Studies and Scientific Researches. Economics Edition, No 24, 2016 http://sceco.ub.ro

CREATING VALUE WITHIN CONSUMPTION CULTURE

Daniel Adrian Gârdan
Spiru Haret University, Bucharest

danielgardan@yahoo.com

Gheorghe Epuran
Transilvania University of Brașov

gheorghe_epuran@yahoo.fr

Iuliana Petronela Gârdan
Spiru Haret University, Bucharest

gardanpetronela@yahoo.com

Abstract
The issue of culture consumption is a particular concern within the modern marketing theory.

Culture can be seen as representing a body of knowledge, beliefs, values, attitudes, symbols etc,

developed in a certain period of time by a group of individuals, items transmitted with the help

of a social learning process to other generations within the group. Thus, the consumption of

culture will identify itself with the consumption of any product, service or a combination of them,

directly resulted as manifestation of culture, expressions of artistic creativity specific for a

certain cultural space. The present paper proposes the analysis of the phenomenon referring to

the culture consumption in terms of specific characteristics. The paper reviews the features

specific to the modern consumer of culture, the relationship that exists between the individuals’

level of education and the culture consumption and value creation process or augmentation of

the intrinsic value of an artistic product as a result of the contribution that the culture consumer

can bring himself. The authors highlight the fact that within extremely complex processes which

are defining the culture consumption, consumers can assume an active role, becoming on their

turn co-participants in the cultural goods and services value creation and transmission. The

modern consumer benefits more than ever from the advantages offered by the information

technology, being called to respond to major challenges of the postmodernism paradigm in terms

of culture consumption. Globalization and other social economic and politic phenomena have

profoundly changed the reports between individual and culture, between self and other members

of the society, causing synthesis and essential transformations of culture consumption, of culture

consumers typologies, and not least of the very forms of artistic expression related to cultural

goods and services.

Keywords
consumption culture; cultural marketing; value co-creation

JEL Classification
M31; Z10

Nowadays culture consumer, defining elements and specific features
Each consumption process bears the imprint of characteristics determined by the

specific features of different types of consumers and in the same time because particular

elements of the consumption object – products and services concerned. Consumption

of culture will also be strongly influenced by a complexity of factors, among the most

important ones being the characteristics demand agents - consumers.

Culture consumers represents a particular type of consumer who developed throughout

civilization history a peculiar relationship with factors of social, economic or political

nature. Thus, both its features and its involvement in consumption have experienced a

strong dynamic transformation caused by the last century changes.

CREATING VALUE WITHIN CONSUMPTION CULTURE

Examination of some de-monopolization processes and ranking of some predefined

legitim cultural enclaves, that have reached a level of declassification within the West

civilization is necessary (DiMaggio, 1987).

Thus, the society in which the consumers are expressing themselves has become

essentially a cultural one, since the social life has become less regulated and the social

relations have become more variable and less structured on the basis of stable norms.

Overproduction of signs and reproduction of images and simulations has led to a loss

of the stable sense and to a aesthetization of reality.

High level of cultural goods consumption (like art, novels, opera, philosophy), must be

correlated with the ways in which other mundane cultural goods (clothing, food, drinks,

cultural destinations) are handled and consumed, as high culture has to be marked in

the same space as the quotidian cultural space.

Figure 1. Components of culture

Source: Khan Martin (2006), Consumer behavior and advertising management, New Delhi: New Age

International Limited Publishers, p. 35

Consumption preferences and lifestyle are involving discriminatory judgments that are

simultaneously are identifying and are permitting classifications for their own

judgements or tastes over others.

Particular constellation of tastes, consumption preferences and practiced lifestyles are

associated with specific occupations and segments of social classes, making possible to

investigate the universe of tastes and lifestyles with all its structural oppositions and

fine distinctions that are operating within a society in a particular time in history.

Knowledge becomes important, namely knowledge of some new products, of their

social and cultural value and how to use them properly.

