Value in Marketing: Toward Socio-cultural Perspectives

This commentary addresses recent debates in marketing research on the elusiveness of the notion of value, with the aim of starting a dialogue on the possibility of developing a comprehensive and culturally informed understanding of value and value creation processes. First, we provide an overview of the predominant uses of value in marketing and consumer research literature and discuss them in relation to three abstract conceptions of value. We show the interconnectedness of these value types in market and consumption contexts. Next, we suggest possible avenues that have their foundations in the notion of field, practice theory, and markets as networks approaches, in order to conceptualize complexity in value and value creation processes.