Place Attachment in Commercial Settings: A Gift Economy Perspective

Alain Debenedetti (), Harmen Oppewal and Zeynep Arsel
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Alain Debenedetti: IRG - Institut de Recherche en Gestion - UPEM - Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée - UPEC UP12 - Université Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne - Paris 12
Zeynep Arsel: Concordia University [Montreal]

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Abstract: Place attachment is one's strong emotional bond with a specific location. While there are numerous studies on the topic, the literature pays little attention to commercial settings. This is because they are seen as too insipid to rouse attachment. Consumer research, however, suggests otherwise. To address this disparity, the authors investigate how people develop, experience, and act on place attachment in commercial settings. Findings from consumer in-depth interviews and self-reports conducted in France reveal that place attachment develops through perceptions of familiarity, authenticity, and security and evolves into experiences of homeyness. Consumers find these encounters of homeyness extraordinary and respond by engaging in volunteering, over-reciprocation, and ambassadorship toward the place. The authors further theorize these findings through a gift economy perspective and identify a tripartite exchange between the consumer, the proprietor of the place, and selected people from the consumer's social network.

Keywords: homeyness; emotional bonding; gift economy; servicescapes; place attachment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014-02-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-mkt
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-01137245v1
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (25)

Published in Journal of Consumer Research, 2014, 40 (February), pp.904-23. ⟨10.1086/673469⟩

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Journal Article: Place Attachment in Commercial Settings: A Gift Economy Perspective (2014)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01137245

DOI: 10.1086/673469

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