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Cited by 82Digital Marketing and Social MediaConsumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and IdentificationEntrepreneurship Studies and Influences

How social media influencers impact consumer collectives: an embeddedness perspective

Open access
Mardon, Rebecca, Cocker, Hayley, Daunt, Kate·2023·Journal of Consumer Research
DOI 10.1093/jcr/ucad003
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Abstract

Abstract Research has documented the emergence of embedded entrepreneurs within consumer collectives. This phenomenon is increasingly prevalent as social media enables ordinary consumers to become social media influencers (SMIs), a distinct form of embedded entrepreneur. Whilst research has considered the implications of embeddedness for embedded entrepreneurs themselves, we lack insight into embedded entrepreneurship’s impact on consumer collectives. To address this gap, we draw from a longitudinal, qualitative study of the YouTube beauty community, where SMIs are pervasive. Informed by interactionist role theory, we document the Polanyian “double movement” prompted by the emergence of SMIs within the community. We demonstrate that the economy within the community was initially highly embedded, constrained by behavioral norms linked to established social roles. SMIs’ attempts to disembed the economy created dysfunctional role dynamics that reduced the benefits of participation for non-entrepreneurial community members. This prompted a countermovement whereby SMIs and their followers attempted to re-embed SMIs’ economic activity via role negotiation strategies. Our analysis sheds new light on the negative implications of embedded entrepreneurship for non-entrepreneurial members of consumer collectives, highlights the role of social media platforms in negotiations of embeddedness, and advances wider conversations surrounding the evolution of consumer collectives and the impact of SMIs.

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  • Today's consumers are informed, discerning, and empowered individuals who are redefining beauty norms and expectations.

    “Instead, today’s consumers are informed, discerning, and empowered individuals who are redefining beauty norms and expectations (151).”

    From The dark side of beauty: an in-depth analysis of the health hazards and toxicological impact of synthetic cosmetics and personal care products (2024) · cites this paper as [151]

    The Role Prioritization section describes beauty-community viewers scrutinizing advertising disclosures and deciding whether to treat recommendations skeptically. That supports a narrower claim about discerning consumers, but the paper does not establish that consumers generally are redefining beauty norms and expectations. (LLM, conf=0.78)

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2 of the 70 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 8

  1. Cova, Bernard, and Simone Guercini (2016), "Passion and Entrepreneurship: Toward a Tribal Entrepreneur?," Revue de L'Entrepreneuriat, 15 (2), 15-42.
  2. Bernard Cova, Robert V. Kozinets and Avi Shankar, New York: Routledge, 3-26.
  3. Fournier, Susan, and Lara Lee (2009), "Getting Brand Communities Right," Harvard Business Research, 87 (4), 105-11.
  4. Goulding, Christina, and Michael Saren (2007), "'Gothic' Entrepreneurs: A Study of the Subcultural Commodification Process," in Consumer Tribes, ed. Bernard Cova, Robert Kozinets, and Avi Shankar, Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann, 227-42.
  5. Katz, Elihu and Paul F. Lazarsfeld (1955), Personal Influence, Glencoe, IL: The Free Press.
  6. Kozinets, Robert V. (2020), Netnography: The Essential Guide to Qualitative Social Media Research, 3rd Edition, London: SAGE Publications Ltd.
  7. Leary, Mark R. (1996), Self-Presentation: Impression Management and Interpersonal Behaviour, New York: Routledge
  8. Marwick, Alice (2015), "You May Know Me from YouTube: (Micro)-Celebrity in Social Media." in A Companion to Celebrity, ed. D. Marshall and S. Redmond, Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell, 333-50.

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Authors
Mardon, R., Cocker, H., & Daunt, K.
Affiliations
  • Lancaster University (GB)
  • Cardiff University (GB)
Corresponding author
Mardon, Rebecca
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Consumer Research
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
2023-01-09
Volume
50
Issue
3
Pages
617-644
ISSN
  • 0093-5301 (ISSN-L)
  • 1537-5277
DOI
10.1093/jcr/ucad003
OpenAlex
W4313889724
Cited by
82
References
70
Citations by year
2026: 22 · 2025: 32 · 2024: 21 · 2023: 7
FWCI
35.24
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Journal of Consumer Research (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Lancaster EPrints (Lancaster University) (submittedVersion)
  • ORCA Online Research @Cardiff (Cardiff University) (submittedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Funders
Academy of Marketing
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Digital Marketing and Social Media
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Management of Technology and Innovation › Entrepreneurship Studies and Influences
Keywords
social media influencers, embeddedness, role negotiation, disembedding, social roles, social networking sites, countermovement

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