Diy Consumers and Retailers: An Exploratory Study on Value Creation in the Do-It-Yourself Industry

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

1-1-2011

School

Marketing

Abstract

Marketing theory recognizes the increasing importance of consumer involvement in the co-creation of value (Vargo and Lusch 2004), but the consumer typically is viewed as a passive buyer of what others produce and not as the actual producer of goods or services (Xie et al. 2008). An exception is Kotler (1986a), who forecast that a new type of consumer, the prosumer, would emerge out of the sociocultural environment of modern society. Consistent with the notion of “value co-creation” (Lusch and Vargo 2006, p. 284), prosumption activities are defined as consumers producing products for their own consumption (Xie et al. 2008). Kotler (1986a) predicted that consumers increasingly would be drawn toward prosumption and “Marketers must find methods to facilitate prosumption activity” (p. 511). Retailers like Home Depot and Lowe’s have answered this call by tapping into the prosumption trend and a phenomenon popularly known as Do-It-Yourself (DIY). DIY practice offers many of the benefits sought by prosumers, and refers to activities in which individuals engage raw and semi-raw materials and component parts to produce, transform, or reconstruct material possessions, including those drawn from the natural environment (e.g., landscaping). Despite the size and growth of the industry, DIY practice has prompted few academic studies. Early DIY-related research typically profiles the DIY segment relative to a non-DIY segment (Bush et al. 1987; Hornik and Feldman 1982; Schwartzlander and Bowers 1989), whereas the more recent work explores motives for DIY (Watson and Shove 2008; Williams 2008).

Publication Title

The Sustainable Global Marketplace: Proceedings of the 2011 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual Conference

First Page

204

Last Page

204

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