Beyond the Market: The Societal Influence of Fandoms
ISBN: 978-1-78635-496-9, eISBN: 978-1-78635-495-2
Publication date: 28 November 2016
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose is to argue that market-generated and brand-related phenomena such as fandoms work as a social and institutional force beyond the market and to showcase their influence on the society as a whole.
Methodology/approach
The influence of fandoms on many societal institutions is explored through the literature on fandom studies and consumer research.
Findings
The research indicates that market-generated resources and their related sociocultural dynamics play a significant role in shaping the evolution of many institutions of current societies.
Research limitations/implications
The research is exclusively focused on fandoms despite the varied facets of market-related sociocultural dynamics, opportunity exists for research beyond the exploratory work done here shifting the focus from fandoms to brand systems.
Practical implications
Researchers, especially in Consumer Culture Theory (CCT), may use the perspective shift from market to society to enlarge the scope to new fields of study, out of the market.
Social implications
The research provides new lenses to understand emerging phenomena in fields such as religion and/or politics difficult to understand with traditional frameworks.
Originality/value
This paper provides exploratory research identifying market-related social and institutional processes and emphasizing how they influence other societal institutions, such as family, religion, corporations, professions, and politics; rather than bringing social and institutional processes into the marketplace.
Keywords
Citation
Fuschillo, G. (2016), "Beyond the Market: The Societal Influence of Fandoms", Consumer Culture Theory (Research in Consumer Behavior, Vol. 18), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 169-192. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0885-211120160000018013
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2017 Emerald Group Publishing Limited