Is Consumer Culture Theory Research Or Realpolitik? a Sociology of Knowledge Analysis of a Scientific Culture

When Consumer Culture Theory (CCT) was introduced by Arnould and Thompson (2005) it was part of a strategy to create legitimacy for interpretive research. It was argued that interpretive researchers needed to be more pragmatic in their attitude. This was a fundamental change in the scientific culture in this stream of research. This paper analyse these changes and study how CCT represent a new and pragmatic attitude. It is shown how the changes intended by CCT can imply a shift from a focus on new groundbreaking research to an awareness of realpolitik consequences. This strategic move can be seen as an example of how scientific cultures try to move from a marginal position to the mainstream. The consequences of this attempt to manage science are analyzed and solutions to problems created by these changes are developed.

Citation:

Matthias Bode and Per Ostergaard (2009) ,"Is Consumer Culture Theory Research Or Realpolitik? a Sociology of Knowledge Analysis of a Scientific Culture", in NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 36, eds. Ann L. McGill and Sharon Shavitt, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 629-630.