Scientific papers

Ethnicity introspected: Researchers in search of their identity

Published on 01/04/2012 - Category: - Keywords: ,

Amina Béji-Bécheur, Nil özçağlar-Toulouse and Sondes Zouaghi. Paper published in Journal of Business Research 65 (2012) 504–510.

illustration-mirrorThis article illustrates the use of researcher introspection prior to undertaking a sensitive research project. We first describe the research design. The contributions of introspection in relation to the concept of ethnicity are then clarified: (1) the feeling of belonging to an ethnic group (or ethnicity) is experienced only through social interaction; and (2) ethnicity is an ongoing process that is organized around self-protection tactics.… >> continue reading

Barriers to downward carbon emission: Exploring sustainable consumption in the face of the glass floor

Published on 21/03/2012 - Category: - Keywords: , ,

Hélène Cherrier, Mathilde Szuba & Nil Özçağlar-Toulouse (2012). Paper published in Journal of Marketing Management, 28:3-4, 397-419.

illustration-co2-footprintThe present study explores the constraining forces to reducing greenhouse-gas emissions (GHG) via alternative and/or reduced consumption. The analysis of introspection, netnography, ethnographic work, and 18 interviews demonstrates that needs are not innate human requirements and that consumers are not free and autonomous agents able to incorporate reduced or alternative consumption within their lifestyles.… >> continue reading

Exogamous weddings and fashion in a rising consumer culture: Kabyle minority dynamics of structure and agency

Published on 05/02/2012 - Category: - Keywords: , , , , ,

Nacima Ourahmoune & Nil Özçağlar-Toulouse. Paper published in Marketing Theory 2012 12: 81.

This study critically explores the intersection of fashion consumption, gender, and wedding ceremonies in contemporary Algeria. The specific research location offers the opportunity to investigate a Western minority, the Kabyle people, living in an Arabo–Islamic country, which provides a broader spectrum of analysis and enriches understanding of the role of fashion in consumers’ identity project construction. An interpretive analysis of consumer fashion discourses and practices during wedding ceremonies suggests that rising material aspirations play a significant role and reflect marked transformations among the elite.… >> continue reading

The Semantic Ambiguities of Fair Trade: A Micro-mythanalysis of the Imaginaries of Consumption

Published on 01/12/2011 - Category: - Keywords: , , ,

Philippe Robert-Demontrond & Nil Özçağlar-Toulouse. Paper published in Recherche et Applications en Marketing, vol. 26, n° 4/2011.

illustration-fairtradeOver and beyond questions of familiarity with the offering, purchase intention and willingness to pay, fair trade actors are currently questioning  the motivations of consumers and the cognitive representations that they develop. Pursuing the same track as the initial academic investigations into this problematic, this study examines the semantic content of the signifier “fair trade” by clarifying the various semio-narrative programs associated with it.… >> continue reading

Still crossing borders: migration, consumption, and markets

Published on 22/07/2011 - Category: - Keywords: , ,

Søren Askegaard & Nil Özçaglar-Toulouse (2011). Paper published in Consumption Markets & Culture, 14:3, 217-222.

During the second half of the twentieth century, the expansion in processes of migration has been an essential element in the being and the becoming of political and economic globalization, of globalizing and glocalizing consumer cultures, and of new encounters of collaborations and conflicts worldwide. As such, it has reframed the demographic, social, and economic landscapes of developed as well as developing countries.… >> continue reading

Étudier l’ethnique : La construction de la responsabilité des chercheurs face à un sujet sensible

Published on 01/07/2011 - Category: - Keywords: ,

Amina Béji-Bécheur, Maud Herbert and Nil özçağlar Toulouse (2011). Paper published in Revue française de gestion, 2011/7 N° 216, p. 111-128.

Cet article propose d’analyser les questionnements éthiques auxquels un groupe de chercheurs a été confronté dans le cadre d’un projet de recherche qui s’est avéré et qui a été perçu comme sensible au fil de son développement. La restitution d’une expérience collective de recherche sur le sujet de l’ethnicité offre l’occasion de clarifier la notion de sujet sensible et comment la responsabilité d’une équipe de recherche se construit au fur et à mesure des étapes du projet en interaction avec le contexte et les partenaires de la recherche mais aussi en relation avec l’identité collective du groupe et l’identité personnelle des chercheurs.… >> continue reading

Why does not everybody purchase fair trade products? The question of the fairness of fair trade products’ consumption for consumers

Published on 31/01/2011 - Category: - Keywords: ,

Virginie Diaz Pedregal & Nil Özçağlar-Toulouse. Paper published in International Journal of Consumer Studies 35 (2011) 655–660.

illustration-fairtradeCurrent statistics show that more than three out of four people in France have heard about fair trade. However, fair trade goods are purchased in significantly higher proportions by executive class people, individuals with a postgraduate education, urban dwellers and high-income earners. Why does not everybody purchase fair trade products? An important question follows: is fair trade not really fair for consumers?… >> continue reading

Demythicising Fair Trade in France: The History of an Ambiguous Project

Published on 01/04/2010 - Category: - Keywords: , ,

Nil Özçağlar-Toulouse, Amina Béji-Bécheur, Matthieu Gateau, Philippe Robert-Demontrond. Paper published in Journal of Business Ethics, April 2010, Volume 92, Issue 2 Supplement, pp 205-216.

In France, Fair Trade arrived on the scene in the late twentieth century, and since then has passed through several experimental phases before becoming an enduring ‘‘realistic’’ economic alternative. To understand the transformation, this article defines Fair Trade as a social construct issues and tensions of which change depending on the point of entry.… >> continue reading

A History of French Consumer Culture Theory: Pathways and Key Concepts

Published on 01/04/2010 - Category: - Keywords: , , ,

Nil Özçağlar-Toulouse & Bernard Cova. Paper published in Recherche et Applications en Marketing, vol. 25, n° 2/2010.

This paper recapitulates the history of different French schools of thought that came together from the late 1980s through the early 2000s in a research program called Consumer Culture Theory (Arnould and Thompson, 2005). The various authors and studies that were part of this movement are presented in chronological order: their years of clandestinity, legitimization and then consolidation.… >> continue reading

Fair Trade in France: From Individual Innovators to Contemporary Networks

Published on 01/12/2009 - Category: - Keywords: , ,

Nil Özçağlar-Toulouse, Amina Béji-Bécheur and Patrick E. Murphy. Paper published in Journal of Business Ethics, December 2009, Volume 90, Issue 4 Supplement, pp 589-606.

Fair trade aims at humanising the capitalist economy by serving the community, instead of simply striving for financial profit. The current fair trade sector is an excellent example of an innovation where networks based on ethical principles can help to effectively serve this market. Our analysis is based on 48 interviews amongst fair trade innovators in France and illustrates the advent of a new type of entrepreneur, one that is grounded in the social and solidarity economy (SSE).… >> continue reading