2013 Awards for Excellence

Citation

(2014), "2013 Awards for Excellence", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 31 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCM-01-2014-013

2013 Awards for Excellence

Article Type: 2013 Awards for Excellence From: Journal of Consumer Marketing, Volume 31, Issue 1

The following article was selected for this year's Outstanding Paper Award for, Journal of Consumer Marketing

"Liminality and consumption in the aftermath of a natural disaster"

Pamela A. Kennett-Hensel
Marketing Department, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Julie Z. Sneath
Marketing Department, University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama, USA

Russell Lacey
Marketing Department, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Purpose – This study seeks to examine how event-induced outcomes impact consumption attitudes and buying behavior by surveying victims at distinct intervals following Hurricane Katrina, the largest natural disaster in US history.
Design/methodology/approach – Using van Gennep’s liminal transitions framework and Belk’s conceptualization of possessions and sense of self, the authors present findings from three studies: depth interviews of 21 victims conducted eight weeks after the storm; an online study of 427 victims that was conducted eight months following the storm; and a follow-up online study of 176 victims that took place three years after the first online survey.
Findings – The results suggest that when significant life transitions occur, consumption behavior helps to facilitate the process and serves as a marker for each stage.
Research limitations/implications – Because many of the US Gulf Coast region’s residents still struggle to cope with the devastation wrought by the storm, the situation offers a unique opportunity to investigate short- and long-term effects of a single catastrophic event on consumers’ view of possessions and subsequent consumption behavior.
Practical implications – The studies conducted by the researchers provide insight about the impact of stress and loss on natural disaster victim’s purchasing behavior, both in the weeks and months following the storm as well as more than three years later.
Originality/value – The study explores the role of consumption in coping and recovery after a natural catastrophic event. It uses a historic US natural disaster to examine how emotional distress and associated loss of possessions have impacted victims’ lives, attitudes, and buying behaviors.
Keywords Life events, Stress, Possessions, Consumption, Transitions, Liminality

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/07363761211193046

This article originally appeared in Volume 29 Number 1, 2012, pp. 52-63, Journal of Consumer Marketing

The following articles were selected for this year’s Highly Commended Award

"Dispelling the collective myth of Chinese consumers: a new generation of brand-conscious individualists"

Lilly Ye
Mousumi Bose
Lou Pelton

This article originally appeared in Volume 29 Number 3, 2012, Journal of Consumer Marketing

"Decomposition of cross-country differences in consumer attitudes toward marketing"

Geng Cui
Hon-Kwong Lui
Annamma Joy

This article originally appeared in Volume 29 Number 3, 2012, Journal of Consumer Marketing

"Examining world market segmentation and brand positioning strategies"

Salah S. Hassan
Stephen Craft

This article originally appeared in Volume 29 Number 5, 2012, Journal of Consumer Marketing