This situation is encountering especially in case of aspirational social groups which are

adopting a way of learning regarding consumption and respectively cultivation of a

certain lifestyle.

For groups like the one that has as name – the new middle class, new working class or

the new wealthy class or upper one, magazines, newspapers, books, radio and television

programs which are focusing on self-development, personal development, capacity of

self – managing, networking, building a fulfilled lifestyle are the most relevant.

Also in the case of these social groups we can met most frequently self-consciences of

the autodidact which is preoccupied to send the proper and legitimate signals through

its consumer activities.

Culture

Internal level of culture –

on mental level (ideas,

knowledge, concepts)

Material external culture

(objects that can be seen,

touched, used in day by day

life, examples: art, music,

theatre, clothing, living places,

books, etc.)

Cognitive component elements,

the belief in afterlife, ideas,

knowledge, the belief in

supernatural powers

Normative components, values,

customs, norms that are

regulating behaviors

Gârdan, Epuran, Gârdan

This could be the case especially with the group which Bourdieu and Passeron referred

in 1984 as being” new cultural intermediaries”, those persons that are working in the

field of media, design, fashion, advertising and other ”para” intellectual jobs, whose

occupations involve performing certain services and production, marketing and

dissemination of symbolic goods.

Under the given circumstances, of a growing symbolic goods offer (Touraine, 1985),

the demand for cultural specialists and intermediaries who have the ability to poke

various traditions and cultures in order to produce symbolic new goods and to offer also

the needed interpretations for their use, has also increased.

The process of life aesthetization in parallel with the celebration of the artist as a hero

and the stylization of life under the form of an artwork – these brining expressiveness

to the project initiated by artist and respectively to that lifestyle - has found echoes

within a wider audience, beyond the artistic and intellectual circles through the

expansion of occupational groups specialized in symbolic goods that act

simultaneously as producers/ disseminators and concerned consumers/audience for

cultural goods.

The expansion of “new cultural intermediaries”, as Bourdieu and Passeron calls them,

involved a broadening of the range of legitimate cultural goods and felling some of the

oldest symbolic hierarchies.

New tastes creators are constantly looking for new cultural goods and experiences and

are also involved in the creation of popular pedagogies and guides related to lifestyles.

They encourage a constantly inflation of cultural goods, drawing on the basis of trends

having an artistic intellectual inspiration and it contribute to creating new artistic and

intellectual production conditions working alongside them.

The new intermediaries can be found in jobs oriented towards the cultural consumption

market – mass-media, advertising, design, fashion etc., and in other government or

private financed jobs referring to professional, educational counselling and therapy.

They are fascinated by identity, aspect, presentation, life-style and endless search for

new experiences. Also, they are actively promoting and transmit the life-style of

intellectuals towards a larger public and they are conspiring with intellectuals in order

to legitimize new fields, such as sport, fashion, traditional music and culture as valid

intellectual analysis fields.

Their habits, moods and preferences related to lifestyle are such in a way designed that

they are identifying with artists and intellectuals, however, with the condition of de-

monopolization of their artistic and intellectual goods enclaves, while having in the

same time interests apparently contradictory to support prestige and cultural capital of

these enclaves and to popularize and make them more accessible to a wider audience.

This part of the new middle class (cultural specialists and intermediaries to which we

have already referred), which also include those from the counterculture that have

survived from the 60” s and those who have taken elements of their cultural images in

different contexts, represents a disturbing group for old petty-bourgeois virtues and

cultural mission of "Thatcher-ism".

Thus, it becomes more difficult to capitalize productive efforts of this group of

specialists in expansion in terms of the message about these petty-bourgeois virtues and

the cultural order associated to them.

The expansion of the art market and the increasing volume of artists and those with

auxiliary occupations, especially in metropolitan centers, plus the use of art as a vehicle

for public relations by large corporations and the state alike, have resulted in significant

changes of the role that the artists have. (Zukini 1982).

