actionable; (c) identifying consumer interest groups and organizations that ACR could effectively partner with to assist in publicizing findings and implications; (d) determining how and from whom ACR can best raise funds to support transformative consumer research; and (e) identifying the biggest challenges to initiating and sustaining this movement, as well as any advice on how to avoid, mitigate, or overcome those challenges.  Task force members were asked to answer every question if possible, but to focus especially on those for which they had solid knowledge, opinions, or suggestions.  Anonymity with respect to specific answers was assured by assigning each member a number.  In the end, 45 individuals responded in the first phase of the task force’s assignment, with most attempting to answer each question posed. 

The data were then organized into a single file and sent back out to the task force.  Members were asked to review the first-phase responses carefully, and provide additional feedback, e.g., agreeing or disagreeing with specific responses or advice, adding further thoughts and recommendations, and so forth.  Just over half of the first-round respondents (23) provided further views in the second round.  These second-phase answers were then codified and integrated into a comprehensive file that included the data from phase one.

I then scrutinized the comprehensive file several times, looking for common answers and themes, as well as others that may have been uncommon yet insightful nevertheless.  I sum up the findings below as thoroughly but concisely as possible, and without evaluation at this point.  ACR members, committees, and the Board of Directors may subsequently seek to judge, re-prioritize, add to, eliminate, and act upon the ideas in accordance with their own goals and interests.  The comprehensive file of task force responses is available by request via email (contact me at dmick@virginia.edu).  The members of the task force are listed in the Appendix at the end of this report.

First-Phase Responses From The Task Force

Substantive Topics for Transformative Consumer Research

The first question asked task force members to list the topics or foci from their viewpoints that should have highest priority over the next 3 – 5 years among the scholars involved in transformative consumer research.  In composing their lists, members were asked to simultaneously take into account which topics would be most feasible (doable) for examining in a sufficiently rigorous manner and for communicating effectively.

The responses were wide-ranging, but can be condensed down to about four broad categories, with occasional overlap among specific topics.  Some of the topics have been already studied to a moderate degree in consumer research, while others much less so, particularly in ACR circles.   

The first and most mentioned category was the study of vulnerable consumer groups.  Some task force members specially pointed to vulnerable consumers who live outside of economically developed societies.  Related and other groups specifically listed by the task force included:

·         Poor individuals, including the homeless

·         Consumers in emerging economies

·         Adolescents (especially in regard to risky behaviors involving alcohol, tobacco, drugs, and/or driving)

·         Young children

·         Elderly individuals

·         Illiterate individuals

·         Ill individuals

·         Handicapped individuals

As a second large category, several members mentioned consumer behaviors that are generally regarded as personally or socially negative.  Many of these topics are related to life styles and behaviors that are considered contrary to safety, healthy functioning, and subjective well being.  Transformative consumer research, for example, could address how to help consumers in avoiding, preventing, reducing, or stopping these behaviors.   The topics mentioned included:

·         Tobacco consumption

·         Excessive alcohol consumption (by itself or coupled with machine operations, including vehicular driving)

·         Overeating (particularly obesity)

·         Unprotected sexual behavior that leads to AIDS or other sexually transmitted diseases

·         Gambling

·         Heavy use of violent computer games

·         Overbuying and compulsive buying (including use of credit cards and the occurrence of personal bankruptcies)

·         Materialistic and emulative consumer behavior

As a third category, several task force members mentioned consumer behaviors that are regarded as more generally positive, which transformative consumer research could seek to understand better in order to encourage or guide.  The topics mentioned included:

·         Ecologically minded and pro-environmental consumer behaviors

·         Organ donations [this topic drew an insight on how consumer research should focus more on “upstream” or push factors, having to do with facilitating certain pro-social consumer behaviors, rather than trying to persuade or pull consumers into these; a specific example cited was Eric Johnson’s recent work on organ donations]

·         Preventive and affirmative health decision making and behaviors

·         Wise consumption generally, including short-term versus long-term goals as well as life fulfillment/satisfaction related to consumer behavior

Finally, as the fourth and “other” category, members listed a miscellany of consumer behaviors that could be addressed under the rubric of transformative consumer research, some of which have received prior attention in ACR, while others very little.  These included:

·         Financial decision making, including investing, saving, retirement planning, etc.

