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The Consumers in Society Research Cluster embraces the multidisciplinarity required to advance research on the impact of consumption on identity projects, place-making and sustainable living. We bring together researchers, practitioners and members of the wider public whose work intersects at the themes of consumer culture studies, the production and consumption of place, and sustainable development. We encourage critical and reflexive research approaches that address the priority areas of UN Sustainable Development Goals - ‘responsible production and consumption’ (SDG 12) and ‘sustainable cities and communities’ (SDG 11).

Domain

The Consumers in Society Research Cluster embraces research approaches to consumer culture that illuminate the contextual, symbolic, and experiential aspects of consumption as they unfold across the consumption cycle, from acquisition and use, to disposition. These approaches encompass frameworks that are interpretive, critical, emancipatory, and transformative. Key interests lie at the intersection of consumption, and identity, and this work uncovers the connections between individual identity projects and marketplace cultures. The work acknowledges how cultural capital endowments systematically structure consumer preferences and may thwart explicit social mobility goals (e.g Larsen & Patterson 2018).

The Consumers in Society Research Cluster addresses current scholarly and policy agendas on place, with research that addresses the symbolic, relational and material processes involved in the consumption and production of space. For example, consumption of place was examined adopting Lefebvre’s spatial triad (e.g. O’Leary et al. 2019). Contributing to inclusive place branding theory and practice (e.g. Kavaratzis et al. 2017), research has also addressed a) the role of narratives as a tool for engaging local communities in the place branding process (e.g. Lichrou et al. 2017) and b) the role of place brands as symbolic and creative resources used and performed by different actors, including tourists, locals and marketers (e.g.Lichrou & O’Malley, 2021).

Research in the Consumers in Society cluster is also informed by and contributes to Sustainability discourse and policy. The cluster engages in both academic and applied sustainability research, with micro, meso and macro considerations. On the micro level, funded research has informed policy on the consumption and disposal of consumer electronics (ColectWEEE & EEE2WEEE EPA Research Reports). On the meso level, research examines the potential of sustainable  communities as spaces were alternative, more sustainable modes of production and consumption are modelled (e.g. Casey et al. 2020). Finally, on the macro level, research has contributed to discussions on sustainable futures within marketing and consumer research (e.g. Davies et al. 2020).

Members of the Group

KBS Faculty

• ​
• Dr Maurice Patterson

Postdoctoral Researcher

• Dr. Leonie Lynch

Doctoral Students

Summary Outputs: 

• Cluster members (in collaboration with colleagues Science & Engineering) were the recipients of research grants from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) totalling €297,000.
• Since 2017: 20 journal articles published, 1 edited book, 7 book chapters and 31 conference papers.
• 6 internal research seminars including from visiting colleagues from France and the UK;
• Members of the cluster have presented their work at faculty research seminars in the UK, France and Russia, as well as at numerous prestigious conferences including the Association for Consumer Research, Consumer Culture Theory, Interpretive Consumer Research, Macromarketing and the Academy of Marketing.
• Since 2015 the cluster has graduated 8 doctoral students.

Publications 

Peer Reviewed Journal Articles (Since 2017)