Many artists have given up their commitment to high culture and avant-gardism and

adopted a more open attitude toward mass consumption culture, manifesting now a

desire to collaborate with other culture intermediaries, image creators, audiences and

CREATING VALUE WITHIN CONSUMPTION CULTURE

publics, taking place a blurring of genres and trends related to the deconstruction of

symbolic hierarchies.

Therefore, advertising and design have not only come to confuse with art but they are

even celebrated and exposed in museums as art. As Stephen Bayley noted (1979, p.

10): industrial design is the art of the 20th century – also quoted by Forty in 1986.

At present, the current consumer of culture presents an interesting picture, characterized

by a strong dynamism and substantial changes in terms of consumer behavior, content

of preferred cultural products and services and relationships they develop within the

processes of consumption.

Current consumer of culture is extremely complex being a person completely free of

old class cultures, unpredictable in terms of tastes, in continuous search of emotional

and hedonic experiences, concerned about the quality of life, about authenticity.

(Lipovetsky, 2006).

In this way, cultural institutions face a consumer that is more affective, which adopts a

powerful decision-making process, shaped by circumstances, distancing themselves

from individualism and seeking to strengthen social ties within groups or communities.

(Bourgeon-Renault, 2009).

The audience lives increasingly more different cultural experiences under the sway of

cultural consuming logic that appeals to educational, aesthetic or playful character,

using a mixture of cultural genres. (Lahiri, 2004).

People seek fulfillment forms through art, corresponding to their own level of

understanding. The need of fulfillment starts from the alienation process the

contemporary individual have lived and that is representing also a very important factor

that influences consumption of culture. The alienation started from the estranging of

the individual final toward the result of his work.

Thus, the lack of respect that is induced by such a state, stereotypy and conformism

manifested in the lives of many, are going hand in hand towards the emergence of a

growing needs related to the consumption of art, culture. Daily poor emotional

experience results in the manifestation of the need to involve. Art, through its various

forms of expression can flourish indefinitely by the emergence of new and new ways

of artistic expression (music and theater, dance and circus performances etc.), making

it possible to satisfy the most varied needs of aesthetic and emotional nature.

The way people are consuming culture, is representative for individuality expressing of

each person. Social groups that have higher levels of education and better material

endowment consciously reject mass conformism. Thus, generally, in terms of

consumption are easily assimilated with innovative exotic products and services, and

in terms of culture consumption is noted an increase interest in vanguard literature,

music and fine arts.

As individuals accumulate more material prosperity, this trend is increasing and

although in the case of unusual, exotic, "break the rule” goods and services the number

of options is generally limited, for cultural products or services the situation is different.

Art, thanks to the extremely diversified variants of expression, we can say practically

inexhaustible, offers opportunities for every individual to express his uniqueness.

From a psychological point of view, motivations that are behind the consumption of art

can be assimilated to profound reasons related to the discovery and affirmation of their

identity, the personality of each.

Engaging not only from the perspective of art product or service consumer, but also of

the participant, amateur art creator, offers the opportunity to explore their means of

artistic expression and finding their identity.

From another perspective, the consumption of art can provide stability for the people

that are feeling that everything happens with an accelerated dynamic around them.

This culture consumption is an act which identifies the individual with a millenary

tradition of excellence. Another view presupposes the ability of art to satisfy the need

Gârdan, Epuran, Gârdan

for intellectual and emotional stimulation of individuals. Symbols can engage the

human psyche on multiple levels simultaneously. (A. Toffler, 1997)

Broadly, the need to express social status or success based solely on material

accumulation, of possessions, is exceeded currently by the trend to reject this

materialism and to replace it with individual self-realization.

Achieving social prestige through consumption became too easy and pointless for many

representatives of modern social classes. Thus, are becoming interesting intellectual

activities, refining aesthetic sense, involvement in voluntary activities etc. Free time

dedicated to achieving individual goals, personal development and involvement in

intellectual experiences becomes a common thing.

