postmodernism in consumer behaviour

The duality of the appearance (surface) and the essence (substance) is largely dead in postmodernity. Instead of one station for each 65,000 American, there is now a station for each 38,000. As a dominant ideology or style is absent, there is a sensibility in the public sphere for lifestyle and identity information. The emancipation of the citizens started during the renaissance. Whereas a modern, industrialised society depends on the mass-production of objects in a factory, the postmodern society, to exaggerate the contrast, depends on the segmented production of ideas and images in an office. Objectification and commodification of one's own body and self allows one 'to be consumed' by others, just like a product fulfilling a function in the marketplace. The velocity of change is now much faster. Behavior and language of actors and pop singers can easily be imitated. But the Auschwitz Birkenau 'gate of death' can be seen in the upper-left corner. The main characteristics of the postmodern wave according to Toffler (1970) are: demassification, fragmentation, individualization, and an increasing speed of change. Freedom, equality, and brotherhood is the credo of the French revolution (1789). The Communist Manifesto of Marx and Engels (1848) gave a theoretical foundation to socialism and communism. People and media provide information and demonstrations how to behave, how to talk, and what should be done and avoided. The major causes of postmodern change are social and technical. study of individuals and organizations and how they select and use products and services As advertising adds hyperreality to products and services, it is difficult to define the concept of misleading advertising any more. Consumers have to follow instructions in order to obtain the benefits and to avoid problems. Most fascist and communist totalitarian states collapsed and a liberal form of capitalism survived. As the single ideology lost its dominance, so did the single lifestyle. The fragmentation of the information supply is mirrored in the fragmentation of experiences. Not long ago, only one or two styles were dominant at a time. Socialism became the ideology of the working class, against the oppression of the capitalists. Postmodernism started as a set of plural departures from modernism. Personal identity is created and recreated on the basis of usage rather than on the basis of production or purchase. B. Woolley, Virtual Worlds. It is enigmatic and poses questions to the audience. An excellent example is James Stirling's addition to the Staatsgalerie in Stuttgart. It is extremely difficult to observe trends and trend disruptures of the present period. It stated the necessity of the class struggle and revolution. Emancipation of women and homosexuals created a pluralism accepted by many. A. Fuat Firat, Arizona State University West. Elements of 'higher art' are freely intermingled with lesser forms of art. Marketing becomes an imperialistic art and science, dominating western culture and society at the 'end of history' (Fukuyama, 1992). It brought us wars and material well-being, and sharp economic distinctions between classes and nations. We will apply these characteristics to consumption in a later section of this paper. The works of Charles Dickens, 'Les MisTrables' of Victor Hugo, and 'Das Kapital' of Karl Marx described the conditions of the poor working class. Consumer behaviour is the study of how individuals, groups and Organisation select buy, use and dispose of goods and services, ideas or experiences to satisfy their needs and wants. In postmodern terms, the image does not only represent the product, but the product represents the image. Between 1950 and 1970 the number of radio stations in the U.S. doubled, whereas the population increased by 35 percent. We may return to 'modern times,' if we want or if we need. These distinctions created their political ideologies of liberalism and socialism. Consumers watch short commercials, see flashes of billboards, numerous brands in the supermarket and department store, advertorials and infomercials. Consumer Behaviour Objectives: To provide a strong, usable and comprehensive managerial understanding of consumer behaviour. These new meanings (images) signify a new reality. The postmodern era is the period of information, office workers, differentiated structures, globalism, and fragmented culture. In postmodern terms, this leads to more acceptance of strange combinations, paradoxical juxtapositions of opposites. But the media are not perfectly segmented. Between 1950 and 1970 the number of radio stations in the U.S. doubled, whereas the population increased by 35 percent. Stirling is saying through a hybrid language and uneasy confrontations that we live in a complex world where we cannot deny the past and conventional beauty, neither the present and current technological and social reality. Voyeuristic exposure to the spectacle seems to have become the cultural passtime. Rationalism, tolerance, abolition of slavery, constitutional government, and an economic 'laissez faire' are the keywords. Marketing practice is to glorify products and brands, and to represent them as independent representations of images. Their 'Italianness' is between quotation marks. Downloadable! There remains a distinction between art and mass culture, but a painted Campbell soup tin or Coca Cola bottles became works of art. These workers are working, lower nor middle class, but rather para-class. 