• Nash, C., O’Malley, L. and Patterson, M. 2021. Experiencing Family Ethnography: Challenges, Practicalities and Reflections on Practice. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 24(1), 97-112.
• Casey, K. O’Malley, L. and Lichrou, M. 2020. Prefiguring Sustainable Living: An Ecovillage Story. Journal of Marketing Management, 36(17-18), 1658-1679.
• Davies, I., Oates, C.J., Tynan, C., Carrigan, M., Casey, K., Heath, T., Henninger, C.E., Lichrou, M., McDonagh, P., McDonald, S., McKechnie, S., McLeay, F., O’Malley, L. and Wells, V. 2020. Seeking Sustainable Futures in Marketing and Consumer Research. European Journal of Marketing, 54(11), 2911-2939.
• Kapoor, V., Patterson, M. and O’Malley, L. 2020. Liminal Consumption of ‘The Cosmic Ballet’: An Autoethnography. Consumption Markets & Culture, 23(1) 61-80.
• Lynch, L., Patterson, M. and Ní Bheacháin, C. 2020. Visual Literacy in Consumption: Consumers, Brand Aesthetics and the Curated Self. European Journal of Marketing, 54(11), 2777-2801.
• Casey, K., Lichrou, M. and Fitzpatrick, C. 2019. Treasured Trash? A Consumer Perspective on Small Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Divestment in Ireland. Resources, Conservation & Recycling, 145, 179–189.
• Heath, T., O’Malley, L. and Tynan, C. 2019. Imagining a Different Voice: A Critical and Caring Approach to Management Education. Management Learning, 50(4), 427-448.
• Murphy, S., Patterson, M. and O’Malley, L. 2019. Learning How: Body Techniques, Skill Acquisition and the Consumption of Experience. Marketing Theory, 19(4), 425-445.
• O’Leary, K., Patterson, M. and O’Malley, L. 2019. Road Bowling in Ireland: Social Space and the Context of Context. Consumption, Markets & Culture, 22(5-6), 598-616.
• Patterson, M. and Larsen, G. 2019. Listening to Consumption: Towards a Sonic Turn in Consumer Research. Marketing Theory, 19(2) 105-127.
• Pütz, F., Murphy, F., Mullins, M. and O'Malley, L. 2019. Connected Automated Vehicles and Insurance: Analysing Future Market-Structure from a Business Ecosystem Perspective. Technology in Society, 59, 101182.
• Larsen, G., Patterson, M., Sabri, O. and Walther, L. 2018. A Commentary on the Treatment of Taboo in Consumption and Marketing. Journal of Marketing Management, 34(13-14), 1067-1077.
• Lonergan, P., Patterson, M. and Lichrou, M. 2018. More Than Clothes Hangers: Cultural Intermediaries in the Field of Fashion. European Journal of Marketing, 52(9/10), 2052-2074.
• Nash, C., O’Malley, L. and Patterson, M. 2018. Wii Are Family: Pursuing Togetherness Through Technology. European Journal of Marketing. 52(9/10), 2005-2025.
• Patterson, M. 2018. Tattoo: Marketplace Icon. Consumption, Markets & Culture, 21(6), 582–589. Casey, K., Lichrou, M, and O'Malley, L. 2017. Unveiling Everyday Reflexivity Tactics in a Sustainable Community. Journal Of Macromarketing, 37, 227-239.
• Heath, T., Cluley, R. and L. ��›Ჹ�������. 2017. Beating, Ditching and Hiding: Consumers’ Everyday Resistance to Marketing. Journal of Marketing Management, 33(15-16), 1281-1303.
• Lichrou, M., O’Malley, L. and Patterson, M. 2017. Making Santorini: Reflecting on the Past, Imagining the Future. Journal of Place Management and Development. 10(2), 106-120.
• Shankar, A. and Patterson, M. 2017. Interpreting the Past: Writing the Future. Reprinted in Journal of Marketing Management: Academy of Marketing 50th Anniversary - Virtual Special Issue, July.
• Sheehan, A., Berkery, E. and Lichrou, M. 2017. Changing Role of Women in Irish Society: An Overview of the Female Consumer. The Irish Journal of Management, 36(3), 162-171.

Books:

• Karavatzis, M., Giovanardi, M. and Lichrou, M. (Eds.). 2017. Inclusive Place Branding: Critical Perspectives on Theory and Practice. London: Routledge.

 Book Chapters (Since 2017)

• Lichrou, M. and Panayiotopoulos, A. (forthcoming), Marketing a sense of place to tourists: A critical perspective, in Sharpley, R. (Ed) Handbook of the Tourist Experience, Routledge.
• Lichrou, M. and O’Malley, L. 2021. Tourism, The Burden of Authenticity and Place Branding. In D. Medway,G. Warnaby and J. Byrom (Eds) A Research Agenda for Place Branding, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
• Giovanardi, M., Lichrou, M., and Kavaratzis, M. 2018. Critical Perspectives on Place Marketing. In M.Tadajewski, M. Higgins, J. Denegri-Knott and R. Varman (Eds.) The Routledge Companion to Critical Marketing. Routledge.
• Panayiotopoulos, A., Lichrou, M. O’Malley, L. and Patterson, M. 2018. Heritage as Embodied Co-Creation: ‘Living the History’ of the Titanic in Cobh. In A. Lindgreen, A. Campelo, L. Reynolds and M. Beverland (eds) Cultural Heritage: A Research Anthology, London: Routledge, 85-96.
• Patterson, M. 2018. The Embodied Consumer. In M. Tadajewski, M. Higgins, J. Denegri-Knott and Rohit Varman. (eds.) Routledge Companion to Critical Marketing, London: Routledge, 383-400.
• Larsen, G. and Patterson, M. 2018. Consumer Identity Projects. In O. Kravets, P. Maclaran, S. Miles and A.Venkatesh (eds.) Sage Handbook of Consumer Culture, Sage, 194-213.
• Lichrou, M., Patterson, M., O'Malley, L. and K. O’Leary. 2017. Place Branding and Place Narratives. In A.Campelo (Ed.) Handbook on Place Branding and Marketing. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 160-177.

