To explore the characteristics of Art Workers in Colombia, expressed in terms of lifestyles and consumption practices, as well as the relationship between symbolic consumption and the social identity of the group.
Design/methodology/approachFor this quantitative study, the instrument called "Lifestyles and consumption practices", designed by the Konrand Lorentz University Foundation, was applied along with the incorporation of two new sections which evaluate symbolic consumption and social identity. The sample was intentional and represented 160 people, 80 of them corresponding to the Art Workers category and the other 80 to the Non-Art Workers category (mirror sample).
FindingsIt is observed that Art Workers in Colombia represent a social group with unique characteristics (lifestyles and consumption practices) looking for symbols in the products which allow them to relate to their counterparts in order to strengthen their sense of belonging to the social group.
Originality/ValueThis work contributes the literature of marketing with a new perspective of the Art Workers which separates them from their role as instruments of advertising strategies by linking them as consumers.
The consumption of goods and services, as one of the main leisure activities of individuals, has ceased to be an exclusive act for the satisfaction of needs and desires in order to be conceptualized as a mediator of human relationships (Ger & Belk, 1996; Pektaş, 2018; Phillips, 2003). In this context, its relevance as a social activity is materialized in the symbolism that the product has for the individuals or their related groups becoming in that way in an effective tool of communication of various aspects, such as their lifestyles, beliefs, values, among others (Allen, Hung Ng & Wilson, 2002).
This is based on the theory of symbolic consumption, which refers to the use of products and their emotional value in order to create, develop and maintain identities that allow subjects to establish relationships with one or more social groups (Clammer, 1992; Elliott & Wattanasuwan, 1998; Slater, 1997). From this perspective, the symbolism of the product allows the individual to have the social approval of his peers which reinforces his identity (Solomon, 1982; Woodside, Sood & Miller, 2008); therefore, it does not exercise practices by the simple consumption of images - advertising-, but, it is an adapter and own producer, in constant search of permeating the social groups in which it circulates (Firat & Venkatesh, 1993).
Taken into consideration the relationship between symbolic consumption and social identity, many studies have addressed it from various perspectives in recent years. Thus, Tangsupwattana and Liu (2017) sought to establish how they could achieve a greater market penetration in products aimed at the millenials in Thailand through the symbolic consumption. On the other hand, Ho and O'Donohoe (2014) analyzed the incidence of this type of consumption with the entities of the individual who explores the voluntary work and social causes developed by the organizations (companies). In the cases presented by Vernuccio, Pagani, Barbarossa and Pastore (2015) and Nguyen, Simkin and Han (2016), various associated relationships, such as the influence of the brand on the social group, were the focus of study. Even though these are some examples of the most relevant researches of this similarity, the authors agree to the idea that the analysis of this topic must be particular and in accordance with the social realities in which the individual develops, since, understanding the symbolic consumption as a mediator of social identity allows both, organizations and the academic community, to know better the choices of the products (ej.: Banister & Hogg, 2004; Firat & Venkatesh, 1993; Leipämaa‐Leskinen, 2012; Tangsupwattana & Liu, 2017).
According to the previous argument, there is evidence of various social groups that still lack the development of this studies as in the case of the Art Workers (AWs).This group emerged in the 1960s as a response to the social situation experienced by its members and the search for an identity as an unit. Hence, it is defined as the conglomerate of artists (e.g., actors, singers, painters, sculptors and designers) who make their work visible, not as a mundane activity that seeks self-expression in free time or a utopian alternative to reality, but as a profession and all the things it implies (Bryan-Wilson, 2009).
Though there is a close relationship between art and marketing, studies encompassing symbolic consumption and social identity have focused on the consumers of artistic works rather than on those who create them (Holbrook, 1988; Kutucuoglu, Arikan Saltik, Firat & Tuncel, 2013). This is also the case of the Colombian context, where the research analysing this relationship is rare and focuses on other groups or on other different contexts rather than the artistic or cultural ones (e.g.: Garay-Quintero, Robayo-Pinzon & Rojas-Berrio, 2018; Luna-Cortés, 2017). Consequently, the characteristics of individuals belonging to the group of AWs, as well as their forms of relationship, are not known.
