ACR Workshop

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ANNOUNCEMENT:
Submissions are now closed. Authors will be notified of the results in April 2010.
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Date: 5-6 July, 2010
Place: Department of Marketing, University of Strathclyde Business School

Co-Chairs:
Aliakbar Jafari, University of Strathclyde
Ahmet Süerdem, Istanbul Bilgi University

Invited Keynote Speakers:
Taghi Azadarmaki, University of Tehran
Nikhilesh Dholakia, University of Rhode Island
Alladi Venkatesh, University of California, Irvine

Organising Committee:
Søren Askegaard, University of Southern Denmark
Daniele Dalli, University of Pisa
A. Fuat Firat, University of Texas–Pan American
Aliakbar Jafari, University of Strathclyde
Ahmad Jamal, Cardiff University
Ahmet Süerdem, Istanbul Bilgi University

Overview of Objectives:
The major objective of this workshop is 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 our 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. Therefore, it is imperative 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, this workshop seeks 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 sometime hidden, body of knowledge from their own contexts into the consumer culture debates. This workshop can be genuinely appealing to all consumer researchers as theory development is a matter of interest for all; yet, peers engaged, in any way, with research in non-Western contexts and doctoral students from non-Western contexts are particularly welcomed.