Humphery, Kim, Jordan, Tim and Lekakis, Eleftheria (2023) Digital consumer activism: agency and commodification in the digital economy. Ephemera: Theory and Politics in Organization. ISSN 1473-2866

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Abstract

Consumer activism has been reshaped as it has moved increasingly into the digital realm, and yet relevant theorisations have been slow to emerge. This paper presents an innovative approach to examining digital consumer politics through key scholarship in digital activism and the digital economy. Through a discussion of three case studies, we analyse digitally-mediated agency, and the transformation of consumption meanings and practices in the digital economy. We argue that digital consumer activism offers both new forms of campaigning and presents familiar problems. Our case studies demonstrate the complexity of engendering agency when consumer activism enters the digital realm. Equally, the case studies illustrate contradictions in the way in which consumer politics contests the capitalist economy offline, but leaves it substantially uncontested online because of a reliance on digital platforms dedicated to private profit.

Item Type:	Article
Schools and Departments:	School of Media, Arts and Humanities > Media and Film
SWORD Depositor:	Mx Elements Account
Depositing User:	Mx Elements Account
Date Deposited:	05 Oct 2022 11:48
Last Modified:	08 Mar 2023 14:15
URI:	http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/108326

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