Thus, this study aims to explore the characteristics of AWs in Colombia, expressed in terms of lifestyles and consumption practices, as well as the relationship between symbolic consumption and the social identity of the group.
1.1Conceptualization of social identityThe human being, as a social individual, constantly evaluates the thoughts and acts that he executes with the purpose of identifying and relating them to others. Thus, authors such as Hardin and Higgins (1996) and Echterhoff, Higgins and Levine (2009), argue that people have the necessity to socially verify their experiences by establishing a reference point with their counterparts.
Based on this perspective, social identity is the result of a natural, biological and psychological reality in which the individuals interact under a specific context (e.g., social norms, use of language, control systems, among others) that concludes in a series of subjectivities (Iñiguez, 2001; Sharma, 1996; Baumeister and Leary, 1995). Whereby, this identity acquires significance through the cognition and emotions emanated by the person, forming in this way interpersonal and intergroup bonds. This is conceptualized in the Social Identity Theory (SIT), which was conceived by Tajfel (1981), as the knowledge that a person has of himself and of his belonging to certain social groups with which he shares common distinctive characteristics. This is reinforced by the Self- Categorization Theory (SCT), developed by Turner (1981) and complemented by Turner, Hogg, Oakes, Reicher and Wetherell (1987), in which individuals tend to be classified in various social categories according to the entity they wish to emulate, for example: gender, occupation, location, educational level, activities, interests and opinions in common, among others. This classification makes the comparisons easier and generates satisfaction in the individual because of the discovering that others see the world in the same way.
These theories are developed in the symbolism of the individuals’ relations seen from the social behavior, its incidences, as well as, its impact in them. Thus, once they connect to a particular identity, they are inclined to perceive others and themselves in terms of that specific group membership, which generates favoritism toward the group members and rejection of those not belonging to it (Brewer & Brown, 1998; DeLamater, 2013; Tajfel, 1982). In this sense, the need to identify the similarities and differences between subjects is a priority of the SIT and SCT, since, the correct categorization allows to know the peculiarities of the individual and to have a greater understanding of the social group (Zhang, Jiang & Caroll, 2010). Thus, lifestyles and consumer practices have become an essential pillar to identify them and conceptualize their use for this purpose as Mead (1934) suggested. Although their use precedes the theories themselves, since their formulation and development, these variables have been widely used, documented in multiple studies in the fields of psychology (e.g., Hogg, 2012), sociology (e.g., Chaney, 1996) and especially marketing (e.g., Zhang et al., 2010; Aguirre-Rodriguez, Bosnjak & Sirgy, 2012).
Thus, lifestyles refer to the patterns of personal and social behavior of an individual or a group of people; they include family and social relationships, work, leisure activities, civic and religious happenings (Lazer, 1963 cited by Krishnan, 2011; Veal, 2001; Kotler and Keller, 2012). While the consumption practices are the activities the individual develops, physically and mentally in order to understand the information related to the products, to transmit an emotional state, their purchase motivations, as well as, the use of them(Leung, 1998; Reckwitz, 2002). Therefore, it is proposed:
H1 The characteristics of AWs, expressed in terms of lifestyles and consumer practices, are different from those of those who do not have them (ESPs), so they must be treated as a social group with a particular identity.
The relationship between the theories of symbolic consumption and social identity emerges in 1957, with the study carried out by Newman, who pointed out that the acquisition of certain products is the result of the congruence between what the individual claims to be and what he wants to demonstrate to society. However, it was until 1968 when the first empirical analysis of this relationship was developed by Birdwell generating a radical change in the way of understanding the behavior of individuals (consumers) (Zang & Kim, 2013).
