Taste versus the Market: An Extension of Research on the Consumption of Popular Culture
Morris B. Holbrook, Michela Addis
Journal of Consumer Research · 2007 · Volume 34 · Issue 3
Abstract
Previous studies of cultural consumption have found a significant but weak relationship between expert judgment (EJ) and popular appeal (PA) and have suggested that this “little taste” phenomenon reflects a mediating role played by ordinary evaluation (OE) in diluting the association between EJ and PA. However, various weaknesses in this work have involved problems with sequential timing, nonindependence of measurements, and contamination by market(ing)-related influences. The present investigation of new data on motion pictures addresses these concerns to show that, when controlling for market success, consumers display aspects of “good taste” via indirect links from EJ to OE to PA.
Keywords
Aesthetic/Hedonic Consumption, Communication, Cultural Theories and Analysis, Experiential Consumption, Symbolic Consumption/Semiotics
Enable JavaScript for citation tools and additional paper interactions.