Socially-Embedded Marketplace Literacy in Subsistence Contexts

This research seeks to examine the nature of “marketplace literacy” in impoverished contexts in India. We describe findings from a research program conducted in one such context in Chennai, South India, and introduce the features of a socially-situated consumer literacy intervention developed based on the research. The key insight is that, although consumption in impoverished contexts occurs amidst severe resource constraints, consumers cope by developing a socially-embedded form of marketplace literacy over time. They do so by drawing from a confluence of personal skills and social relations, which is sustained and enriched by repetitive exposure to a highly interpersonal 1-1 interactional marketplace.

Citation:

Madhu Viswanathan and Srinivas Sridharan (2009) ,"Socially-Embedded Marketplace Literacy in Subsistence Contexts", 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: 32-32.