·         Media consumption, especially television, movies, and video games

·         Privacy issues of various kinds

·         Consumer resistance, including boycotts

·         Product safety generally, defective products specifically

·         New technologies that substantially change life

·         Product and package labeling (e.g., over-the-counter drugs, nutritional information on food products)

Communicating and Disseminating Transformative Consumer Research

To be noticed, useful, and valued by consumers—either directly or indirectly through other consumption-focused organizations—there must be opportunities to publish transformative consumer research and circulate the insights in a comprehensible form.  Task force members mentioned several strategies for achieving these goals.  Some of these strategies are clearly more feasible in the short term, while others will take longer to develop (if at all).  Some of the most mentioned strategies included:

·         Have a special issue or a special section on transformative consumer research in a leading journal such as the Journal of Consumer Research

·         Start a new journal or partner more thoroughly and explicitly with an existing relevant journal

·         Organize special summits or symposia, and publish subsequent edited proceedings or books

·         Develop and further expand the ACR website, including the new subsection titled “For Consumers”; get this subsection placed better in relation to web search engines and key word searches of relevance; get the subsection linked to other consumption-oriented organizations, such as the Federal Trade Commission, Food and Drug Administration, Center for Disease Control, Marketing Science Institute, Ethical Consumer Group, Consumers Union, and so forth

·         Have someone in ACR serve as a chief communications officer whose role would be, in part, to develop press releases regarding important transformative consumer research by ACR members; this individual could work with leading researchers in the movement to write occasional or regular columns on transformative consumer research for widely available magazines (e.g., Money, Consumer Reports)

·         Develop a special electronic newsletter from ACR aimed at the general public, and perhaps a different version aimed at think tanks and other organizations with interests that overlap with transformative consumer research

·         Develop a directory of ACR members who have interests in transformative consumer research and who would be willing to be listed on the ACR website as being available to talk with media representatives who are working on relevant consumption topics and stories

·         To encourage and assist ACR members in publishing transformative consumer research more broadly and more impactfully, including in journals often not recognized or followed by ACR members, e.g., Human Rights Quarterly, the Journal of Human Development, and various other health, lifestyle, and society outlets

Other Organizations And Groups To Partner With

Task force members mentioned a variety of organizations and other consumption-focused or consumer-interest groups with which ACR could partner in order to support and publicize transformative consumer research.  These included:

·         USA government entities such as the National Institute of Health

·         Other global agencies (e.g., World Health Organization) and societies (e.g., the International Society of Marketing and Development and the International Society for Quality of Life Studies)

·         Consumer Federation of America

·         Foundations such as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

·         Advertising Agencies such as Ogilvy and Mather

·         Positive Psychology Network

·         Richard Wilk’s website and listserv (globalconsumer@listserv.indiana.edu)

·         Newspapers, magazines, and journals such as Mother Jones, Business Week, Wall Street Journal, Consumer Reports, and the Journal of Research for Consumers

·         Consumers Union

·         Common Cause

·         Ethical Consumer Group

·         American Council on Consumer Interest (publisher of the Journal of Consumer Affairs)

·         Institutes such as Brookings, Aspen, William Davidson, and American Antitrust

·         American Sociological Association’s Consumers, Commodities, and Consumption site

·         Centers such as the Center for Consumer Culture, the Center for a New American Dream, the Center for Research in Transitional Societies, and the Center for Economic and Financial Research

·         American Marketing Association

·         Society for Consumer Psychology

·         Organizations such as Resources for the Future, The Simplicity Forum, The Oxford Group on Sustainable Consumption, and the New Roadmap Foundation

Funding Transformative Consumer Research

Task Force members also identified a number of potential sources from which ACR might receive support for transformative consumer research.  As a general tactic, ACR could set up a special Foundation for Transformation Consumer Research.  Regardless of whether that sort of foundation is set up, the funds raised could, for instance, be made available through a competitive grant proposal and review process.  Potential sources of funding that were mentioned included:

·         USA National Science Institute

·         USA National Institute of Health

·         USA Center for Disease Control

·         Marketing Science Institute

·         American Association of Retired Persons

·         International bodies such as the World Trade Organization and the World Health Organization

·         Foundations such as Robert Wood Johnson, Ford, MacArthur, Sloane, Fetzer, Templeton, Rockefellar, and Gates

·         Corporations such as Body Shop, Ben and Jerry’s, Anheuser Busch, and Philip Morris

Some task force members opined that many of the potential funding organizations (as those listed above) are only seeking research highly pertinent to their stated missions and goals (e.g., poverty, health, children), and may be less likely to support general proposals for non-specified research topics under the general umbrella of transformative consumer research.  Hence, it was suggested that the most effective strategy might be for consumer researchers, facilitated by ACR, to come together as teams that hold strong interests in particular topics within transformative consumer research.  The teams could then write collective grants to the organizations or agencies that best suit their topics. 

Challenges and Related Advice On Transformative Consumer Research,

Task force members were also asked to identify what they saw as the biggest challenges and pitfalls to transformative consumer research, and to suggest strategies for overcoming them.  One major issue raised concerned the matter of whether there would be sufficient motivations and rewards for doing this type of research, and whether researchers may overlook the possible new opportunities and collaborations.  Relatedly, another emphasized challenge was that the field might not adequately value this type of research and it could be considered less prestigious.  More specifically, there were reservations that transformative consumer research might not count as heavily in the career development of early and rising scholars in the field.  Another of the more emphasized challenges was the need for research funding.  Some members expressed a warning that transformative consumer research should not adopt advocacy positions or become too political in one manner or another.  More than one task force member mentioned the lack of publication outlets for this sort of research and the need for existing relevant journals to support it.  A few others wondered whether the field as a whole would need to evolve its paradigms and methods so that transformative consumer research was well grounded for achieving a deep understanding of the consumers’ needs and contexts to which the research implications should apply.

