The Self-Manipulation of My Pervasive, Perceived Vital Energy through Product Use: An Introspective-Praxis Perspective

Abstract

Consumer researchers, as well as others, have overlooked the perceived vital energy dimension of consumer behavior. To deal with this issue, this article uses an introspective-praxis approach to explore as “thickly” as possible the pervasive role perceived vital energy plays in one consumer's everyday use of products, namely my own. In doing so, it introduces an energy-based model of product use that encompasses the characteristics/states of that vital energy and the product-related operations employed by the consumer to manipulate those states. After these aspects of energy are considered, several thematic examples concerning its role and significance in my own consumption are discussed. Finally, implications for future research are considered.