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Full-Text Articles in Business

Including The Customer In Efficiency Analysis:Evidence Of A Hybrid Relational-Transactional Approach, Joseph Coughlan, Estelle Shale, Robert Dyson Mar 2010

Young People's Use Of Online Social Networking Sites :A Uses And Gratifications Perspective, Aine Dunne, Margaret-Anne Lawlor, Jennifer Rowley Jan 2010

Young People's Use Of Online Social Networking Sites :A Uses And Gratifications Perspective, Aine Dunne, Margaret-Anne Lawlor, Jennifer Rowley

Articles

Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore why young people use and participate in social networking sites (SNS) with specific reference to Bebo. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative approach is employed in this study with a view to exploring the uses and gratifications that girls aged 12 to 14 years, both seek and obtain from the Bebo social networking site. The research was conducted in a school setting in Ireland. Findings – The findings indicate that the participants are actively using Bebo for their own personal motives and gratifications in terms of presenting and managing a certain …


No Longer, But Not Yet: Tweens And The Mediating Of Liminal Selves Through Metaconsumption, Kevina Cody, Katrina Lawlor, Pauline Mcclaren Jan 2010

No Longer, But Not Yet: Tweens And The Mediating Of Liminal Selves Through Metaconsumption, Kevina Cody, Katrina Lawlor, Pauline Mcclaren

Articles

Using the anthropological theory of liminality as a lens of analysis, the following paper outlines specific elements of a research project exploring the consumer culture of a liminal group – tweens. The lived experience of a tween is explored using a multi-method approach incorporating personal diaries, in-depth interviews and accompanied shopping trips. Outcomes of one aspect of this longitudinal research project – the theory of metaconsumption - are presented, suggesting an important divergent theoretical path from the ‘effects’ - dominated consumer socialization approach to researching young people and their relationships with consumption. We conclude that those in a shadowed reality, …


Threshold Lives: Exploring The Liminal Consumption Of Tweens, Kevina Cody, Katrina Lawlor, Pauline Maclaren Jan 2010

Threshold Lives: Exploring The Liminal Consumption Of Tweens, Kevina Cody, Katrina Lawlor, Pauline Maclaren

Articles

The intervening spaces of socio-cultural organisation have proved sources of fascination and powerful theory development in the fields of sociology, psychology and anthropology (e.g. Douglas, 1966; Van Gennep, 1961; Freud, 1950, Foucault, 1977). Consumer culture research has hitherto acknowledged the potency of studying transitional phenomena, spaces and places and the interactions of varied ontologies with the consumption experiences of the individuals or group in flux and evolution (e.g. Davies and Fitchett, 2004; Maldonado and Tansuhaj, 1999; Gentry, 1997; Schouten, 1991). But what of those whose reality is the threshold between two ordered and defined worlds, the centre of nowhere? This …


Consumer Awareness In The Adoption Of Microgeneration Technologies: An Empirical Investigation In The Republic Of Ireland, Marius Claudy, Claus Michelsen, Aidan O'Driscoll, Michael Mullen Jan 2010

Consumer Awareness In The Adoption Of Microgeneration Technologies: An Empirical Investigation In The Republic Of Ireland, Marius Claudy, Claus Michelsen, Aidan O'Driscoll, Michael Mullen

Articles

Despite major policy and marketing efforts, the uptake of microgeneration technologies in most European countries remains low. Whereas most academic studies and policy reports aim to identify the underlying reasons why people buy these new technologies, they often fail to assess the general level of consumer awareness. The process of adopting an innovation, however, shows that awareness is a prerequisite which needs to be understood before adoption can be addressed. This paper takes a closer look at awareness of microgeneration and presents the results from a nationally representative study conducted in the Republic of Ireland. Findings from logistic regressions clearly …