The Association for Consumer Research (ACR) Workshop on "Enhancing the Status of Consumer Research in Non-Western Contexts" was held in the Department of Marketing during July 5 and 6.
The major objective of the workshop was to probe the enhancement of consumer research by providing evidence and theoretical inspiration from non-Western contexts for a more reliable and inclusive body of knowledge. Given the low number of publications on consumer research in non-Western contexts, it seems that current knowledge in these societies has a long way to go to flourish. More specifically, and in the domain of research into the culture of consumption, this gap is even further widened by the fact that the growth of consumer culture in such contexts is largely interpreted in the light of the 'theoretical structures' that are constructed by Western philosophy as a set of ideas, beliefs, and practices. It's therefore necessary that the nature and dynamics of consumption culture in each society be studied not only against the sociocultural, historical, economic, political, and aesthetic background of a given context (Western or non-Western) but also with reference to the philosophical and epistemological viewpoints that analyse and interpret cultural practices of that society from within that culture. Addressing such issues, the workshop sought to create a platform for consumer researchers to exchange ideas and discuss the possibilities of encouraging non-Western researchers to introduce the less articulated, and sometimes hidden, body of knowledge from their own contexts into the consumer culture debates.
The workshop was organised by Dr Aliakbar Jafari with the co-operation of four renowned scholars - Professor Fuat Firat, University of Texas-Pan American, USA; Professor Ahmet Süerdem, Istanbul Bilgi University, Turkey; Professor Søren Askegaard, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark; and Professor Daniele Dalli, University of Pisa, Italy.
The workshop was a great success and a truly international event which represented 22 countries. The two-day event witnessed a great deal of idea exchanges and scholarly debates. The informal atmosphere of the workshop provided the participants, especially the doctoral students, with the opportunity to talk about their research with some of the most renowned scholars in the field.
The keynote speakers were Professor Alladi Venkatesh, University of California, Irvine, USA and Professor Nikhilesh Dholakia, University of Rhode Island, USA, both world class marketing scholars. Dr Ian Grant, Dr Paul Hewer and Dr Kathy Hamilton from the Department of Marketing were discussants to three papers presented at the Workshop.
Dr Jafari and Professor Süerdem will edit a special issue of "Marketing Theory" to reflect the key contributions of the workshop.