Melanie Wallendorf

Interests

Teaching

My principal teaching interests are Socio-Cultural Aspects of Consumer Behavior, Listening to the Voice of the Market, Marketing Theory, and Consumer Behavior.

Research

My research focuses on the sociological aspects of consumer behavior. My research explores how social structures and cultural practices shape consumption through their impact on the resources, abilities, and perspectives that people bring to their consumption experiences. At the individual level, my research deals with patterns of attachment between people and consumption objects and practices, and with structured variation in the personal meanings of various types of consumption. At the level of the subculture, my research focuses on ethnic, gender, racial, and class differences in consumption and how these meanings are produced. At the broadest level, my research addresses family and community ritual, collective engagement, and producer-consumer relations and how they impact and are impacted by consumption. In order to explore these theoretical issues appropriately, I have used a wide variety of research methods including surveys, ethnography, photography, and garbology, and have utilized data collected in Australia, Canada, Finland, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Mexico, Niger, Sweden, and the United States.

Courses

Scholarly Contributions

Chapters

• Wallendorf, M. (2018). Beyond Disenchantment: Max Weber and the Search for Legitimacy". In Canonical Authors in Consumption Theory. London: Routledge.
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  volume edited by Søren Askegaard and Benoît Heilbrunn
• Wallendorf, M. (2018). Talcott Parsons: Structural Foundations for Cultural Sociology. In Canonical Authors in Consumption Theory. London: Routledge.
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  volume edited by Søren Askegaard and Benoît Heilbrunn
• Wallendorf, M. (2017). Is the Price Right? Moral and Cultural Frames of Pricing Systems. In Contemporary Consumer Culture Theory(pp 59-84). London: Routledge.
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  book chapter in production process, volume edited by John Sherry and Eileen Fischer
• Levy, S. J., Iacobucci, D., Wallendorf, M., & DuFault, B. A. (2014). A Poetic Quadrilog: Consuming Information: Email in the Invisible College". In Caribou, Coracle, Terä(p. 21). University of St. Bathans NZ.
• Wallendorf, M., Lindsey-Mullikin, J., & Pimentel, R. (1998). Gorilla Marketing: Shifts in Customer Animation and Regional Embeddedness during the Relocation of a Toy Store. In Servicescapes(pp 151-198). Chicago: NTC Publishing Group / American Marketing Association.
• Belk, R. W., Wallendorf, M., Sherry, J., & Holbrook, M. B. (1991). Collecting in a Consumer Culture. In Highways and Buyways(pp 178-215). Provo, UT: Association for Consumer Research.