Influences exerted at the level of culture consumption from the perspective

of education level
Alvin Toffler noticed in his book” The Culture Consumers” the special bond between

the level of education and the degree of culture or the appetite of individuals to become

culture consumers. Thus, everything starts from the idea that the ability to appreciate

qualitatively art is closely linked to the existence and manifestation of abstract thinking

of individuals. This capability is based on the ability to abstract, skill developed in the

modern educational systems. (Toffler, A., 1997)

The adult’s ability to abstract is learned and developed with each new effort. It produces

a state of auto stimulation; education level becomes relevant to the ability of individuals

to appreciate more possibilities for expression in a particular field. Thus, people without

high levels of education, with a more modest intellectual endowment are largely

preoccupied with practical aspects of everyday existence, and tend to appreciate forms

of artistic creation having a questionable quality - sub-art.

These forms involve a very simple artistic language, language that the individual

concerned fails to decode and can it be identified with, more easily.

People that are evolving psychologically and have a greater capacity to abstract things,

even in direct relation to their own lives, will become high quality genuine art

consumers, with forms of artistic expression capable of abstraction at the same level.

Developing aesthetic taste is directly related to the educational process and to the high

level of income.

At EU level, the involvement of consumers in the consumption of culture presents an

eloquent situation in terms of these correlations, according to the statistics in figure 2.

The most widespread activity - watching or listening to a cultural program TV or radio,

is most prevalent among those aged 40 years and above, with 42% percent of those

aged 55 years and older who had a frequency of 5 times per year in the past year

compared with 35% of those in the 15-24 range.

In terms of education level, those who studied beyond the age of 19 or who were still

studying at the time of the research, are also more likely to watch or listen to cultural

programs. 54% of those who graduated over the age of 19 accomplishes this by more

than 5 times in the last year. Also, respondents from the socio-professional category of

managers were most likely to watch or listen to cultural programs, 53% of them stating

that they have done this for more than 5 times in the last year, compared with only 28%

of housekeepers.

At the level of The Barometer, the same can be said about reading books - education

being the strongest predictor for reading books, with 51% of people who studied after

19 years and 48% of those who were studying at the moment of research having read

more than 5 books per year. Predictably, in terms of occupation, managers and students

were the categories that have the highest frequency of reading books - 59% of managers

and 48% of students read more than 5 books in one year.

CREATING VALUE WITHIN CONSUMPTION CULTURE

Figure 2. Distribution of cultural activities in which EU citizens are implying,

comparison 2007-2013
Source: European Commission, (2013), Special Eurobarometer 399 – Cultural access and participation,

European, http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_399_en.pdf

As for other cultural activities considered by the research team which conducted the

poll - visit a public library, going to the cinema, the percentages of those with higher

education levels were significantly higher than the other categories.

Also for visiting historical monuments or locations of that kind it was revealed a much

greater participation of people with a higher education level - 20% and 17% for people

who have studied the secondary or tertiary level compared to 4 or 8% of the ones from

the categories with primary study levels. Museums received the same results with

percentages of 12% for people who are still studying and 9% for those with secondary

level compared to 2% or 4% for those with primary level.

Ballet, opera and dance performances were preferred by people with higher and average

education and in the proportions of 26% and 29% compared to 7% of the category with

lower levels of education.

The correlations made between reasons for not participating in activities related to

cultural consumption and variables related to age, level of education and income have

revealed that young people have claimed that lack of interest is the main reason for not

going to the opera or ballet - 60% of those aged between 15 and 24 years, compared

with 48% of those in other age groups.

The level of education is again highlighted in terms of the reasons for non-use. Those

who left school before 16 years of age are predisposed to cite lack of interest as the

main reason for non-consumption for most of the important cultural activities - visiting

public libraries, going to the theater, opera or ballet, museums etc. The study also has

revealed that, for most cultural activities planned, people with higher levels of

education tended to cite lack of time as the main reason for non-use.