 Conference Papers (Since 2017)

• Casey, K., Lichrou, M., and O’Malley, L. 2020. A Reimagining: Prefiguring Systems of Alternative Consumption. Association for Consumer Research Conference, Paris, 1st – 4th October.
• Cassinger, C., Coffin, J. Gyimóthy, S. and Lichrou, M. 2020. Consuming Place, Contesting Spatial Imaginaries, Consumer Culture Theory Conference, Leicester.
• Alshammari, M., O’Malley, L. and Lichrou, M. 2019. Consumption in Religious Tourism: The Water of Zamzam Gift in Umrah Pilgrimage: An Ethnographic-based Case Study in Makkah. 11th Annual International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conference, Belgrade, 26th - 29th June.
• Baehre, S., O’Dwyer, M. and O’Malley, L. 2019. Validating Conceptual Critiques - Methodological Issues with Net Promoter Score (NPS) Studies. 48th Annual European Marketing Academy Conference, Hamburg, 28th - 31st May.
• Casey, K., Lichrou, M., O’Malley, L. and Fitzpatrick, C. 2019. Neither Wasted Nor Wanted: Theorising the Failure to Dispossess Objects of Ambiguous Value. Association for Consumer Research Conference, Atlanta, 17th - 20th October.
• Casey, K., O’Malley, L. Lichrou, M. and Fitzpatrick, C. 2019. (Dis)Possession, (In)Convenience and Recycling: Insights from Consumer Electronics. Academy of Marketing Annual Conference, London, 2nd - 4th July.
• Casey, K., Lichrou, M. and O’Malley, L. 2019. Myth, Community and Transformation. Academy of Marketing Annual Conference, London, 2nd - 4th July.
• Casey, K., O’Malley, L. and Lichrou, M. 2019. From ‘Ethical’ to ‘Political’: Expanding the Theoretical Landscape of Responsible Consumption. Academy of Marketing Annual Conference, London, 2nd -4th July.
• Larsen, G. and Patterson, M. 2019. Negotiating Researcher Vulnerability in an Ethnography Through Sound. 10th Interpretive Consumer Research Workshop, Lyon, 9th - 10th May.
• O’Malley, L., Harris, L.C. and Story, V. 2019. Lads on Stags: Implications for Service Providers. Academy of Marketing Annual Conference, London, 2nd - 4th July.
• Panayiotopoulos, A. and Lichrou, M. 2019. Connecting People and Place: Narratives of Dispossession, Belonging and Resistance. 6th Corfu Symposium on Managing & Marketing Places, Corfu, 6th - 9th May.
• Patterson, M. and Larsen, G. 2019. Sounding Out the Darkness: Negotiating Researcher Vulnerability in the Nighttime Economy of Bourbon Street, New Orleans. Thrill of the Dark: Heritages of Fear, Fascination and Fantasy Conference, Birmingham, 25th - 27th April.
• Casey, K., Lichrou, M. and Fitzpatrick, C. 2018. A Community Based Social Marketing Approach for Increased Participation in WEEE Recycling, Going Green CARE INNOVATION, Vienna, November 26th – 29th November.
• Casey, K., O’Malley, L. and Lichrou, M. 2018. Transitioning to Sustainable Living: Malleable Stories, Shared Meanings and Tacit Agendas. Academy of Marketing Conference, Stirling, 2nd - 5th July
• Casey, K., O’Malley, L. and Lichrou, M. 2018. Transitioning to Sustainable Living: Malleable Stories, Shared Meanings and Tacit Agendas. Academy of Marketing Conference, Stirling, 2nd - 5th July
