Possession work on hosted digital consumption objects as consumer ensnarement
Authors: Molesworth, M., Watkins, R. and Denegri-Knott, J.
Journal: Journal of the Association for Consumer Research
Volume: 1
Issue: 2
Pages: 247-261
eISSN: 2378-1823
ISSN: 2378-1815
DOI: 10.1086/685474
Abstract:This article extends prior critical discussions of digital prosumption by demonstrating that prosumerreliant online business models represent new ways to valorize consumer labor through the creation of digital consumption objects (DCOs) that are simultaneously enacted as assets by companies, and as possessions by consumers. We argue that this multiplicity means that consumers’ “possession work” no longer serves to separate these objects from the market sphere, as proposed in prior literature. This produces a new form of consumer lock-in as consumers’ efforts to singularize DCOs ensnare them within market relations. We compare consumer ensnarement to other forms of lock-in mechanisms including psychological attachments seen in “brand love,” proprietary tie-ins, and access-based market systems in order to consider the implications of such ensnarement mechanisms. We propose that while, for companies, ensnarement is as an attractive mechanism for ongoing valorization of consumers’ “free labor,” it presents significant consequences for ensnared consumers who may be subject not only to ongoing financial exploitation but also to restricted and unstable interactions with digital possessions that may hold significant personal meaning.
Source: Scopus
Possession Work on Digital Consumption Objects and Consumer Ensnarement
Authors: Denegri-Knott, J., Watkins, R. and Molesworth, M.
Journal: Journal of Advances in Consumer Research
Abstract:This paper extends prior critical discussions of digital prosumption by demonstrating that prosumer reliant online business models represent new ways to valorise consumer labour through the creation of multiple realities whereby digital consumption objects are simultaneously enacted as assests by companies, and as possessions by consumers. We argue that this ontological multiplicity means that consumers’ ‘possession work’ no longer serves to separate these objects from the market sphere, as in prior work. This produces a new form of consumer lock-in, or actually ensnarement as it is consumers’ own efforts to make objects meaningful that keep them in the market, similar to the psychological attachments seen in ‘brand love’, but also incorporating aspects of proprietary tie-ins, and access-based market systems. We further consider the implications of such a system. For companies we portray such ensnarement as an attractive, emerging mechanism for ongoing valorization of ‘free labour’. Yet we also argue that this presents significant consequences for ensnared consumers who may be subject not only to the ongoing financial exploitation of their possession work, but also restrictions on possession. As a broader contribution we highlight how the examination of multiple, potentially conflicting,
Source: Manual