Managing anti-consumption in an excessive drinking culture

doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2008.01.035

Journal of Business Research

Volume 62, Issue 2, February 2009, Pages 279-288

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2008.01.035 Get rights and content

Abstract

A major contemporary challenge facing governments and health professionals is that of promoting sustainable and healthy approaches to alcohol consumption in a context where excessive alcohol consumption is the dominant trend [Plant M., Plant M., Binge Britain: the need for courage. Alcoholis 2006; 25, 3: 1.]. This article reports the results of a qualitative study examining the experiences of Higher Education students in the United Kingdom who are identifiable as anti-consumers because of their opposition to the alcohol norms that predominate. The article focuses on how these students deal with the challenges and consequences that can arise from resisting the prevailing norms and practices. This article demonstrates that existing frameworks and categorizations in the contexts of anti-consumption, product and brand avoidance and coping are capable of providing useful theoretical tools for the examination of anti-consumption within the social marketing context. The article identifies some of the implicit tensions of being an anti-consumer in an environment of excessive consumption and provides examples of how consumers seek to manage these tensions. The use of the above theoretical perspectives can usefully inform policy that aims to promote sensible drinking among young people and students in particular.

Introduction

A major contemporary challenge facing governments and health professionals is that of promoting sustainable and healthy approaches to alcohol consumption in a context where excessive alcohol consumption is the dominant trend (Plant and Plant, 2006). The prevalence of excessive alcohol consumption—or binge drinking—is an issue within student populations globally, and particularly within the UK (Banister and Piacentini, 2006, D'Alessio et al., 2006, Kuntsche et al., 2004, Wechsler et al., 2002). Understanding the prevalence of binge drinking within student populations is useful for anyone involved in policy and professional work in the area. However, another parallel population whose study offers a useful and interesting insight into the phenomenon of excessive alcohol consumption is the non-drinking student population, in particular those students who actively resist the prevailing culture. Scholars define anti-consumption as behavior that is against consumption (Craig-Lees, 2006, Lee et al., 2009b-this issue, Zavestoski, 2002) and, in this study, anti-consumption refers to people who opt out of the dominant culture of excessive alcohol consumption. This article reports the results of a qualitative study examining the experiences of Higher Education students in the United Kingdom who are identifiable as anti-consumers, because of their opposition to the alcohol norms that predominate. The article focuses on how such students deal with the challenges and consequences that can arise from resisting the prevailing norms and practices.

Section snippets

Literature

Many studies consider the circumstances around excessive alcohol consumption, in particular focusing on the question of motivation. A central argument is that two distinct sets of motivations exist. First, alcohol facilitates socialization, particularly for young people (Darian, 1993, Liu and Kaplan, 1996, Pavis et al., 1997), with the ritualistic aspects of alcohol consumption contributing to these social effects (Beccaria and Sande, 2003). More recent research focuses on understanding the

Methodology

Data collection was via one-to-one in-depth interviews as part of a larger study of students and their alcohol consumption. The study recruited undergraduate student participants from one research site, a university in the North West of England, via an advertisement posted around campus and placed on course websites. This article focuses on individuals who identify themselves as “not drinking alcohol”. The researchers originally anticipated that not drinking alcohol would mean just that.

Antecedents of anti-excessive consumption

Four broad categories of antecedents leading to anti-excessive consumption exist: (1) Personal experience of excessive alcohol consumption with severe consequences; (2) Close family experience of alcoholism; (3) Religious, political or cultural reasons; (4) General misgivings about alcohol. Table 1 details the antecedents as they apply to the study participants.

The first category overlaps with Lee et al., 2009a-this issue, Lee et al., 2009b-this issue) experiential avoidance construct, where

Discussion

The study demonstrates that existing frameworks from the voluntary simplicity, brand and product avoidance and coping literature are capable of providing useful theoretical tools for the examination of anti-consumption within the social marketing context. This article identifies some of the implicit tensions of being an anti-consumer in an environment of excessive consumption, and provides examples of how consumers seek to manage these tensions. Perhaps the most important overall learning is

Lessons for social marketing and public policy

A common focus for public policy in relation to alcohol consumption is on encouraging young people to consume lower levels of alcohol. A number of promotional campaigns (in both the UK and elsewhere) attempt to promote the “drink sensibly” message. Although these campaigns have had some success, this study demonstrates the importance for policy makers and health professionals of appreciating the extent to which drinking sensibly involves going against a dominant culture that welcomes binge

Limitations

This article focuses on developing initial understandings about student anti-consumers of alcohol, and a small, in-depth empirical study effectively provides a way of drawing out the main themes. Despite adopting the terminology of anti-consumption, this article attempts to represent clearly the heterogeneity of behaviors present in the sample. A clear limitation is that those who volunteered for the study could exhibit particular confidence about the decisions they had made. In writing an

Future directions

The opportunities and challenges associated with the practice and management of anti-consumption require further investigation in several respects. Extending this investigation to other research sites, including young people not in education, as well as younger consumers in schools and colleges, would provide a useful starting point. Exploring the perception of anti-consumers by others in their peer group (including self-identified excessive consumers) is another possible avenue for future

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^☆: The authors thank two anonymous reviewers and the editors of the special issue who provided detailed and useful comments on earlier versions of this paper. The authors also thank Isabelle Szmigin and Bob Kemp for their useful comments and insights. The authors are extremely grateful towards the Lancaster University pump-priming fund for providing this study with funding.

¹: Tel.: +44 1524 593 299; fax: +44 1524 593 928.

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Managing anti-consumption in an excessive drinking culture☆