Journals/Publications

• Bean, J., & Wallendorf, M. (2017). Tipping the Scale. Interactions, 24(5), 22-23. doi:10.1145/3125395
• Wallendorf, M. (2014). Intracommunity Gifting at the Intersection of Contemporary Moral and Market Economies. Journal of Consumer Research, curation issue on "Morality and the Marketplace".
• Weinberger, M. F., & Wallendorf, M. (2012). Intracommunity Gifting at the Intersection of Contemporary Moral and Market Economies. JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, 39(1), 74-92.
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  Consumer research on gifting has primarily focused on the interpersonal meanings and behavior patterns associated with dyadic gifts that are specifically given from one individual to another and in which the central goal is interpersonal relationship maintenance. Yet we find another type of gifting when community members in one social position give to community members in another position in which the central goal is intracommunity, rather than interpersonal, relationship work. This ethnographic research details the ritual practices, structural components, and meanings associated with intracommunity gifts employing the empirical context of the post-Katrina New Orleans' community celebration of Mardi Gras. Through this context, we detail how intracommunity gifting gives prominence to the logics of the moral economy while still drawing from those of the market economy. Beyond this context, we use our conclusions about the intersection of the market and moral economies to understand contemporary ambivalence to corporate sponsorships of local community events.
• Freeman, D., Brucks, M., Wallendorf, M., & Boland, W. (2009). Youths' understandings of cigarette advertisements. ADDICTIVE BEHAVIORS, 34(1), 36-42.
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  This study addresses two questions: (1) when youths are exposed to advertisements for cigarettes, do they primarily see advertisements for brands or products, and (2) is there a relationship between youths' understandings of cigarette advertisements and their susceptibility to smoking? A sample of 271 participants ranging in age from 7 to 12 viewed a series of print advertisements that included cigarette and non-tobacco-related ads. While viewing each ad, participants were asked to indicate what they thought the advertisement was trying to sell. Responses were coded into one of three categories reflecting important differences in participants' comprehension of each advertisement - no understanding, product category understanding, or brand understanding. Results show that youths typically understand the type of product an advertisement is promoting; however, the levels of brand understanding observed for cigarette advertisements were low in an absolute sense, and significantly lower than brand understanding of non-tobacco-related advertisements. Results also show that understanding cigarette ads as promoting specific brands of cigarettes is positively related to susceptibility to smoking. Taken together, these findings provide a glimpse of the psychological mechanisms that may underlie the well established link between exposure to cigarette advertising and youth smoking. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved,
• BELK, R., & WALLENDORF, M. (1990). THE SACRED MEANINGS OF MONEY. Journal of Economic Psychology, 11, 35-67.
• McQuarrie, E., Scott, L., Sherry, Jr., J. F., & Wallendorf, M. (2006). Roundtable on Advertising as a Cultural Form. Advertising and Society Review, 6(4).
• WALLENDORF, M., & REILLY, M. (1983). ETHNIC MIGRATION, ASSIMILATION, AND CONSUMPTION. JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, 10(3), 292-302.
• Wang, J., & Wallendorf, M. (2006). Materialism, status signaling, and product satisfaction. JOURNAL OF THE ACADEMY OF MARKETING SCIENCE, 34(4), 494-505.
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  The consumer satisfaction literature has not, for the most part, integrated individual values into the product evaluation process. Yet a comprehensive understanding of consumer satisfaction can best be attained by including both consumer and product factors. To demonstrate the usefulness of including individual values, this research focuses on one consumer value, namely, materialism. The authors empirically explore how this individual value is linked to consumers' evaluations of products they have purchased. Using surveys, the authors collected datafrom a sample of college students (n = 211) and a sample of adults (n = 270). Across these two studies, using divergent samples and products, they find consistent evidence that materialism is negatively related to product satisfaction in product categories with high potential for status signaling, but unrelated to product satisfaction in product categories with lower potential for status signaling. The consumption goals that produce these product evaluations are empirically addressed.
• Freeman, D., Brucks, M., & Wallendorf, M. (2005). Young children's understandings of cigarette smoking. ADDICTION, 100(10), 1537-1545.
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  Aims We explore young children's attitudes toward, beliefs about, and life-style associations with cigarette smoking using direct and indirect measures.
• Crockett, D., & Wallendorf, M. (2004). The role of normative political ideology in consumer behavior. JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, 31(3), 511-528.
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  This study of African-American consumers living in a large racially segregated midwestern city adds to extant theory on ideology in consumer behavior by considering the role of normative political ideology in provisioning. The specific roles of traditional black liberal and black nationalist political ideologies are discussed. We conclude that normative political ideology is central to understanding shopping as an expression of social and political relations between households confronting attenuated access to goods and services, ranging from housing to food, in a setting stratified by gender, race, and class. Beyond the specifics of this demographic group and setting, we suggest contemporary consumption in the United States is a primary arena in which political ideology is expressed and constructed.
• WALLENDORF, M. (1987). ON THE ROAD AGAIN - THE NATURE OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH ON THE CONSUMER-BEHAVIOR ODYSSEY. ADVANCES IN CONSUMER RESEARCH, 14, 374-375.
• Wallendorf, M. (2001). Literally literacy. JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH.
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  Literacy is a continuous, multidimensional indicator of proficiency in using written language. This essay reviews several recent books on literacy, and suggests some profound theoretical issues about consumer behavior inspired by a sociocultural perspective on literacy. In particular, ties between literacy and six diverse research programs on consumer behavior are highlighted: responses to persuasion; affect and decision making; the meanings of products and brands; social marketing of health behaviors; consumption, identity, and resistance; and the impact of the internet on consumer behavior. In addition, questions both interesting and troubling about the impact of consumption on literacy are raised in the hope of encouraging future research.
• Wallendorf, M. (2001). Post-modern Production and Consumption of Art. Diamond Harvard Business Review, 138-140.
• Crockett, D., & Wallendorf, M. (1998). Sociological Perspectives on Imposed School Dress Codes: Consumption as Attempted Suppression of Class and Group Symbolism. Journal of Macromarketing, 18, 115-131.
• ARNOULD, E., & WALLENDORF, M. (1994). MARKET-ORIENTED ETHNOGRAPHY - INTERPRETATION BUILDING AND MARKETING STRATEGY FORMULATION. Journal of Marketing Research, 484-504.
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  The authors show how ethnography can provide multiple strategically important perspectives on behaviors of interest to marketing researchers. They first discuss the goals and four essential characteristics of ethnographic interpretation. Then they review the particular contributions to interpretation of several kinds of ethnographic observation and interview data. Next they discuss how interpretations are built from ethnographic data. They show how multilayered interpretations of market phenomena emerge through systematic analysis of complementary and discrepant data. Finally, the authors articulate three representational strategies that are used to link multilayered interpretations to marketing strategy formulation. They suggest that ethnographic methods are appropriate for apprehending a wide variety of consumption and use situations with implications for market segmentation and targeting; product and service positioning; and product, service, and brand management.
• WALLENDORF, M., & ARNOULD, E. (1991). WE GATHER TOGETHER - CONSUMPTION RITUALS OF THANKSGIVING DAY. JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, 18(1), 13-31.
• BELK, R., SHERRY, J., & WALLENDORF, M. (1988). A NATURALISTIC INQUIRY INTO BUYER AND SELLER BEHAVIOR AT A SWAP MEET. JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, 14(4), 449-470.
• WALLENDORF, M., & ARNOULD, E. (1988). MY FAVORITE THINGS - A CROSS-CULTURAL INQUIRY INTO OBJECT ATTACHMENT, POSSESSIVENESS, AND SOCIAL LINKAGE. JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, 14(4), 531-547.
• WALLENDORF, M., & BRUCKS, M. (1993). INTROSPECTION IN CONSUMER RESEARCH - IMPLEMENTATION AND IMPLICATIONS. Journal of Consumer Research, 20, 339-359.
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  On the basis of a review of introspective methods in other social science disciplines, we identify five categories of introspection: (1) researcher introspection, (2) guided introspection, (3) interactive introspection, (4) syncretic combinations, and (5) reflexivity within research. We draw from this literature a set of six methodological issues relevant to the conduct of introspection in consumer research. Because of the recent publication of consumer behavior papers that rely extensively or even exclusively on the researchers' life experiences as data, we consider these methodological issues in detail regarding the conduct of researcher introspection. On the basis of substantive and methodological developments in other categories of introspection, researcher introspection is critiqued in terms of data collection and recording issues, its lack of separation of the roles of the researcher and introspector, and its exclusive focus on one individual. Because of the difficulties of overcoming critical methodological limitations inherent in this research approach, we conclude that researcher introspection has severely limited potential to contribute to future research in consumer behavior. In contrast, we suggest that appropriate use of guided introspection and reflexivity within research can be used to advance theory in consumer behavior. We conclude by discussing the balance between openness and rigor necessitated by the pluralistic composition of the field of consumer research.
• REILLY, M., & WALLENDORF, M. (1987). A COMPARISON OF GROUP-DIFFERENCES IN FOOD-CONSUMPTION USING HOUSEHOLD REFUSE. JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, 14, 289-294.
• Wallendorf, M., & Nelson, D. (1987). An Archaeological Examination of Ethnic Differences in Body Care Rituals. Psychology and Marketing, 3, 273-289.
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  Melanie Wallendorf and Daniel Nelson (1987), Psychology and Marketing, 3 (January), 273-289.
• Hirschman, E., & Wallendorf, M. (1982). "Characteristics of the Cultural Continuum: Implications for Retailing,". Journal of Retailing, 58, 5-21.
• Hirschman, E., & Wallendorf, M. (1982). Free Response and Card Sort Techniques for Assessing Cognitive Content. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 54, 1095-1110.
• Hirschman, E., & Wallendorf, M. (1982). Motives Underlying Marketing Information Acquisition and Knowledge Transfer. Journal of Advertising, 11(3), 25-31.
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  Elizabeth Hirschman and Melanie Wallendorf (1982), Journal of Advertising, 11 (No. 3), 25-31.
• Hirschman, E., & Wallendorf, M. (1980). Some Implications of Variety Seeking for Advertising and Advertisers. Journal of Advertising, 9(2), 17-19+.

