Fetishism and Consumer Value

John Branch

OAI: oai:igi-global.com:214163 • DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-6120-0.ch002

Fetishism is the attribution of value to an object. To understand fetishism, therefore, requires a grasp of the value which is attributed to an object. More dynamically, it points to the need to comprehend the mechanisms—the processes—by which value is attributed to a product. The purpose of this chapter is to offer a new conceptualization of consumer value. The chapter begins by presenting a brief review of the consumer value literature, situated within the broader context of axiology. It then summarizes research which explored the concept of consumer values (plural) in the specific social context of the high-fidelity audio culture—those people for whom high-fidelity audio has been fetishized. The chapter continues by offering and explaining the new conceptualization of consumer value, and suggesting future research directions. Finally, it discusses the new conceptualization of consumer value with respect to consumer culture in general, and to fetishism in particular.

Marketing Business and Management Human Aspects of Business Social Sciences and Humanities