The Routledge Handbook of Identity and Consumption: (Routledge International Handbooks)

"Tell me what you eat, I'll tell you who you are," said Anthelme Brillat-Savarin. Today, "You are what you consume" is more apt. Barbara Krueger’s ironic twist of Descartes – "I shop therefore I am" – has lost its irony. Such phrases have become commonplace descriptions of our identity in the contemporary world. In our materialistic world, it seems as if there is no debate that our consumption behavior is fused with our self-identity – shaping it, changing it, and often challenging it. The Routledge Handbook of Identity and Consumption introduces the reader to state-of-the-art research, written by the world’s leading scholars regarding the interplay between identity and consumption. The book addresses the diverse issues regarding the ways identity affects our consumption behaviour and vice-versa and in doing so presents a broad perspective on the dynamics of self-identity and consumption. With chapters discussing the theory, research, and practical implications of these dynamics, including the way they change across our life span and their expression within different social, cultural, and religious contexts, this book will be a valuable reference source for students and academics from a variety of disciplines.

Table of Contents:
Part I: WHAT IS THE SELF IN THE CONTEXT OF CONSUMPTION? 1. I am what I do, not what I have: The centrality of experiential purchases to the self-concept Revisited 2. How people use objects to create and defend their identities 3. Authentic self-expression in consumption: misalignments in feeling and seeming 4. From reimagining the self to losing ‘ourselves’ 5. Extended self in a digital age 6. A framework of the extended self in the metaverse: visual self-representation in avatar-mediated environments 7. Blockchain realities: materializing decentralized identities in the metaverse 8. A deeper dive into understanding stigmatized-identity cues 9. Can parents escape the ideology of intensive mothering? Reflections across social classes and geographical contexts 10. The consumer self in pain 11. Gendered Perspectives: Exploring Gendered Patterns in Identity and Consumer Behavior 12. Grasping what is mine and me. Psychological ownership and self 13. The world is my oyster: consumers’ psychological ownership in a spatial computing era 14. Things we love, brand love, and the Self Part II: THE DYNAMIC SELF: TRANSFORMATION, SUPPORT and CONTROL 15. Self-transformation and chronic consumer liminality 16. The modern girl myth: understanding the new Indian woman through her consumption choices 17. Technological shaping of consumer identity 18. Losing cool points: insights from insults among adolescents 19. Aging consumers and consumption 20. Motivated identity construction 21. Compensatory consumption: a material salve for psychological wounds 22. The efficacy of self-repair through compensatory consumption 23. To see and be seen: inclusive design boosts consumer significance, worth and well-being Part III: SOCIAL AND CULTURAL ASPECTS OF THE SELF AND CONSUMPTION 24. Social influence and the self 25. Self-extension, brand community and consumer creation among the Adult Fans of LEGO in the age of social media 26. A brief review of political identity 27. Generational identity and consumption 28. Political identity and its implications for consumer behavior and marketing: a review of the emerging literature 29. Cultural determinants of identity: consequences for consumer behavior 30. Religious Identity and faith-based markets Part IV. MARKETING AND THE SELF 31. Brand relationships and self 32. That Is So Not Me: Dissociating from Undesired Consumer Identities 33. Implications of brand purpose for consumer identity 34. Self-brand connections: motivations, origins, and outcomes 35. Breaking gender binaries in advertising 36. A social identity perspective on aspirational advertising and self 37. Self-presentation versus self-disclosure of consumer behavior on social media 38. Ethnic identity in advertising research Part V. THE SELF AND PRODUCT/PERSON/PERSONA DISPOSAL 39. You can’t take it with you when you go: body disposal as identity expression 40. When do consumers dispose of possessions? The effect of Self-inauthenticity on possession disposal decisions 41. Death Becomes Bowie – Life, Death and Identity of David (Jones) Bowie 42. Evolution of Consumption: Identity Construction and Expression in the Digital Age

About the Author :
Ayalla Ruvio is an Associate Professor of Marketing at Michigan State University. Her area of expertise is in the psychology of consumer behaviors, which focuses on issues such as identity and consumption, material vs. experiential consumption, and consumer arrogance. Her research has been published in top journals, including the Journal of Academy of Marketing Science, International Journal of Research in Marketing, and Harvard Business Review. She is the co-editor of the volume on "Consumer Behavior" in the International Encyclopedia of Marketing and the “Consumer Behavior” textbook. Her research has been featured in numerous media outlets worldwide, including CNN, the TODAY show, Good Morning America, TIME magazine, The New York Times, Forbes, The Washington Post, Consumer Reports, The Daily Telegraph, The Atlantic, The Telegraph, and the Toronto STAR. Russell W. Belk is York University Distinguished Research Professor, Royal Society of Canada Fellow, and Kraft Foods Canada Chair in Marketing at Schulich School of Business, York University. His research involves the extended self, meanings of possessions, collecting, gift giving, sharing, digital consumption, and materialism. This work is primarily qualitative and is often conceptual, visual, and cultural. He co-initiated the Association for Consumer Research (ACR) Film Festival, the Consumer Culture Theory (CCT) Conference, and the Consumer Behavior Odyssey. He is the past president and fellow of ACR and has over 800 publications. He has received numerous research and teaching awards, including the Sheth/JCR Award for Long Term Contribution to Consumer Research, 2005. In 2012, a 10-volume compendium with discussions of his work was published in the Sage Legends in Consumer Behavior series. In 2023, he received an honorary doctorate from Université de Reims with a festschrift in his honor.