Creative destruction? Exploring the deliberate destruction of possessions by consumers

Round, Griff

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to explore consumption practices that involve the deliberate destruction of meaningful possessions; in particular, what motivates consumers to do so, why they choose it over other divestment options and what value creation do they expect from this. This is a consumer choice acknowledged but lacking in extant research, theoretical or empirical. From the existing literature a qualitative study was developed, consisting of a series of exploratory interviews with consumers who considered that they had engaged in possession destruction. From analysis of the identified themes, we developed a temporal process, where possession destruction creates self-wellbeing for the consumer, through the elimination of negative symbolic value associated with the possession. The existence of ritualistic and taboo behaviour suggests that this type of consumption can also be conceptualised as a social, violent, and sacrificial process.

Citation

Round, G. (2024). Creative destruction? Exploring the deliberate destruction of possessions by consumers. Journal of Consumer Culture, https://doi.org/10.1177/14695405241283761

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 7, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Sep 7, 2024
• Publication Date: Sep 7, 2024
• Deposit Date: Sep 16, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 17, 2025
• Journal: Journal of Consumer Culture
• Print ISSN: 1469-5405
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/14695405241283761
• Keywords: Consumption, divestment, value creation, ritual, sacrifice
• Public URL: https://keele-repository.worktribe.com/output/920946
• Publisher URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/14695405241283761#