Rethinking macro-level theories of consumption: Research findings from nazi concentration camps

Abstract

This research seeks to inform the developing macromarketing theme of restricted consumer behavior. Nazi concentration camps were selected because they provide an extreme example of external control and constraint. Multidisciplinary scholarship is reviewed, with an emphasis on relevance to the understanding of consumer restrictions. A brief description of the qualitative methodology follows, and the results as thematic categories come next. The thematic categories of forced dispossession, survival strategies, reconfiguration of the self, and reemerging into society are used to provide implications for the majority of world citizens who face significant limitations in their lived experiences a..