Other central challenges might include:

·         The scope of transformative consumer research, as it is currently outlined, may be too big and less coherent than it needs to be in order to be effective

·         Alternatively, transformative consumer research may face opposition for seeming relevant only to a small fringe group of researchers and not sufficiently to more mainstream researchers, or it may lack sustainability because of an insufficient number of ACR members willing to take leadership roles

·         Transformative consumer research may face opposition because it could be construed as being against the interests of firms, many of whom support business schools that house a large share of ACR members

·         Moving transformative consumer research from findings to prompt and practical usage opportunities by various publics will require significant planning and many connections to other organizations for assistance

Various advice was offered to overcome one or a combination of the challenges raised.  These strategies included:

·         Enlisting ACR opinion leaders and well-regarded scholars to be keenly involved, including an ongoing steering committee to generate plans, programs, and other ventures that encourage, support, and promote transformative consumer research

·         Obtaining and disseminating transformative consumer research funding as discussed above

·         Electing and/or encouraging editors of top journals to support this type of research

·         Assisting teams of influential ACR researchers to focus on and publish about a specific important topic within transformative consumer research

·         Developing special sessions, roundtables, and so forth at ACR and at other conferences where transformative consumer research is germane; developing special conferences and edited proceedings/books

·         Developing various means for widely sharing and communicating the results and implications of transformative consumer research

·         Developing doctoral seminars that stress research that begins with recognizable consumer problems or opportunities related to quality of life, is then conducted in a methodologically sound manner, and leads to applicable insights for consumers

Second-Phase Responses

The task force was sent the full set of anonymous responses from the first phase.  Members were asked to review them and provide further feedback (e.g., (dis)agreements, additional advice).

While many members remarked that there was considerable convergence in the first-phase responses, others noted the breadth and occasional discrepancies of ideas.  Some mentioned that the simultaneous agreements and departures should imply that the early stages of transformative consumer research should be as inclusive as possible, to build collegiality, shared goals, and fresh collaborations.  Some respondents felt, after reviewing the first-phase data, that some of the topics mentioned were of such complexity in terms of their embedding in the overall marketing and social system (e.g., obesity) that positively influencing these issues through ACR would be difficult at best.  A couple of respondents felt that some of the first-phase answers were naïve or grandiose, perhaps offered by task force members who had insufficient familiarity with areas such as public policy or health intervention/improvement research. 

In contrast, a sizeable share of the respondents commented on the array of enthusiastic and conscientious ideas offered in phase one regarding the prospects for transformative consumer research via ACR.  Overall, the second-phase responses tended to renew themes from the first phase, while providing elaborations of rationale and advice. 

Conclusion

A task force on transformative consumer research was asked to brainstorm the topics, needs, barriers, and strategies related to energizing and organizing relevant scholarship via the Association for Consumer Research.  Several opinions and recommendations were obvious and/or widely agreed upon.  Others were less obvious and/or divergent from the group as a whole.  If anything is clear from reading the multiple pages of task force responses, it is that most members felt that while transformative consumer research faces unmistakable challenges—including conceptual, operational, and professional—it represents a harkening back to ACR’s origins and, in today’s world, a natural, overdue, and courageous goal toward which the organization should strive.

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[I thank Rick Netemeyer, Bill Kehoe, and Mary-Ann Twist for their comments on early drafts of this report.]

APPENDIX

Members of the Task Force on Transformative Consumer Research

(alphabetical order, which for anonymity purposes does not parallel the numbered responses

in the raw input which is available on request from David Mick, dmick@virginia.edu)

Aaron Ahuvia                                                             Joe Sirgy                    

Joe Alba                                                          Craig Smith                                        

Alan Andreasen                                              Jack Solomon

Eric Arnould                                                   J.B. Steenkamp

Max Bazerman                                                Craig Thompson

Russ Belk                                                        Rajiv Vaidyanathan

Lauren Block                                                  Brian Wansink

Paul Bloom                                                     Rick Wilk

Albert Borgmann                                            Bill Wilkie

Steve Burgess                                                 Bill Wells

Joel Cohen                                                      Bob Wyer

Gary Cross

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Ron Faber

Fuat Firat

Guliz Ger

Marv Goldberg

Greg Gundlach

Ron Hill

Doug Holt

Wayne Hoyer

Jack Jacoby

Eric Johnson

Punam Keller

Don Lehmann

Rich Lutz

Naresh Malhotra

Betsy Moore

Rick Netemeyer

Julie Ozanne

Lisa Penaloza

Simone Pettigrew

Juliet Schor

Terry Shimp

Clifford Shultz