Proceedings Publications

• Cours, D., Heisley, D., Wallendorf, M., & Johnson, D. (1998, October). It's all in the family, but I want it. In ADVANCES IN CONSUMER RESEARCH, 26, 253-259..
• Brucks, M., Wallendorf, M., & Freeman, D. (1998, October). The impact of advertising on young children's beliefs about alcohol and tobacco use/users: What's lurking at the headwaters?. In ADVANCES IN CONSUMER RESEARCH, 26, 410-411.
• Wallendorf, M. (1996, October). Breaking out of boxes: Creativity, community, and culture. In ADVANCES IN CONSUMER RESEARCH, 24, 9-11.
• YOUNG, M., & WALLENDORF, M. (1989, Winter). ASHES TO ASHES, DUST TO DUST - CONCEPTUALIZING CONSUMER DISPOSITION OF POSSESSIONS. In 1989 AMA WINTER EDUCATORS CONFERENCE, 33-39.
• Wallendorf, M., Belk, R., & Heisley, D. (1988, Fall). Deep Meaning in Possessions: The Paper. In Assocation for Consumer Research, 15, 528-530.
• DAWSON, S., & WALLENDORF, M. (1985, October). ASSOCIATIONAL INVOLVEMENT - AN INTERVENING CONCEPT BETWEEN SOCIAL-CLASS AND PATRONAGE BEHAVIOR. In ADVANCES IN CONSUMER RESEARCH, 12, 586-591.
• REILLY, M., & WALLENDORF, M. (1984, October). A LONGITUDINAL-STUDY OF MEXICAN-AMERICAN ASSIMILATION. In ADVANCES IN CONSUMER RESEARCH, 11, 735-740.
• WALLENDORF, M., & REILLY, M. (1983, October). DISTINGUISHING CULTURE OF ORIGIN FROM CULTURE OF RESIDENCE. In ADVANCES IN CONSUMER RESEARCH, 10, 699-701.