Lower level of education showed a cultural consumption behavior different from

cultural events in other European countries - visits to historical sites, cultural, reading

a book by foreign authors, going to theater or ballet groups, respondents with higher

educational level being more highly sensitive involved in these cultural experiences

abroad.

One of the most important aspects related to the consumption of culture and creating

added value for the consumer is represented, as highlighted earlier, by the degree of

involvement of the people in cultural artistic activities.

Gârdan, Epuran, Gârdan

From this perspective, the study cited - Eurobarometer 399, revealed that a small

minority is directly involved in cultural activities - art, at the first place being dance

with 13%, followed by photos or shooting 12%, interpretation songs - 11%, various

activities - sculpture, painting, drawing or handcrafting - 10%, playing a musical

instrument - 8%, making websites or artistic blogs - 8%, composing poetry, writing

novels, etc. - 5% and acting in amateur theater teams - 3% (Eurobarometer 399, 2013,

p. 49).

Education is a discriminatory factor in relation to involvement in artistic activities,

people that are still studying having a rate of 61% of engagement in these activities

compared to 48% of those with secondary education or 20% of those with primary level

education.

People with lower levels of education are less involved in activities like - playing a

musical instrument (2%), singing (6%) dancing (8%) or writing (1%).

As a general conclusion, people with a high cultural index are people with a stronger

engagement in activities of artistic creation. Respondents who studied more are much

likely to say that lack of time is the reason for not participating more in arts activities,

while those who leave education earlier are more likely to say they are not interested in

these activities.

Promoting interest for culture within an organized framework offered by the school is

the condition for subsequent increased participation of adults to the consumption of

cultural goods and services.

Using the same Special Eurobarometer 399 was shown that using the Internet can be

an element that will change the way in which the consumption of culture will evolve in

the future. 56% of Europeans use the Internet for purposes related to culture, 30% of

them doing that once a week. Among the activities connected with culture, 53% relate

to reading newspapers, 44% search for cultural information and 42% listening to online

radio stations or music.

Eurobarometer was conducted on a representative sample of 15 European Union

Member States between April 26 and May 14, 2013.

Culture consumption will be influenced to a greater extent by the social status than the

class to which the individual belongs.

The status is expressed through a certain lifestyle, a great amount of flexibility being

available for individuals currently in relation to the options that they have in terms of

the consumer habits manifestation, including the consumption of culture. This one is

an integral part of the lifestyle.

Many individuals within certain advantaged social strata are not actually frequent

consumption of high culture and furthermore, people showing marked tendency to

reject most popular forms of culture. Well defined cultural consumption patterns persist

over time and can be identified a limited number of culture consumer that prove to be

systematically differentiated from a social point of view. There will be culture

consumers as” omnivorous”, paucivorous and univorous (Chan Wing Tak, Goldthorpe

John H., 2007). Omnivorous consumers will have pretty high levels of consumption in

the forms of culture both higher and from the popular ones having the tendency to be

more socially advantaged than univorous consumers.

College graduates and other people with completed higher education are significantly

more likely to be part of an omnivores culture consumer type than paucivorous culture

consumers type.

When more variables that can influence the consumption of culture, are taken into

consideration, such as social status, class and income, education level will reflect rather

some aspects of social stratification, psychological effects - the ability of individuals to

process information - element seen by empirical aesthetic supporters as having a major

influence on the level of cultural consumption.

CREATING VALUE WITHIN CONSUMPTION CULTURE

For university graduates the status effect is less pronounced than for those with

qualifications at a lower level.

Specialists consider as a result of the research undertaken, that the effects which

education can have on the consumption of culture are nuanced and diversified,

depending on the type of cultural products or services envisaged. For example, in the

case of theater, dance and cinema, the effects of social status and education on

consumption patterns are roughly similar in the case of music, the education effect

being a little bigger, in case of visual arts the educational level is by far the most

important factor (Chan, W. T., & Goldthorpe, J.H., 2007, p. 184).

