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

Carlos Diaz Ruiz and Marian Makkar

Journal of Business Research, 2021, vol. 122, issue C, 38-50

Abstract: 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.

Keywords: Market-shaping; Market boundaries; Boundary work; Boundary objects; User innovation; Sports marketing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:122:y:2021:i:c:p:38-50

DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.08.039

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