This change transfers to the products a semantic, syntactic and pragmatic baggage that the individual uses as symbols to convey a message to his peers or others he considers important (Holbrook and Hirschman, 1982). Thus, there are several investigations which analyze this relationship (e.g.: Cleveland, Laroche & Hallab, 2013; Fournier, 1998), in which it is concluded that this type of consumption reinforces the belonging to the social group, since, it allows its members to create a past, present and even an ideal future that generates social satisfaction and approval on the part of them (Banister & Hogg, 2004).
Since this relationship has been studied in various social groups (Anaya & Palafox, 2010; Chatzidakis & Lee, 2013;Kutucuoglu et al., 2013; Padrón & Barreto, 2011; Park, Deborah, Priester, Eisingerich & Iacobucci, 2010; Shrum et al., 2013; Sun, Wang, Lepp & Robertson, 2014; Tangsupwattana & Liu, 2017), it is proposed:
H2 There is a positive relationship between symbolic consumption and the social identity of the group called AWs.
With the collaboration of the Colombian Association of Actors (CAA)[1], a survey to 160 people was carried out; 80 of them correspond to AWs, among actors, musicians, painters, plastic artists, and the other 80 rest to the mirror sample with Non-Art Workers, hereinafter ESPs. The sample carried out was of an intentional non-probability type, on the one hand because it had the support of the CAA to carry out surveys to some of its members; on the other hand, due the possibility of synthesizing data from different methodologies (Suri, 2011) and finally, because it had a selection of cases rich in information (Patton, 2014).
The selection criteria that art workers had to meet in order to apply them the questionnaire were: 1) to be of legal age, 2) to have been working in the artistic field for at least 5 years, 3) that their main income (>50%) be the product of the artistic work developed and 4) to be recognized at the national level. In the case of the mirror sample, the selection criteria were limited only to the fact of being of legal age and not to be related to the artistic environment.
The instrument applied is called "Lifestyles and consumption practices", developed by the Konrad Lorenz University Foundation [2] and collects quantitative and qualitative data, which allows a more detailed analysis of consumer behavior. It is made up of 10 sections which evaluate demographic aspects, lifestyle, sports practices, leisure, personal care, health and eating habits, life in general, opinions and beliefs, consumption patterns, and consumer habits and behaviors.
For this study, it was considered relevant to include two sections to the questionnaire, the first one evaluates social identity and the second one the symbolic consumption. For its elaboration the steps suggested by Nemoto and Belgar (2014) were used: 1) the understanding of the construct, 2) the construction of the elements of the questionnaire, 3) the development of the appropriate Likert scale, based on the scale of the original instrument, where 1 is "Totally disagree" and 4 "Totally agree", 4) the questionnaire has been tested and 5) the development of statistical analyses that assure the quality of each of the questions. The original instrument was used to test the hypothesis (H1) and the new sections for the testing of (H2).
Finally, the application of the instrument was developed personally in the city of Bogota - Colombia and the perimeter zone.
Due to the new sections that were implemented in this instrument, the internal consistency of the evaluated elements was validated. In the case of the questions corresponding to social identity, Cronbach's Alpha statistic is .693, being acceptable based on the criteria established by Huh, DeLorme and Reid (2006); although, when analyzing the cases corresponding to art workers, the statistic increases to 0.818, so it can be inferred that for this segment the questions have a greater degree of consistency. When developing the analysis of the elements of Table 1, it is observed that for future measurements, item 9 must be evaluated because the value of the column "corrected total-element correlation" is less than 0, and also eliminate item 12 since it increases the value of the statistic.
Cronbach Alpha analysis if element for social identity section is removed.
*Rosca is a colloquial term in Colombia for referring to a clique (RAE:http://dle.rae.es/?id=WimfWEH).
For the symbolic consumption section, Cronbach's Alpha statistic is 0.856, considered to be good based on the criteria established by Huh et al. (2006), in the case of only analyzing the sample of Art Workers, the statistic is 0.897, which represents a greater consistency. With respect to the analysis of the elements it is observed that for future measurements it is necessary to consider eliminating item 1 since it increases the value obtained from the statistic if it is See Table 2 eliminated.
