City Research Online

Abstract

The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the consumption of ‘weak narratives’—a growing media phenomenon characterised by its mundanity and slowly moving, minimally developed plots. Weak narratives represent a departure from traditionally studied ‘strong narratives’ in marketing and consumer research, which typically focuses on emotionally charged experiences and their persuasive effects. This dissertation relates to three key areas of consumer research—challenging existing theoretical frameworks on narrative studies, escapism and consumer deceleration. Utilising the research context of Slow TV, this research addresses three main questions about narratives and consumer behaviour: (1) What are the socio-cultural and psychological circumstances under which consumers are drawn to weak narratives? (2) How do consumers engage with weak narratives? And (3) what are the psychological effects of consuming weak narratives? To address these questions, a mixedmethods approach is employed including qualitative methods—i.e., in-depth interviews and netnography—and quantitative methods, comprising two experiments and scale development. This research finds that the appeal of weak narratives is rooted in the constant flux of liquid modernity, particularly attracting consumers who are emotionally and cognitively depleted. Additionally, it identifies ‘narrative idling’ as a novel form of engagement with narratives. Narrative idling, in turn, leads to three key psychological outcomes that collectively contribute to consumer wellbeing: resynchronisation, relaxation, and recalibration. Finally, the experimental results validate these findings, demonstrating that narrative idling mediates the negative impact of narrative strength on consumer relaxation—with weak (vs. strong) narratives leading to increased (vs. decreased) relaxation.

Key words: Weak narratives, liquid modernity, narrative idling, consumer wellbeing

Publication Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management
Departments:	Bayes Business School > Bayes Business School Doctoral Theses Bayes Business School > Management Doctoral Theses

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