The last decade has seen a burgeoning body of research which moves beyond the mainstream to draw attention to
vulnerable consumer groups and consumer experiences of vulnerability. Yet the notion of vulnerability is often
operationalised as a label given to a particular group or demographic within society, we however, in line with Baker
et al. (2005), view it as a state which all people may experience at some point in their lives. Thus vulnerability is not
a permanent condition but one which can be encountered through events such as illness, bereavement,
immigration, job loss, natural disaster and myriad consumer interactions. Scholarship in this domain has
emphasised that service exchanges and relationships are often unsuccessful, not because of the consumer’s
constraint per se, but because service providers fail to appreciate or are not sensitive to the resources and
limitations of particular groups (Adkins & Ozanne 2005; Baker & Kaufman‐Scarborough 2001; Kaufman‐Scarborough
& Baker 2005; Mason & Pavia, 2006; Penaloza, 1995; Piacentini, Hibbert & Hogg, 2013; Viswanathan, Rosa, & Harris
2005). In this special issue, we aim to bring to the fore ways in which so‐called vulnerable consumers navigate
various marketplace and service interactions, developing specific consumer skills in order to empower themselves
in such exchanges (Atkins & Ozanne, 2005; Baker, 2006; Hill & Stephens, 1997; Wong & King 2008). Following our
successful ESRC seminar series on consumer vulnerability, it is clear that that there are significant unexplored areas
worthy of attention and that marketing and consumer research scholars can make an important contribution to this
field. The Guest Editors welcome submissions from across the globe that offer insight into issues surrounding
consumer vulnerability. We invite contributions from both the academy and practitioners, welcoming a solutions‐
based or Transformative Consumer Research approach (Mick et al., 2011) alongside theoretical pieces and broader
empirical studies.
Papers are invited in, but are not limited to, the following areas:
New theoretical approaches to understanding consumer vulnerability and consumer coping
Critical and historical reviews of consumer vulnerability – e.g. the contested nature of vulnerability;
perceived and actual vulnerability.
Methodological challenges and approaches to the study of consumer vulnerability
Social framing of consumer vulnerability ‐ how vulnerability is represented in advertising, media,
research etc.
Consumption constraints and vulnerability
Social exclusion and consumer vulnerability e.g. studies involving minority groups
Health and well‐being and consumer vulnerability
Individual and community experiences of vulnerability
The impact of transitions on consumer vulnerability
Vulnerability across the life cycle e.g. children as consumers, older consumers
Consumer vulnerability and the family
Transformative consumer research and consumer vulnerability
Vulnerability and consumer resources e.g. issues relating to poverty
Disability and consumer vulnerability
The legal context and its impact on consumer vulnerability
The marketing and retail environment and consumer vulnerability
All manuscripts submitted must strictly follow the guidelines for the Journal of Marketing Management. These are
available at www.tandfonline.co.uk/rjmm The closing date for submission is 1 February 2015 for publication in
2016.
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Submissions
Manuscripts should be submitted online using the Journal of Marketing Management ScholarOne Manuscripts site
(http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rjmm). New users should first create an account. Once a user is logged onto the
site submissions should be made via the Author Centre. Authors should prepare and upload two versions of their
manuscript. One should be a complete text, while in the second all document information identifying the author
should be removed from the files to allow them to be sent anonymously to referees. When uploading files authors
will then be able to define the non‐anonymous version as “Complete paper with author details”, and the
anonymous version as “Main document minus author information”. To submit your manuscript to the Special Issue
choose “Special Issue Article” from the Manuscript Type list when you come to submit your paper. Also, when you
come to the ‘Details and Comments’ page, answer ‘yes’ to the question ‘Is this manuscript a candidate for a special
issue’ and insert the Special Issue Title Consumer Vulnerability in the text field provided
If you have any queries you can direct these to the guest editors:
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