Cronbach's Alpha analysis if element is removed for symbolic consumption section.
After validating the new sections incorporated in the instrument, the data was analyzed. In the case of the quantitative data, it was determined that they are of a non-parametric type, based on the statistic of Kolmogorov - Smirnov, due to the fact that p-value is less than 0.05 for each one of the elements, so the next procedure was continued for each one of the hypotheses. In the case of H1, the Mann-Whitney statistic shows the similarities and differences of lifestyles and consumption practices between both independent samples, where a difference is considered when p-value is less than 0.05 and a similarity when it is greater than 0.05; in addition, the Multiple Correspondence Analysis was carried out for the qualitative data. For H2, correlations were developed under the Spearman statistic (⍴), crossing the variables of symbolic consumption and social identity and, additionally, the Multiple Correspondence Analysis was developed for the latter. Correlation analysis was based on Cohen (1988) criteria where a low or mild relationship is considered when ⍴ is between 0 and 0.29, medium or moderate when ⍴ is 0.3 to 0.49, and high when ⍴ is higher than 0.5.
3Analysis of results and findingsOf the 80 participants belonging to the group of AWs, 65% are television actors, 14% professional theater actors and 21% are engaged in other artistic professions such as music, painting, and plastic arts, among others. In addition, 59% of those surveyed are women, with an average age of 35 years, and 41% are men, with an average age of 37 years. Similarly, for the mirror sample of ESPs, it was found that of the 80 surveyed 67% are women with an average age of 35 years and 33% are men with an average age of 34 years.
3.1Characteristics of AWs differences and similarities with ESPsRegarding the differences and similarities of the lifestyle aspects between the independent samples, it was determined using the Mann-Whitney statistic that AWs differ (p-value < 0.05) from the mirror sample due to the fact that they spend less time working and sharing time with their families, while they spend more hours a week going to the cinema, beauty salon, spa, restaurants, gym, shopping, cafe, walking, sleeping, studying, reading, doing sports, extreme activities, surfing the net, listening to music, developing their hobbies, being alone and with their partner. On the other hand, they are similar (p-value > 0.05) in the time they spend watching TV and going to bars.
Once the differences in lifestyle aspects had been identified, leisure activities were evaluated using multiple correspondence analysis (Fig. 1). Two factors were determined, the first was called lifestyle and the second, professional interest. In the case of the first, some variables contributed such as: training workshops, gambling, concerts, exhibitions, camping, among others; while the second incorporated variables such as teaching, going to the movies, visiting museums, libraries, etc. Likewise, taking into account the frequency of attendance at these activities, the quadrants of the lifestyle factor were named: sophisticated and modest and the professional interest factor: committed and disinterested (Fig. 1) where each surveyed person was assigned a numerical identification, next to the categorical variable that identifies him/her as AWs or ESPs.
From the relationships of the individual in the chart it may be observed that the AWs (45) has less professional interest than expected to the average profile, thus highlighting that there are more AWs attending training workshops than gambling. In addition, individuals who attend gambling games have less professional interest than expected, just as we could say that in the current context, AWs (70 and 80) behave in a similar way to the average individual who was classified as frequent attendant at gambling games. ESPs (68 and 69) behave in a similar way to the average individual who was classified as having never attended to a library.
It was also found that AWs are divided into two groups, the sophisticated, regulars attending concerts, gatherings, theater, and museums; and the modest, with a non- continuous attendance at such activities; evidencing greater commitment of AWs to their profession than to a sophisticated lifestyle.
Continuing with the analysis of the interests, the daily average of cigarettes consumed by the AWs is of two; being higher than that of the ESPs with 0.5. As for the consumption of psychoactive substances, 25% of the AWs answered that they consume them, 71% said that they did not consume them and 4% did not answer. In the case of the ESPs, 100% said they did not consume psychoactive substances. On the other hand, when they were asked about the causes that generate the most stress in the artistic sector, economic causes (51%) and labor instability (68%) are highlighted; while in the ESPs, economic instability stands out with 58%, health with 35% and family and labor instability with 28%.
