Academy of Marketing Science Review

Understanding Consumer Privacy: A Review and Future Directions

Conceptualization of Market Expansion Strategies in Developing Economies

Market expansion is a very important strategic option in the developing economies. Literature on marketing to the "bottom of the pyramid" and the "blue ocean" strategy has brought to the fore the issue of direct involvement of manufacturers or corporations in expanding markets. Though the "bottom of the pyramid" and the "blue ocean" strategy frameworks are important references for development of conceptual framework for market expansion, neither of these can be considered as a complete concep...

An Exploratory Investigation of Identity Negotiation and Tattoo Removal

This study investigates tattoo removal as a means of identity negotiation using Brewer's (1991) optimal distinctiveness theory as the conceptual foundation. Twenty-two informants who ranged in age from 19 to 43 participated in in-depth interviews telling their stories of tattoo acquisition and removal. Findings unpack the relationship between consumption, disposition, and the different aspects of the self-concept. Informants who felt overly individuated (or assimilated) in a frequently activa...

A Theory of Affective Self-Affinity: Definitions and Application to a Company and Its Business

Marketing research is increasingly interested in people's perception- and affect-laden, identity-involving relationships to companies and their brands. However, little attention has been paid to (1) how, specifically, such identity relationships to companies will stem from identity relationships to various other things that are relevant to people and associated with companies. Besides, (2) the influences of such relationships to companies on various business-relevant behaviors of the individu...