10. "Multiphrenic self" is a representation of the effect of postmodern conditions on consumer behavior (Firat & Shultz, 2001). Each communication must attract attention for its own sake, must be exciting to the senses to be effective. It is a time of incessant choosing. And is this a good thing for mankind? We may return to 'modern times,' if we want or if we need. Through computer simulation, virtual realities may be created for the visual, auditory and even kinesthetic senses. But the media are not perfectly segmented. Postmodern advertising is shocking for some and liberating for others. At the same time, we witness a growth of special interest magazines, related to sports, hobbies, geography, gossip, health and fitness. Postmodernism serves as a striking contradiction to classical foundations of philosophy in … Pragmatic political parties with acceptable solutions to societal problems, such as D'66 in The Netherlands, gain voters' shares, whereas traditional ideology-based political parties tend to lose voters' interest. M. McLuhan, Understanding Media, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1964. Social and technical changes create four dominant postmodern conditions related to fragmentation of markets and experiences, hyperreality of products and services, value realization later in the consumption cycle, and paradoxical juxtapositions of opposites. I. Hassan, 'The question of postmodernism,' in: H.R. Communication networks create a 'global village,' as McLuhan (1964) used to call it. Media experiences compete with real experiences. As a consequence, there is a continuous search for styles and genres, for personal and collective identities (Harvey, 1990; Korthals, 1991). Some of Firat's categories will be followed but given a somewhat different meaning and some new categories will be added. POST-MODERNISM Postmodernism in the literal sense means that it evolved after modernism. 3. The feminist movement benefitted from the trend to smaller households and individualization. From exclusion to inclusion. P. Bourdieu, La Distinction. A. Toynbee, A Study of History, Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 1934- (12 volumes). Avantgardism still maintained these values to some extent. Modernists and classicists would be surprised, if not offended. There is no single postmodern style in architecture, although there is a dominating classicism. Value is produced only when consumers add effort to the products they bought, just as a dinner at home is only produced with the purchased ingredients and the time, effort and skills of the consumer. No emotional or cognitive commitment beyond a single purchase or trial is needed. All appartments are different from the outside (and certainly from the inside too). Media provide us with phantasy, fiction and non-fiction as entertainment and background. The communist paradise was obviously very similar to jail. Consumers, however, may attribute values and meanings to them independently of their original functions. Jean Baudrillard (1975, 1981) argues that value is sign-value, created during consumption. No central authority dictates the style for the next season. A cosmopolitan attitude leads to more acceptance of differences. R. Inglehart, The Silent Revolution. The spectacle and the spectacular often are hyperreal. In this paper, the major postmodern conditions in consumption are: fragmentation, hyperreality, value realization later in the consumption cycle, and paradoxical juxtapositions of opposites. The brand is the image and the product user is the hero. Simulations of the reality or hypes may become 'hyperreality.' The market becomes the great assimilator (Firat, 1992). In order to adapt to these important modifications, researchers respond JAZIRI BOUAGINA, D., TRIKI, A. Late modernist buildings, such as the Centre Pompidou in Paris and its follower the General Library at Rotterdam, communicate the ultimate functionalism of truth to materials and construction. Journeys in Postmodernity, Comedia Book, London/New York: Routledge, 1990. Impressive masonry hanged on a steel skeleton, as if the buildings says 'Beautiful like the Acropolis or Pantheon, but based on concrete technology and deceit.' No emotional or cognitive commitment beyond a single purchase or trial is needed. J. Ogilvy, This postmodern business, Marketing and Research Today, 18(1), February 1990, 4-21. Mike Featherstone explores the roots of consumer culture, how it is defined and differentiated and the extent to which it represents the arrival of a `postmodern' world. Children’s consumer behavior is a field that has lately been given attention by marketing, psychology, sociology, and pedagogy. In the postmodern era, socialism tend to elicit the guilt feeling and responsibility for the poor and the handicapped, ven for those who do not follow the socialist ideology. Mastering of some products is only realised after a trial and training period. Eclecticism is the buzzword. This postmodern consumer trait shows that he accepts all the options and can be presented under different identities