Toward a theory of market culture: an investigation of value co-creation and the (re)contextualization of a global market culture

Abstract

In this dissertation, the consideration of markets as cultures, or market culture, is proposed as a theoretical framework, based on value co-creation, for studying markets and marketing. Central to this view, is the idea that value is always jointly created (cocreated) in markets because it is proposed by one or more actors (e.g., firms), but derived and determined by different actors (e.g., customers), in a particular context. In three interrelated essays, a conceptual framework for studying market cultures is proposed and empirically investigated. This framework suggests that as firms, customers and other stakeholders enact practices (routine actions) to (co-)create value for themselves and for others, they draw on and contribute to common resources, social norms and meanings, which recursively constitute the cultural contexts through which value is derived. The first essay proposes a framework for conceptualizing markets as cultures by integrating two streams of marketing research that center on jointly created value--service-dominant (S-D) logic and consumer culture theory (CCT)--and drawing on practice theory, as it has been developed in marketing and sociology. The second essay explores the (re)contextualization, or social construction, of a global market culture, surfing, as changes in practices guide and are guided by changes in structure--resources, norms and meanings--across time and space (i.e., globalization). The third essay applies the model of cultural context as a value co-creation approach to identifying unique markets, by studying the differences between surfing and a recently (re)contextualized market, stand-up paddle boarding (SUP). This research contributes to the development of market(ing) theory and practice by integrating and extending S-D logic and CCT and providing insight to the cultural aspects of value co-creation and market (re)formation.