In the case of beliefs and opinions, the Mann-Whitney statistic was used, obtaining that the differences (p-value < 0.05) that distinguish the AWs from ESPs with respect to their working conditions, which they recognize as equitable, to the awareness that their social group will judge them by their socioeconomic level, to the certainty that their opinions will be able to influence others, to a greater tendency to consume drugs, that they tend to become indebted in acquiring clothes or jewelry, and that they consider that their environment is unstable at work; they are aware that their main stimulus is not money and they follow healthy habits when controlling the amount of food taken. With regard to their similarities (p-value > 0.05), both groups consider that job opportunities are outside the country; they have a collaborative attitude and believe in God.
For the analysis of consumption practices, it was obtained that the AWs differ (p- value 0.05) from the ESPs to the extent that they select products according to their quality, trying to buy ecological and/or organic products. The main similarities show that both groups are related (p-value > 0.05) in the following aspects: they plan the spent of money although there is less tendency among art workers to make shopping lists; they allocate their earnings according to the importance of the product to purchase by selecting products according to their prices, comparing them between different brands and points of sale; they examine in detail the products they buy; they read product labels and analyze their net weight; they make sure that the appliances have technical service in the city of residence, they ask about the guarantee period of the product, they clarify the doubts if they have any; they usually plan the purchases, they usually buy on credit and they inform themselves about the conditions of the credits they take, although there is a lesser degree of search for information in art workers.
3.2Symbolic consumption and social identityRegarding the relationship between social identity and symbolic consumption, moderate and high correlations were detected, in "I spend a lot of time thinking about what kind of person I am" associated with "I like to have things that impress people" (⍴ =0.514 and p-value = 0.000), it is inferred that the AWs look for the symbolic of the product to reinforce the self-concept, managing to change certain aspects, as can be seen in Table 3.
In the same way, it is observed that AWs, in their self-concept, are not the people they seem to be, due to the influence they must exert on their social group, through symbolic consumption (Table 4).
Social identity of the AWs.
In addition, art workers consider that in order to influence people they must have a modern style and use products used by those close to them, this is based on the proposition " I generally have influence in front of others " associated with "I like to think I am modern" and " I often identify with my acquaintances by buying the same thing. (⍴ =0.456 and p-value = 0.000; ⍴ =0.327 and p-value = 0.003). Similarly, the relationship between " I think my physical appearance is nicer than most people's" and "I buy all branded products because they help me to show other people who I really am." (⍴ =0.470 and p-value <0.000) allow you to infer that the use of recognized brands contributes to a more pleasant physical representation for most people.
Once the relations existing between social identity and symbolic consumption in art workers were identified, self-concept and social identity were evaluated through a Multiple Correspondence Analysis (Fig. 2), which resulted in two factors, the first one was called professional achievement and the second one, attitude towards life. In the case of the first factor several variables contributed such as: success at work, influence on others, appreciated by others while to the second factor, variables such as: my personal appearance to others, discomfort at work, to change things in me, they have fun in my company, I enjoy family were incorporated. Likewise, each surveyed person was assigned with a numerical identification together with the categorical variable which identifies him as an AW or ESP.
It was found in the results that more individuals than expected are in total agreement with the propositions "I often feel uncomfortable with my work" and " If I could, I'd change a lot of things in me". Regarding individuals who are in moderate disagreement with "I spend generally good time in family" it is noted that they are less satisfied with life. The AWs (28 and 79) would behave similarly to the average individual who rated being in total agreement with the fact that his family expects a lot from him. Finally, it can be said that AWs (28 and 79) show success in their profession but are dissatisfied with themselves. In quadrant three (III) it is evident that there are very few AWs who feel they are professionally successful and satisfied with themselves.
