Skip to main content
Disciplines
Automotive Business IT + Informatics Construction + Real Estate Electrical Engineering + Electronics Energy + Sustainability Insurance + Risk Finance + Banking Management + Leadership Marketing + Sales Mechanical Engineering + Materials
Events
DE
EN
Books
Journals
Topic Page
Marketing
Start single access now
Access for companies
EXTENDED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Journal of Business Ethics
Published in: Journal of Business Ethics 4/2021

17-10-2019 | Original Paper

Unveiling (In)Vulnerability in an Adolescent’s Consumption Subculture: A Framework to Understand Adolescents’ Experienced (In)Vulnerability and Ethical Implications

Authors: Wided Batat, John F. Tanner Jr.

Published in: Journal of Business Ethics | Issue 4/2021

Log in

Activate our intelligent search to find suitable subject content or patents.

search-config
loading …

Abstract

Consumer (in)vulnerability is studied via a quasi-ethnographic longitudinal study of adolescents aged 11–15. The study focuses on how adolescents define their vulnerabilities within their adolescent consumption subcultures, the factors enhancing this vulnerability, and the social actors involved in their experience of vulnerability. The findings contribute to consumer vulnerability literature in three ways. First, by adopting an adolescent-centric approach based on an emic perspective, we go beyond the monolithic approach of studying one source of vulnerability at a time seen in present marketing literature. Instead, we introduce a polyadic or multiple simultaneous approaches that can consider risk sources. Second, the findings show that adolescents’ perceptions of consumer vulnerability are anchored within their consumption subcultures. This study introduces the concept that young consumers experience vulnerability in multiple ways, including imposed by adults or by adolescents deliberately engaging in risky behaviors. Third, this research provides ethics policy-makers and scholars with the conceptual framework of adolescent-centric vulnerability, which can help them to develop actions based on both imposed and deliberate sources of vulnerability from the perception of the adolescent.
previous article Their Pain, Our Pleasure: How and When Peer Abusive Supervision Leads to Third Parties’ Schadenfreude and Work Engagement
next article Removing the Blinders: Increasing Students’ Awareness of Self-Perception Biases and Real-World Ethical Challenges Through an Educational Intervention

Dont have a licence yet? Then find out more about our products and how to get one now:

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 102.000 Bücher
  • über 537 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Automobil + Motoren
  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
  • Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
  • Finance + Banking
  • Management + Führung
  • Marketing + Vertrieb
  • Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe
  • Versicherung + Risiko

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 67.000 Bücher
  • über 340 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Finance + Banking
  • Management + Führung
  • Marketing + Vertrieb
  • Versicherung + Risiko




Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now
Literature
Baker, S. M. (2009). Vulnerability and resilience in natural disasters: A marketing and public policy perspective. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 28, 114–123.
Baker, S. M., Gentry, J. W., & Rittenburg, T. L. (2005). Building understanding of the domain of consumer vulnerability. Journal of Macromarketing, 25, 128–139.
Bandura, A. (1989). Social cognitive theory. In R. Vasta (Ed.), Annals of child development. Vol. 6. Six theories of child development (Vol. 6, pp. 1–60). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
Batat, W. (2008). Exploring adolescent development skills through Internet usage: A study of French 11–15 year olds. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 32, 379–381.
Batat, W. (2014). How do adolescents define their own competencies in the consumption field? A portrait approach. Research and Applications in Marketing, 29, 25–54.
Batat, W. (2015). An adolescent-centric approach to consumer vulnerability: New implications for public policy. In Vulnerable consumers. Routledge, London, pp 103–117.
Berry, L. L. (1993). Playing fair in retailing. Arthur Anderson Retailing Issues Newsletter, 5(2), 5–6.
Boulianne, S. (2015). Social media use and participation: A meta-analysis of current research. Information, Communication, and Society, 18, 524–538.
Bourdieu, P. (1984). Distinction: A social critique of the judgment of taste. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Canhoto, A. I., & Dibb, S. (2016). Unpacking the interplay between organizational factors and the economic environment in the creation of consumer vulnerability. Journal of Marketing Management, 32, 335–356.
Carpenter, C. S., & Pechmann, C. (2011). Exposure to the above the influence antidrug advertisements and adolescent marijuana use in the United States, 2006–2008. American Journal of Public Health, 101, 948–954.
Clark, T. (2010). On ‘being researched’: Why do people engage with qualitative research? Qualitative Research, 10, 399–419.
Clarke, J., Hall, S., Jefferson, T., & Roberts, B. (1976). Subcultures, cultures, and class: A theoretical overview. In S. Hall & T. Jefferson (Eds.), Resistance through rituals: Youth subcultures in post-war Britain (pp. 9–74). London: Hutchison.
Cohen, P. (1997). Rethinking the youth question: Education, labor, and cultural studies. London: Macmillan.
Cook, D. T. (2005). The dichotomous child in and of commercial culture. Childhood, 12, 155–159.
Davis, B., & Grier, S. (2015). A tale of two urbanicities: Adolescent alcohol and cigarette consumption in high and low-poverty urban neighborhoods. Journal of Business Research, 68, 2109–2116.
Eckert, P. (1988). Sound change and adolescent social structure. Language in Society, 17, 183–207.
Elliott, R., & Jankel-Elliott, N. (2003). Using ethnography in strategic consumer research. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 6, 215–223.
Farber, K., & Bishop, P. (2018). Service learning in the middle grades: Learning by doing and caring. RMLE Online, 4(12), 1–15.
Fullerton, S., Kerch, K. B., & Dodge, H. R. (1996). Consumer ethics: An assessment of individual behavior in the market place. Journal of Business Ethics, 15(7), 805–814.
Garrett, D. E., & Toumanoff, P. G. (2010). Are consumers disadvantaged or vulnerable? An examination of consumer complaints to the Better Business Bureau. The Journal of Consumer Affairs, 44, 3–23.
Gentina, E., Rose, G. M., & Vittel, S. (2015). Ethics during adolescence: A social networks perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 20(1), 87–93.
Gentina, E., Shrum, L. J., Lowrey, T. M., Vitell, S., & Rose, G. M. (2018). An integrative model of the influence of parental and peer support on consumer ethical beliefs: The mediating role of self-esteem. Power, and Materialism, Journal of Business Ethics, 150(4), 1173–1186.
Grier, S. A., & Davis, B. (2013). Are all proximity effects created equal? Fast food near schools and body weight among diverse adolescents. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 32, 116–128.
Kang’ethe, S. M., & Makuyan, A. (2014). Orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) care institutions: Exploring their possible damage to children in a few countries of the developing world. Journal of Social Sciences, 38(2), 117–124.
Keles, B., McCrae, N., & Grealish, A. (2019). A systematic review: The influence of social media on depression, anxiety and psychological distress in adolescents. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth (In press).
Kuss, D. J., & Griffiths, M. D. (2012). Online gaming addiction in adolescence: A literature review of empirical research. Journal of Behavioral Addiction, 1, 3–22.
Kutsche, P. (1998). Field ethnography: A manual for doing cultural anthropology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Larson, R. W., & Richards, M. H. (1994). Divergent realities: The emotional lives of mothers, fathers, and adolescents. New York: Basic Books.
Law, S. F. (2016). Unknowing researcher’s vulnerability: Re-searching inequality on an uneven playing field. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 4, 521–536.
Lin, W., & Pantano, J. (2015). The unintended: Negative outcomes over the life cycle. Journal Population Economics, 28, 479–508.
Luczak, C., & Younkin, N. (2012). Net generation: A conceptual framework of the consumer socialization process. Academy of Marketing Studies Journal, 16, 47–51.
Maira, S. (1999). The paradoxes of an Indian American youth subculture (New York Mix). Cultural Anthropology, 14, 29–60.
Martin, M. C., Gentry, J. W., & Hill, R. P. (1999). The beauty myth and the persuasiveness of advertising: A look at adolescent girls and boys. In C. M. Macklin & L. Carlson (Eds.), Advertising to children: Concepts and controversies (pp. 165–187). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Mason, M. J., Tanner, J. F., Piacentini, M., Freeman, D., Anastasia, T., Batat, W., et al. (2013). Advancing a participatory approach for youth risk behavior: Foundations, distinctions, and research. Journal of Business Research, 66, 1235–1241.