• Casey, K., Lichrou, M. and Fitzpatrick, C. 2018. Treasured Trash: An Exploration of the In-Between Life of Unused Electronics. Academy of Marketing Conference, Stirling, 2nd - 5th July.
• Nash, C., O’Malley, L. and Patterson, M. 2018. A Critique of Family Representation by Marketers in Advertising. Academy of Marketing Annual Conference, Stirling, 2nd - 5th July.
• Lichrou, M., Panayiotopoulos, A. O’Malley, L. and Patterson, M. 2018. Embodied Heritage Experiences of a Dystopic Event: ‘Living the History’ of the Titanic in Cobh. 5th Corfu Symposium on Managing and Marketing Places, Corfu, 16th - 19th April.
• Larsen, G. and M. Patterson (2017) “Creolised Sonic Ecologies: Sound, Space and Consumer Subjectivities in New Orleans”, Geography, Music, Space, Durham, 25th January.
• Lichrou, M. and Fitzpatrick, C. 2017. Waste from electrical and electronic equipment: Exploring the potential of critical, reflexive and creative methodologies to enhance consumer recycling, Academy of Marketing  Annual Conference, Hull, UK, 3rd - 6th July.
• Lonergan, P., Patterson, M. and Lichrou, M. 2017. Inspired Dreams: Fashion Consumers and the Experience of Resonance. 9th Workshop on Interpretive Consumer Research, Stockholm, 27th - 28th April.
• Lonergan, P., Patterson, M. and Lichrou, M. 2017. A Girl Named Kate: Exploring the Affective Labour of Hierophany. Consumer Culture Theory Conference, Anaheim, 9th - 12th July.
• Moufahim, M. and Lichrou, M. (2017) Pilgrimage, Consumption and the Politics of Authenticity Academy of Marketing Science World Marketing Congress, Christchurch, New Zealand, 27 June – 1 July.
• Nash, C., O’Malley, L. and Patterson, M. 2017. Wii Buy into Family. European Association for Education and Research in Commercial Distribution Conference, Dublin, 4th - 6th July.
• O’Malley, L., Lichrou, M. and Patterson, M. 2017 Co-Constructing the Gaze: Existential Authenticity and Tourist Experience of Co-Creation. 4th Corfu Symposium on Managing and Marketing Places, Corfu, 24th- 27th April.
• O’Malley, L. Lichrou, M. and Patterson, M. 2017. Tourism, Place and the Market: Exploring Authenticity as Value Creation. Inclusive Placemaking: 4th International Biennial Conference, Institute of Place Management, Manchester, 7th - 8th September.
• Panayiotopoulos, A., Patterson, M. and Burns, P. 2017. Local Perceptions of Mass Tourists: The Tourist Gaze through the Lenses of Power. 4th Corfu Symposium on Managing and Marketing Places, Corfu, 24th - 27th April.
• Panayiotopoulos, A., Patterson, M. and Burns, P. 2017. Tourism, Place and Power: Local Experiences of Tourism Development. Inclusive Placemaking: 4th International Biennial Conference, Institute of Place Management, Manchester, 7th - 8th September.
• Patterson, M. and Larsen, G. 2017 Towards a Sonic Turn in Interpretive Consumer Research. 9th Workshop on Interpretive Consumer Research, Stockholm, 27th - 28th April.
• Patterson, M. and Larsen, G. 2017. Sounds of Consumption: Sonic Ecology and the Consumer in New Orleans. Academy of Marketing Annual Conference, Hull, 3rd - 6th July.
• Patterson, M. and Larsen, G. 2017. Listening to Consumption: Towards a Sonic Turn in Consumer Research. I.NY Symposium, 51��ɫ, 11th - 12th October.

