Conceptualising the Consumer: Thinking Beyond the Extended and Distributed ‘Self’

This book reimagines what it means to craft a self in contemporary life. Russ Belk's classic work on the extended self which shows how possessions and relationships form part of identity, along with his more recent writing exploring how digital technologies and transhumanism are shaping the boundaries of personhood, forms the foundation. Building on this, Craig Thompson questions the idea of a single, stable self, proposing instead that identity emerges through networks of social and technological relations. He urges greater reflexivity in how consumer researchers construct and interpret the self. Consistent with this call, several authors situate these debates within wider historical and political contexts. Taken together, these contributions present the self as dynamic, relational, and politically charged. They call for a more critical and ethically engaged approach to grasp how identities are formed within the intertwined systems of consumption, technology, and power.

Conceptualising the Consumer will appeal to students and researchers in consumer behaviour, marketing theory, sociology and digital anthropology. It will also interest practitioners in marketing and digital strategy seeking deeper insights into consumer identity construction in the digital age.

The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Journal of Marketing Management.