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Identity, consumption and narratives of socialization

School of Management, University of Bath, UK, A.Shankar{at}bath.ac.uk

Richard Elliott

School of Management, University of Bath, UK

James A. Fitchett

University of Leicester, UK

In this paper we contribute to current debates concerning the relationship between identity and consumption. We use people's past consumption of music, embodied in their old records, as an archive of their identity projects. Using a narrative approach to data collection and drawing on an interpretive orientation influenced by the work of Pierre Bourdieu, we find that the structuring influences that enable and constrain the development of identity emerge in sharper relief. In particular, we suggest that narratives of socialization have an enduring effect on how people `make up' who they want to be. Implications for consumer research theory are discussed.

Key Words: consumption • identity • materiality • music • narrative • possessions

Marketing Theory, Vol. 9, No. 1, 75-94 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1470593108100062


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