Market bifurcations in board sports: How consumers shape markets through boundary work

The market-shaping literature recognizes that consumers are actors who can shape markets. However, research into the mechanisms of consumption-driven market-shaping is only emerging. This paper shows that one way in which consumers shape markets is through boundary work, as consumers make, break, an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of business research Vol. 122; pp. 38 - 50
Main Authors: Diaz Ruiz, Carlos, Makkar, Marian
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier Inc 01.01.2021
Elsevier B.V
Subjects:
Boundary objects
Boundary work
Business schools
Market boundaries
Market-shaping
Marketing research
Sports marketing
User innovation
Sports marketing
Market boundaries
Market-shaping
Boundary objects
Boundary work
User innovation
ISSN:0148-2963, 1873-7978
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:The market-shaping literature recognizes that consumers are actors who can shape markets. However, research into the mechanisms of consumption-driven market-shaping is only emerging. This paper shows that one way in which consumers shape markets is through boundary work, as consumers make, break, and re-make the boundaries among multiple markets. Empirically, this paper investigates how user innovation practices catalyzed the formation of four boardsport markets: surfing, kitesurfing, windsurfing, and stand-up-paddling. The findings show that consumers shape markets in three steps: (1) generating local variations of consumption practices; (2) imposing order and coherence to intermediate frames; and (3) channeling creative consumption practices into market formation. This paper contributes to the market-shaping literature by conceptualizing how consumers splinter an existing singular market into new markets. We coin the term ‘market bifurcations’ to describe how a singular, seemingly cohesive consumer practice breaks down, splintering into several local variations, which can then catalyze the formation of new markets.
ISSN:0148-2963
1873-7978
DOI:10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.08.039