Guest Editorships (Since 2018):

• Larsen, G. and Patterson, M. 2018. Consumption, Marketing and Taboo, Journal of Marketing Management, 34 (13-14).

Other Outputs (Since 2018):

• Lichrou, M., Cassinger, C. and Gyimóthy, S. 2020. Critical Inquiries into Places of Consumption and Consumption in Places. Roundtable - Consumer Culture Theory Conference, Leicester.
• Patterson, M. 2020. Vibrations. In H. Downey, J, Sherry and J. Schouten (eds.) Caremelized Civilization Traein: A Curated Collection of Poems and Prose, Belfast Basement Publications: Belfast.
• Patterson, M. 2019. Sensing and Representing in Qualitative Consumer Research. Roundtable - Consumer Culture Theory Conference, Montreal.

Funding:

• Fitzpatrick, C., O’Malley, L. and Lichrou, M. 2017. Project EEE2WEEE: Grant of €198,086.47, Environmental Protection Agency, Ireland.
• Lichrou, M. and Fitzpatrick, C. 2016. Project ColectWEEE: Grant of €99,509.82, Environmental Protection Agency, Ireland

Research Reports:

• EPA Research Report 366: An Investigation into WEEE Arising and Not Arising in Ireland (EEE2WEEE), available at:
• EPA Research Report 262: A Community Based Social Marketing Approach for Increased Participation in WEEE Recycling (ColectWEEE), available at:

Internal Cluster Events:

• Mussol, S. 2020. Branding Strategies and the Use of Narratives, Kemmy Business School Spring Seminar Series, February
• Malone, S. 2019. Conceptualising Community Wellbeing: An Ethic of Community and the Role of Social Capital. ICR Cluster Seminar, October.
• O’Malley, L. and Lichrou, M. 2019. Towards (Co)Creating Authentic Tourist Experiences. Kemmy Business School Spring Seminar Series, March.
• Panayiotopoulos, A. 2019. Tracing the Spatial Imprint of Tourism Development: A Peripatetic Ethnography of Faliraki, Rhodes. ICR Cluster Seminar, February.
• Keegan, B. 2019. Digital Placemaking: An Exploration of how Digital Marketing Techniques can be Aligned to a Specific Location. ICR Cluster Seminar, January.
• Casey, K. and Lichrou, M. 2018. A Consumer Perspective on Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment (WEEE). Kemmy Business School Spring Seminar Series, February.

External Cluster Events:

• Casey, K., Lichrou, M. and O’Malley, L. 2020, Prefiguring Consumption. Research Seminar, Center for Trade Research, Lund University, October.
• O’Malley, L. 2020. Embracing Ambiguity and Co-Creating Value in the Spaces In-Between: Implications for Tourism Management, Research Seminar, Strathclyde Business School, February.
• Lichrou, M. 2019 Reclaiming Place as ‘51��ɫ’: Lived Experience, Meaning and Space. Research Seminar, Higher School of Economics, Moscow, December.
• Patterson, M. 2019. The Senses, Sound and Consumption. Research Seminar, Newcastle University Business School, October.
• Patterson, M. 2018. Sounding Out Markets and Consumption. Research Seminar, Durham University Business School, October.
• Casey, K., O’Malley, L. and Lichrou, M. 2018. Seeking Sustainable Futures in Marketing and Consumer Research. Academy of Marketing Research Workshop, Stirling, July.
• Larsen, G. and Patterson, M. 2018. Sounding Out Marketing and Consumption: Academy of Marketing Research Workshop, Stirling, July.
• Lichrou, M. and O’Malley, L. 2018. Space and Place in Marketing and Consumer Research. Academy of Marketing Research Workshop, Stirling, July.
• Patterson, M. 2018. Creativity in Research. Keynote Address University of Bath Doctoral Colloquium, May.

Completed PhDs:

• Alshammari, M. 2020. Consumption in Religious Tourism: An Ethnographic Case Study of the Umrah Pilgrimage and Gift-Giving. External Examiner: Prof. Caroline Tynan, University of Nottingham.
• O’Leary, K. 2019. Road Bowling in Ireland: An Ethnographic Exploration of the Production of Social Spaces on Irish Roads. External Examiner: Prof Pauline Mclaren, Royal Holloway University of London.
• Panayiotopoulos, A. 2017. The Collapse of Colossus: A Genealogy of Tourism Development in Faliraki, Rhodes. External Examiner: Professor Ares Kalindides, Manchester Metropolitan University
• Casey, K. 2016. When Heroes are Not Enough: Sustainable Consumption in an Intentional Community. External Examiner: Dr Teresa Heath, University of Nottingham.
• Lynch, L.. 2016. Abstracting Brands: Visual Literacy and the Making of Orla Kiely. External Examiner: Dr. Prof Finola Kerrigan, University of the Arts, London.
• Murphy, S. 2016 High-Speed Motorcycling: Practices of Resistance. External Examiner: Dr. John Desmond, Honorary Reader in Management, University of St. Andrews
• Nash, C. 2016. An Exploration Of Family Consumption: The Wii - A Game For All The Family. External Examiner: Professor Helen Woodruffe-Burton, Edge Hill University
• Lonergan, P.. 2015. Male Models as Cultural Intermediaries: The Mobilisation of Affect. External Examiner: Professor Christina Goulding, University of Birmingham.