McCoy, S. S., Dimler, L. M., Samuels, D. V., et al. (2017). Adolescent susceptibility to deviant peer pressure: Does gender matter? Adolescent Research Review, 4, 59–71.
Mick, D. G., & Fournier, S. (1998). Paradoxes of technology: Consumer cognizance, emotions, and coping strategies. Journal of Consumer Research, 25, 123–143.
Moore, J., Raymond, N. A., Mittelstaedt, J. D., & Tanner, J. F. (2002). Age and consumer socialization agent influences on adolescents’ sexual knowledge, attitudes, and behavior: Implications for social marketing initiatives and public policy. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 21, 37–52.
Moschis, G., & Churchill, G. A. (1978). Consumer socialization: A theoretical and empirical analysis. Journal of Marketing Research, 15, 599–609.
Ozanne, J. L., & Saatcioglu, B. (2008). Participatory action research. Journal of Consumer Research, 35, 423–439.
Pechmann, C., Levine, L., Loughlin, S., & Leslie, F. (2005). Impulsive and self-conscious: Adolescents vulnerability to advertising and promotion. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 24, 202–221.
Pechmann, C., & Reibling, E. (2000). Planning for an effective anti-smoking mass media campaign targeting adolescents. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 6, 80–94.
Pine, D. S., Cohen, P., & Brook, J. S. (2001). Emotional reactivity and risk for psychopathology among adolescents. CNS Spectrum, 6, 27–35.
Roberts, J., Manolis, C., & Tanner, J. F. (2003). Family structure, materialism, and compulsive buying: A re-inquiry of Rindfleisch, Burroughs, and Denton (1997). Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 31, 300–311.
Roedder-John, D. (1999). Consumer socialization of children: A retrospective look at twenty-five years of research. Journal of Consumer Research, 26, 183–213.
Rogers, R. W., & Prentice-Dunn, S. (1997). Protection Motivation Theory. In D. S. Gochman (Ed.), Handbook of health behavior research 1: Personal and social determinants (pp. 113–122). New York: Plenum Press.
Shapiro, L. A., & Margolin, G. (2014). Growing up wired: Social networking sites and adolescent psychosocial development. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 17(1), 1–18.
Shultz, C. J., & Holbrook, M. B. (2009). The paradoxical relationships between marketing and vulnerability. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 28, 124–127.
Solberg, E. G., Diener, E., & Robinson, M. D. (2004). Why are materialists less satisfied? In T. Kasser & A. D. Kanner (Eds.), Psychology and consumer culture (pp. 29–48). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Soster, R. L., & Drenten, J. M. (2011). Flirting with technology: Understanding the motivations for and consequences of adolescent sexting. In Marketing and public policy conference, Washington, DC.
Spotswood, F., & Nairn, A. (2016). Children as vulnerable consumers: A first conceptualization. Journal of Marketing Management, 32, 211–229.
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
Tang, T., & Chen, Y. (2008). Intelligence vs. wisdom: The love of money, machiavellianism, and unethical behavior across college major and gender. Journal of Business Ethics, 82(1), 1–26.
Tang, T. L. P., Luna-Arocas, R., Quintanilla Pardo, I., & Tang, T. L. N. (2014). Materialism and the bright and dark sides of the financial dream in Spain: The positive role of money attitudes—The Matthew effect. Applied Psychology, 63(3), 480–508.
Tanner, J. F., Jr., Hunt, J. B., & Eppright, D. R. (1991). The ordered protection motivation model: A normative approach to fear appeals. Journal of Marketing, 55, 36–45.
Tarrant, M. (2002). Adolescent peer groups and social identity. Social Development, 11, 110–123.
Thompson, C. (1997). Interpreting consumer: A hermeneutical framework for deriving marketing insights from the texts of consumers’ consumption stories. Journal of Marketing Research, 34, 438–455.
Thornton, S. (1997). The social logic of subcultural capital. In K. Gelder & S. Thornton (Eds.), The Subcultures reader (pp. 200–209). London: Routledge.
Tomé, G., Matos, M., Simões, C., Diniz, J. A., & Camacho, I. (2012). How can peer group influence the behavior of adolescents: explanatory model. Global Journal of Health Science, 4(2), 26–35.
Twenge, J. M., Martin, G. N., & Campbell, W. K. (2018). Decreases in psychological well-being among American adolescents after 2012 and links to screen time during the rise of smartphone technology. Emotion, 18, 765–780.
Wolcott, H. F. (1994). Transforming qualitative data: Description, analysis and interpretation. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Zhao, G., & Pechmann, C. (2007). The impact of regulatory focus on adolescents’ response to antismoking advertising campaigns. Journal of Marketing Research, 44, 671–687.
Metadata
Title
Unveiling (In)Vulnerability in an Adolescent’s Consumption Subculture: A Framework to Understand Adolescents’ Experienced (In)Vulnerability and Ethical Implications
Authors
Wided Batat
John F. Tanner Jr.
Publication date
17-10-2019
Publisher
Springer Netherlands
Published in
Journal of Business Ethics / Issue 4/2021
Print ISSN: 0167-4544
Electronic ISSN: 1573-0697
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-019-04309-2

Other articles of this Issue 4/2021

Journal of Business Ethics 4/2021 Go to the issue

Original Paper

Removing the Blinders: Increasing Students’ Awareness of Self-Perception Biases and Real-World Ethical Challenges Through an Educational Intervention

Original Paper

Echoes of CEO Entrepreneurial Orientation: How and When CEO Entrepreneurial Orientation Influences Dual CSR Activities

Original Paper

Their Pain, Our Pleasure: How and When Peer Abusive Supervision Leads to Third Parties’ Schadenfreude and Work Engagement

Original Paper

Looking Backward and Forward: Political Links and Environmental Corporate Social Responsibility in China

Original Paper

Curbing the Undesirable Effects of Emotional Exhaustion on Ethical Behaviors and Performance: A Salesperson–Manager Dyadic Approach

Original Paper

Social Status and Corporate Social Responsibility: Evidence from Chinese Privately Owned Firms