Elusive Consumption in retrospect. Report from the conference

Abstract

This CFK-report is from the conference “Elusive consumption, tracking new research perspectives” which took place in June 2002 at the Center for Consumer Science (CFK), School of Economics and Commercial Law at Göteborg University. The conference gathered a large number of internationally renowned consumer researchers. The aim was to problematize the elusive concept of consumption, to reflect upon new research perspectives, theories and methods within consumer research. Researchers from a vast area of disciplines from both sides of the Atlantic were invited. The participants represented the disciplines of anthropology, ethnology, marketing and sociology, which are not often combined within one conference. It led to interesting and exciting discussions reflecting the importance of having reciprocal exchange between disciplines. This CFK-report is an attempt to capture some of the discussions from the workshops at the conference. At the conference, 8 keynote speakers were asked to give a talk. The conference was organized as follows. Two key note speeches were presented in a row followed by two workshops where the issues raised in either one or both of the keynote speeches were discussed. The discussion leaders were asked to summarize the discussions or to reflect on a certain theme discussed at the workshop. The workshop summaries or reflections are presented in this CFK-report together with two dinner speeches and our own speeches on current research projects. Since the conference took place we have edited a book called “Elusive consumption” published at Berg 2004, where a majority of the keynote speakers present their speeches in chapters. The book also includes chapters written by the workshop leaders. We think this CFK-report can complement the book and be of interest for consumer researchers in different disciplines. We hope the report brings back memories to researchers who attended the conference, but also results in discussions and reflections on the field of consumption among people who did not attend the conference. As researchers we depend on keeping the debate going, never settling for final answers, but constantly looking for new perspectives and nuances. The conference shows that consumption is a multidimensional phenomena representing different meanings and practices.