rather than to conform to a single one. Video cassette recorders possess many functions. Late modernist buildings, such as the Centre Pompidou in Paris and its follower the General Library at Rotterdam, communicate the ultimate functionalism of truth to materials and construction. People collect altars, statues, paintings, chairs, carpets, and books, and then comes a time of joyful relief and they throw it all out like so much refuse from yesterday's dinner table'. U. Eco, Travels in Hyperreality, San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1986 [translation from Italian]. Postmodernism literally means 'after the modernist movement'. Toffler (1970) states that production and consumption coincide: prosumption. The economists Adam Smith and David Ricardo advocated the 'invisible hand' of competition. Examples are seen on television: news flashes, videoclips, superimposed images, animations, and 10-seconds commercials create a visual image, pastiche and collage. The population should be divided into age categories, and men, women and children should be housed separately. Most characteristic of the postmodern era is the openness. POSTMODERNISM IN ARCHITECTURE Modernist architectural styles are characterized by their ideology. This is described by the concept of self-monitoring (Snyder, 1987). Meaning of Consumer Behaviour. Impressive masonry hanged on a steel skeleton, as if the buildings says 'Beautiful like the Acropolis or Pantheon, but based on concrete technology and deceit.' The 'real self' is hidden behind many situational, role-played selves, if there still exists a real self at all. They criticised the lack of a new style and ideology, and the return of former styles and traditions in an eclectic manner. endobj The challenge of the postmodern person and consumer is an 'embarras de richesses' and an 'embarras des choix', to choose among traditions, styles, products, and services from the past and the present. Postmodern elements can be traced in architecture, art, and consumer behavior. The modern era was the period of industrialization, factory workers, ideology, nationalism, and mass culture. In the course of history, kings, warlords, priests, and other authorities reigned over ordinary people. Consumer behavior incorporates ideas from several sciences including psychology, biology, chemistry, and economics. What is a restaurant dinner without the good humour and positive participation of the customers? Let's enjoy civilization as it is. Many persons in the West became liberated from oppressing ideologies and became cosmopolites. The modern period is a period of mass production and consumption. For many philosophers, a rejection of logical positivism makes one a postmodern thinker. It is much easier to overlook the past and to discern past trends and fashions. This is not a new phenomenon, because almost all services and products require an active input and participation of the consumer to enjoy the benefits. A Ford Sierra has now so many varieties in colors, accessories, engine types that one will seldom see two identical cars. For Hassan, postmodernism is 'discontinuity, indeterminancy, immanence.'. Postmodernism started in architecture. We are informed about conflicts, viewpoints, styles, and opinions from all over the world. In the U.K., a brand of cigarettes became popular in a black package with a skull and the brand name Death. The postmodern era is characterised by individualization, first of all individualization of inequality (Naumann and Hufner, 1985). Through media sponsorship and the merging of the editorial and advertising content of media brand names become an important part of this collage. As the single ideology lost its dominance, so did the single lifestyle. In the modern era, mass production meant an endless repetition of the same products. J. Naisbitt, Megatrends, London: Futura, 1984. Transavantgardism, originating in Italy, found elements of mass culture suitable means to express their emotions. The realization of socialism and elimination of private property in Eastern Europe brought bureaucracy, stagnation, corruption, and an oppressive state power (Stalin). In an ironic way, one could state that consumers are there to allow products to achieve their functions. We receive a diversity of often contradictory information. A. Toffler, Future Shock, Toronto: Bantam Books, 1970. Advertising is not only information about the product. This may may go as far as 'sacralization' of products, such as collectors' items, dolls, automobiles, antiques, and 'cult items' (Belk, Wallendorf, and Sherry, 1989). Postmodernists call this the reversal of production and consumption (Firat, 1992). It stated the necessity of the class struggle and revolution. Pluralism will, however, not be temporary but is a permanenet characteristic of postmodernism. These grand narratives, such as religion, nation-state, and the destiny of the west, have largely become non-credible. Openings, … ), Individual Development and Social Change, New York: Academic Press, 1985. Although marketing may induce people to donate money to 'good causes,' such as the Red Cross and Greenpeace, by appealing to their guilt feelings, it is certainly not enough to give 'real' meaning to one's life. 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