Presentations

• Matson, S., & Wallendorf, M. (2021, October). Building Family through Food: The Ritual of Christmas Dinner in France. Research symposium on food consumption at Rennes School of Business. Rennes, Brittany, France: Rennes School of Business.
• Wallendorf, M. (2021, November). Co-Creating Servicescape Authenticity: A Longitudinal Study of Community Interaction in a Mixed-Use Retail Development. guest speaker. online: Department of Marketing, Schulich School of Business, York University.
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  talk based on co-authored manuscript with Matt Godfrey
• Wallendorf, M. (2021, October). Co-Creating Servicescape Authenticity: A Longitudinal Study of Community Interaction in a Mixed-Use Retail Development. Research symposium on food consumption. Rennes, Brittany, France: Rennes School of Business.
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  Talk based on co-authored manuscript with Matt Godfrey
• Wallendorf, M. (2021, October). Fellow's Address; Seeing the Forest: A Sociological Perspective on Community in Consumer Research. Association for Consumer Research Annual conference. online: Association for Consumer Research.
• Wallendorf, M. (2019, October). “Sharing Stories: Celebrating Five Decades of ACR, Reflections on the 1970s,”. Association for Consumer Research Conference. Atlanta GA.
• Wallendorf, M. (2019, Summer). “Sensing and Representing in Qualitative Consumer Research,”. Consumer Culture Theory Conference. Montreal.
• Godfrey, D. M., & Wallendorf, M. (2018, March). Social Interactions and the Regulation of Ownership in Multifunction Retail Servicescapes. Department of Marketing, University of Nebraska.
• Maciel, A. (2018, November). Claims to Space in the Politics of Consumer Identity. Department of Marketing, University of Wisconsin. University of Wisconsin, Madison.
• Maciel, A., & Wallendorf, M. (2018, January). Leisure as a Tactic in the Gender Politics of Time and Space: A Study of the New Cult of Domesticity. School of Sociology, University of Arizona.
• Maciel, A., & Wallendorf, M. (2017, November). Leisure as a Tactic in the Gender Politics of Time and Space: A Study of the New Cult of Domesticity. Em-Lyon Business School, Lyon, France.
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  Invited research presentation to faculty and doctoral students at Em-Lyon Business School.
• Wallendorf, M. (2017, November). Led an all-day workshop for faculty on "Painting, Framing, and Positioning in Consumer Culture Ethnography". Em-Lyon Business School, Lyon, France.
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  In this all-day workshop, I first made a one hour presentation on painting, framing, and positioning consumer culture ethnographic work. This was followed by intensive work with four authors who had submitted manuscript drafts to me one week prior to the workshop. In collaboration with them, I helped them rework whichever aspects of their manuscripts that I thought were most in need of change.
• Maciel, A. F., & Wallendorf, M. (2014, June). Aestheticizing Consumption, Cultural Refinement, and Masculinity. Consumer Culture Theory conference. Aälto University, Helsinki, Finland.
• Wallendorf, M. (2013, June). Domesticity within Retail Space. Consumer Culture Theory conference. Tucson, AZ.
• Wallendorf, M. (2013, March). Anthropology and Sociology of Markets. workshop on Anthropology of Markets and Consumption. University of California at Irvine.
• Maciel, A. F., & Wallendorf, M. (2012, October). Leisure Consumption as Conspicuous Work. Association for Consumer Research North American conference.
• Travis, A., & Wallendorf, M. (2012, October). An Historical Analysis of Archetypical Shifts in Representations of Women in Luxury Product Advertising in the early 1960s. Association for Consumer Research North American conference. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Reviews

• WALLENDORF, M. (1991. Pursuing Customers - An Ethnography of Marketing Activities - Prus, RC(pp 482-486). Journal of Contemporary Ethnography.

Others

• Wallendorf, M. (2018, June). Discussant comments in session on "Alternative Modes of Investigation". Consumer Culture Theory Conference.