Value creation within contemporary culture consumption
Value creation is a very important aspect in modern marketing literature. Specialists

talk about creating value not only as an effect of actual production processes or benefits,

but especially about co-creation of value by consumers together with goods

manufacturers or service providers.

The scientific literature highlights the numerous lines of research and theoretical

valuable contributions that subscribe to the concerns related with the issue of co-

creation of value or consumers' involvement in consumption, outside of a simple

consumption process of goods or services. Thus, it can be remembered only a few of

the renowned authors who have proposed various approaches and interpretations useful

for explaining the analytical framework of the creation or co-creation of value.

Starting with the concept of co-production (Wikstrom, 1996, Bendapudi, Leone, 2003,

Gronroos, 2006, Woodruff & Flint, 2006, Kozinets, 2007, Etgar, 2008) and continuing

with the one of consumers involvement Kalaignanam, Varadarajan, 2006, Anderson et

all, 2008) or prosumers (Toffler, 1980, Bagozzi & Warshaw, 1990, Xie et al, 2008)

and ”working” consumers (Gabriel & Lang, 2006, Zwick et al, 2008, Arvidsson, 2008,

Cova & Dalli, 2009), specialist have pointed out the different angles of this complex

process of value co-creation.

In order to explain the mechanism that is underlying to the value co-creation process

within the equation producer (provider) – consumer is necessary to emphasize the

importance that is owned by the cultural context in which consumption takes place and

value creation of course. Value is not given only by functional utility of goods or

services consumed, but also by consumers' interpretation of issues that are covering the

object of consumption, including here products, brands and services. Thus, the concept

of value involves more than functional utility report to the purchasing power of

consumers, being evoked the concept of symbolic meaning of consumption.

Individuals will give a different value for different ways of expressing the options

related to lifestyle, so consumption of certain goods or services acquires superior

valences in the cultural context determined by values associated to a particular lifestyle.

It can be said that, currently, the main concern of companies no longer lies in creating

value for customers, but create value with consumers. The set of values important for

both companies and consumers, will balance themselves through various interactions

through dialogue, through involvement.

During the history of customer orientation, it can be distinguished the perspective

offered by Vargo and Lusch which have launched in 2004 the concept of ”dominant

logic of services”. The two specialists have proposed at that time a conceptual

framework that prioritizes the idea that customer orientation of companies is a process

of collaboration and learning between companies and customers, an adaptation to the

dynamic and individual needs of the latter. The value is defined by the client and co-

created with its help, rather than incorporated into production. The results are not

something to be maximized, but something from which it can be learned as firms try to

serve customers better and to improve performance. (Vargo, S & Lusch, R., 2004)

Gârdan, Epuran, Gârdan

Under the business model based on services, human actors are vital to the exchange

process. What happens before and after the actual transaction (the performance itself)

becomes more important than the very transaction itself - it creates a dynamic

continuum in which both customers and organization that is performing the service will

help maximize satisfaction and optimize networking through a learning process (Vargo,

S & Lusch, R., 2004).

In the common process of creating value, both the client and the provider will perform

different roles, depending on the stage and the perspective of conducted performance.

Thus, in the service production/performance sphere, the provider is a facilitator of

value, as the customer engages itself into the performance - in the area of joint activities,

the provider can integrate into the process of creating value with the role of co-creator.

The customer will be a creator of value when it comes to the direct interaction being

able in the same time to be co-creator along with the provider. In the sphere of the

client, he will take much of the performance, engaging heavily in consumption,

becoming a value independent creator, the provider keeping only his role of facilitator.

The process by which customers and providers assumes value creation is shown in the

figure below, being visible its importance in the field of services, where the three

dimensions - the supplier’s one, the common one and, respectively, the customer’s one

are having a strong interrelation.