4Discussion and conclusionThe results of this study allow us to conclude various aspects of AWs as a social group. Firstly, it is evident that they have different lifestyles and consumption practices from those who do not perceive themselves as part of that entity. Due to these differences, this group has its own social identity, which allows the individuals who develop artistic activities to be linked to it. The former responds to the depersonalization process of the individual, which, is described by Turner (1982) as the dissociation of the person as someone unique and different, thus accepting H1. However, it is important to recognize that this group can be clustered both by their lifestyles and by their consumption practices, which is why AWs are constituted as a heterogeneous group. In this sense, individuals belonging to this group in Colombia are characterized by: 1. The development of constant leisure and entertainment activities, 2. The use of psychoactive substances, 3. The constant uncertainty regarding their economic and working future, 4 The importance of socioeconomic level compared to their counterparts, 5. The constant indebtedness to sustain a luxurious lifestyle, among others. On the other hand, according to their lifestyles and consumer practices, they can be divided into "modest" or "sophisticated" and "interested" or "disinterested", which is combined with the type of work they do in their artistic activity, the level of exposure they have to their social group and to others, etc.
Secondly, as a result of this self-categorization of individuals and the configuration of the social identity of the group, a positive relationship is evident between symbolic consumption and the latter, thus accepting H2. Because of this, the AWs look for symbols in the goods and services in order to strengthen their belonging to the group. Therefore, this relationship allows to understand the behavior of individuals (Rirfler, 2012), and to configure this type of consumption as one of the main communication tools of them (Allen et al., 2002). In the case of the AWs in Colombia, the results show that they need to impress their counterparts by using prestigious brands, buying products used by their peers, following fashion trends, among others. This finding is consistent with what has previously been identified by various authors in other social groups (e.g., Anaya & Palafox, 2010; Landon, 1974; Shrum et al., 2013; Sun et al., 2014; Tangsupwattana & Liu, 2017).
The findings of this study allow marketers to have a new perspective on AWs, which conceives this social group as consumers, who seek to express and reaffirm their social identity through the products they purchase, moving away from the traditionalist vision of marketing that sees them as a tool for the consolidation of advertising strategies. In this context, entrepreneurs and leaders of marketing processes must recognize the importance of the role of social needs, not only of AWs but in social groups in general, since these conditions the purchasing decisions of individuals (Douglas & Isherwood, 1996; Roth, 1995).
Thus, the added and differentiating values of the products aimed at AWs must have the capacity of not only adapting to their lifestyle, but also being able to reaffirm their identity through the use of symbols, as well as transmitting a message to their counterparts. On the other hand, the role of the brand is preponderant in the choice of products by this social group, therefore companies that have this as a target market should strength concepts related to exclusivity and luxury, as evidenced by the results; this group often reinforces its identity using this feature of the products. This idea corresponds with that expressed by Atwal and Bryson (2014) who recommend that companies should adjust their marketing campaigns according to conspicuous and symbolic consumption when the market is susceptible to it.
Although the objective proposed in the present study was achieved, the analysis of this social group should continue in order to know other aspects that go beyond the clarification of the characteristics of the social group (lifestyles and consumption practices), as well as the existing relationship between symbolic consumption and social identity. Therefore, future research should take into account the attitude towards brands, the purchase intention, among others.
Finally, the results, the conclusions and the implications developed in this study must be understood from their possible limitations, highlighting the sample size and geographical location of the AWs. Therefore, in other scenarios their characteristics must be analyzed, since the social environment in which their interactions take place may generate different results from those presented.
5Notes- [1]
CAA is a union that brings together art workers dedicated to acting.
- [2]
The instrument has been used and validated in researches such as, Consumption practices and lifestyle of the LGBTI population of Bogotá (Barreto, Sandoval & Cortés, 2010), Lifestyles and consumption practices of people diagnosed with HIV-AIDS acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (Bojacá, 2009), among others.
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
