Consumer Claims to Space in the Politics of Consumer Identity

Melanie Wallendorf, Professor, Eller College of Management, University of Arizona

Synopsis

Physical space is an integral element of social life that impacts a wide range of consumption experiences, including shopping, eating, and exercising. However, not every consumer has access to the same kinds or amounts of spaces. Just like with the resources of money and knowledge, access to the resource of space is socially structured, being unevenly available to different consumer categories. This substantial issue, consumer differential access to space, has been underexplored in consumer research; in this literature, the predominant approach to study space has been to focus on how social actors work to make specific sites more meaningful, through practices that are mostly detached from the influence of social structure. In response to this oversight, the present research employs a mixed-method ethnography to study a contemporary ethos of consumption that questions the differential access to space that women encounter with some of their self-expressive consumption activities as a result of pervasive power hierarchies. This research develops a geosocial framework that sheds light on how consumers act on space as a way of interrogating the cultural subordination of their consumer identities. This framework helps unravel the interlinkage between space and power relations in the realm of consumption.

 Understanding the Impact of Artificial Intelligence

Avi Goldfarb, Professor, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto

Synopsis

Perhaps the most popular topic with respect to the potential impact of artificial intelligence (AI) concerns what this technology means for jobs. As AI develops and mimics increasing levels of cognitive functions, the scope of jobs that might be impacted is great. This has motivated investigations into the nature of cognitive skills required for a wide array of occupations in order to identify those most likely to be impacted. Estimating the impact of AI on labor market outcomes requires an understanding of the particular tasks that AI will directly effect. Our goal in this article is to specify the characteristics of the technological change brought about by AI, and then to demonstrate how understanding these details provides useful insight into the labor market consequences.

Paying for a Chance to Save Money: Two-Part Tariffs in Name-Your-Own-Price Markets

Robert Zeithammer, Professor, Anderson School of Management, University of California - Los Angeles

Synopsis

Prior theoretical research has shown that a Name-Your-Own-Price (NYOP) seller can profit from charging each prospective buyer a non-refundable fee for the opportunity to place a bid, akin to an entry fee to the seller’s store. We examine the profitability of such two-part tariffs in NYOP markets using incentive-compatible laboratory experiments. Overall, our results suggest two-part tariffs increase NYOP profit in a standard information-poor setting in the short run, but they are not as profitable as theory would suggest when the bidders get more information or experience. We also propose an individual-level non parametric test of the risk-averse expected utility model, and the test results suggest that this canonical model for decision making under uncertainty is not a good fit to the behavior of a substantial proportion of our subjects.

Unpacking the Inequality Paradox: The Psychological Roots of Inequality and Social Class

Paul Piff, Professor, Department of Psychological Science, University of California Irvine

Synopsis

What is social about social class? How does money shape the mind, how people think about themselves and behave toward others? This talk will highlight the emerging psychological science of social class. I will describe studies showing that social class exerts a pervasive influence on the social realm, critically shaping emotions, morality, social relationships, materialism, and consumption.