Consumption, Institutions and Strategic Agency
Consumption as a phenomenon is under increased attention, especially of commodities such as food and energy that are regarded as essentials for biological survival. The concern on commodity consumption, however, is global. The discourse differs though – between Europe and India. In this essay, I base myself on this difference in discourse, and the contests that are being waged over the sphere of consumption, to argue that shaping up of consumption is an institutional act. It has agency. I use secondary data on consumption patterns, narratives around episodes of contests among multiplicities of agencies to interpret institutional contests, showing that forms and modes of consumption correspond with forms of organization of production. An agency on the production side therefore has an interest in subversions in the consumption sphere.
Citation:
Biswatosh Saha (2009) ,"Consumption, Institutions and Strategic Agency", in AP - Asia-Pacific Advances in Consumer Research Volume 8, eds. Sridhar Samu, Rajiv Vaidyanathan, and Dipankar Chakravarti, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 239-239.
Authors
Biswatosh Saha, Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, INDIA
Volume
AP - Asia-Pacific Advances in Consumer Research Volume 8 | 2009
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