Figure 3. The process of value co-creation within performances
Source: Grönroos, C., & Voima, P. (2011), Making Sense of Value and Value Co-Creation in Service

Logic, Hanken School of Economics Working Papers, Helsinki, p. 31

Promoting a services-based approach across the entire marketing activity wishes to give

credit to the idea that the real delivering of value sought by the customer can be made

easier from the perspective of analyzing interaction types between providers and

customers. Thus, it can be distinguished direct or indirect interactions, the indirect ones

being possible to take place before the direct ones.

CREATING VALUE WITHIN CONSUMPTION CULTURE

Direct interaction refers to the process in which the and customer’s and organization's

resources (personnel, system, service environments) interacts through a process which

involves a form of "coordinated dialogue". This direct interaction occurs in areas where

production processes and delivery are performed simultaneously with the use of

services by customers. However, direct interaction can take place wherever the

customer interacts with the company in a manner similar to the dialogue (such as in the

case of product design).

Figure 4. Direct and indirect interactions - the role of the client and of the service

provider
Source: Grönroos, C., & Voima, P. (2011), Making Sense of Value and Value Co-Creation in Service

Logic, Hanken School of Economics Working Papers, Helsinki, p. 32

Indirect interaction refers to situations when customers use or consume resources

representing outputs of firm processes, such as when the customer is using a product

offered by the company and thus interacts with this resource.

Resources can take many forms and can be: physical, virtual or mental. In the context

of services, it usually means that when direct interactions are completed, the customer

interacts with the resource or the outcome of the service process.

Consumers will build, develop and maintain self-identity by means of consumption

(Firat, & Venkatesh, 1995), given that complex portrait of modern consumer denotes

expertise, capacity of discernment and knowledge (Alba, & Hutchinson, 1987), and

also the ability to give birth to social networks (Holt, 1995).

In terms of culture consumption, scientists have identified four major research

directions that relate to: the concrete cultural practices, material and symbolic resources

involved, rules or social nature resources, meaningful ways of life. So, the complex

Gârdan, Epuran, Gârdan

ensemble of elements that characterize the creation of value in relation to this type of

consumption takes the form of practices, resources, norms and meanings.

It becomes obvious the connection that occurs between the cultural context in which

consumers have developed and their own culture consumption itself. The cultural

context can be conceptualized as a collection of practices, resources, rules and

meanings that create the background for co-creating value and evaluating experiences

(Edvardsson et all, 2011).

Co-creation of value will also be influenced by various social constructs specific to

different forms of sub-culture. Specific relationships for social groups or geographical

areas, shared norms at this level by members of their communities, will determine

different socio-cultural contexts for the co-creation of value by consumers.

In the case of cultural goods and services consumption, the process of creation and co-

creation of value acquires new meanings, much more complex than most other

categories of goods or services designed for current consumption. The value attached

to cultural goods and services is most often the result of an artistic creation process,

with a strong symbolic and immaterial dimension. From this point of view the

involvement of culture consumer in the act of creation of these goods and services

becomes essential.

Unlike other categories of goods, the cultural ones addresses a category of higher needs,

which is why quantifying their value is a complex process that must take into account

a number of variables relating not only to consumer motivations of individuals, but also

to their ability to recognize and appreciate distinctive elements for the culture to which

they belong, the possibility of conferring symbolic value to those artistic products

which best expresses their personality traits, characteristics of lifestyle etc. Therefore,

value creation represents for creators of cultural goods an ongoing challenge, tailored

to the requests and subjective interpretations, social and cultural dynamics of

individuals at a time.

The process of co-creating value both for cultural goods and cultural services is highly

qualified for two major categories - goods and services respectively.

Also, nuances and differences are expressed strongly and when analyzing the different

classes of cultural goods or services in terms of their content - visual arts, performing

arts, music creation, literary, sculpture, textiles, architecture etc. All these artistic

manifestations take an almost infinite variety of concrete expression, both in the form

of physical goods and immaterial services. Each of them requires a different symbolic

value for culture consumer and a unique creative process, both in terms of methods,

technologies used, and the outcome thereof. Thus, the participation of consumers in

value creation is also very nuanced and tailored to the specific situation.

