Conceptualising Demand: A Distinctive Approach to Consumption and Practice

This book addresses fundamental questions about the very idea of demand: how is it constituted, how does it change and how might it be steered?

Conceptualising Demand focuses on five core propositions: that demand is derived from social practices; that it is made and not simply met; that it is materially embedded and temporally unfolding; and that it is modulated through many forms of policy and governance. In working through these claims, the book weaves concepts from the sociology of consumption, science and technology studies, policy analyses and social theories of practice together with empirical cases and new research into such topics as the rise of refrigerated foods, the emergence of online shopping and the transformation of energy demanding services.

This innovative book takes a fresh look at the very idea of demand, a concept that is often taken for granted, but that is vital for scholars and students of energy, mobility, climate change and consumption, and anyone interested in the subject.

Jenny Rinkinen is a researcher in the Consumer Society Research Centre at the University of Helsinki, Finland.

Elizabeth Shove is a Professor in the Department of Sociology at Lancaster University, UK, and was the PI of the DEMAND Research Center.

Greg Marsden is a Professor of Transport Governance at the Institute for Transport Studies at the University of Leeds, UK.