In addition, the item really particular for co-creating value in the cultural field is

represented by the contribution that culture consumers, the public that is encouraging

consumption of culture and relating artistic creations, have from the perspective of

artistic inspiration phenomena which underpins these creations. Thus, very often, ideas

or items that inspires art creators are mostly developed based on feedback from the

culture amateur public or its reactions to previous creations. In this way, a complex

creative process is born, through which cultural creators and consumers alike contribute

to the development and creation of new cultural goods.

From the point of view of cultural services consumption things are also tinted,

depending on the type of cultural service to which reference is made. In case of a

concert or a theater, opera, operetta, etc., co-creation of value takes shape similar to the

situation encountered when the provision of other services is done, meaning that

consumers will actively contribute to the specific environment running event (will sing

the song along with the singer, will attend as amateur actors in directed plays order to

include viewers within them, etc.).

CREATING VALUE WITHIN CONSUMPTION CULTURE

An interesting issue is the one about passive or active consumption phenomenon,

specific for various cultural goods. If, in the case of a playing film in the cinema,

cinema-goers are having a film production adaptation of a famous novel, generally

being passive consumers of the intrigue within the literary opera adaptation under the

play of the actors, consumption as a literary work of the same novel, reading it, involves

active participation of the consumer of literature, the capacity of visualizing things and

characters in the opera, the ability to view the evolution of the action etc. Behold, that

often the consumption of a cultural good presupposes the co-creation of value

associated with it through the effective involvement of consumer, emotions

experienced and effective consumption of it being directly related to the individual's

capacity to transpose himself in relation to the artistic product concerned.

Finally, a previously stressed element is represented by the active effort of co-creation

of value associated to the cultural goods or services through effective involvement of

culture consumers in creative cultural activities. Thus, creative work of professionals

can be enhanced and put into better use through the contribution made by culture

enthusiasts within various manifestations (circles of painting, sculpture, amateur theater

etc.).

The appetite manifestation for different forms of artistic creation, not only educates and

stimulates consumption culture of participants, as well as other categories of potential

consumers in the community, but also contribute to the financing of official various

cultural initiatives or the activity of institutions regulating the field.

One of the most important factors for co-creating value is represented by the ability to

access, adapt and integrate available resources (Akaka M., Vargo S., & Lusch R.,

2012).

From this point of view, in case of cultural goods and services, the active involvement

of culture consumer in delivering value enhances this ability, their own level of

appreciation of the arts and other manifestations of culture being higher among the self-

cultural current.

Conclusions and future directions of research
Culture consumption represents a special type of consumption. In this case, the

consumer does not liquidate what he consumes. Consumers can become true partners

with manufacturers. The culture consumer can be considered an active consumer.

Consumers can create artwork in their turn, can engage in commenting the existing

ones, through active consumption they may potentiate the intrinsic value of artistic

goods.

Many consumers are in fact active culture amateurs as regarding different various forms

of artistic expression.

Culture consumers are making a massive investment of time, energy, money as

consumers and active participants within various organizations and institutions that are

governing the artistic field. Consumers will not only search for aesthetic satisfaction,

but quickly they make an effort aimed to the creation and development of institutions

that distribute or produce culture.

A special role it may have the integration within modern educational programs of

various art forms taught on a regular basis, such as fine arts or music. The individuals

level of education is one of the most important factors which potentiate the

consumption of culture both in terms of quantity and structural quality. The same

relation exists between the level of education and degree of involvement in activities

which are creating cultural goods, so in relation to value co-create in this area.

In terms of applying the principles of modern marketing within culture consumption,

viable and interesting research directions are the ones related with topics like:

Gârdan, Epuran, Gârdan

peculiarities of consumer behavior identified for each area of manifestation of culture

(visual arts, performing arts, literature, museums, exhibitions etc.).

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